Metal Eden Review

What do you get when you combine the aggressive intensity of Doom with the traversal mechanics of Titanfall 2, the narrative beats of BioShock, and just a little bit of Metroid Prime? Metal Eden is a fast-paced, adrenaline-rush, sci-fi FPS where players step into the shoes of Aska, a Hyper unit android that is sent on a suicide rescue mission to Moebius City. It's gorgeous, it's explosive, and it demands some serious reaction time from players as they attempt to rescue the digital remnants of human consciousness held captive within Moebius.

Metal Eden is one of those games that, even at first glance, looks like a rip-roaring good time: flashy visuals, non-stop action, and a deep, bass-heavy electronic soundtrack that fits the vibe perfectly. The good news is, for the most part, it is absolutely a great time. There are certainly flaws that are difficult to ignore, and while some of these ultimately come down to perspective and playstyle, others are a bit more objective. Some players may walk away wanting more from Metal Eden, while others will be able to find that "more" already present within the game. What that ultimately means, though, is that Metal Eden is confident in what it wants to be, and that's what matters at the end of the day.

Metal Eden's Gameplay Is Fast, Gritty, and Surprisingly Challenging

While Metal Eden does have a story, it takes no time at all to realize combat is the star of the show. Often compared to Doom for its fast-paced intensity and explosive nature, Metal Eden requires a higher reaction time than most first-person shooters, even when it's played on Normal difficulty. More than anything else, it strongly encourages players to make use of every weapon and tool at their disposal, lest they succumb to the next new enemy type they've never encountered before. On top of all that, if you ever stop moving in Metal Eden, you're dead.

The gameplay loop is both repetitive and simple: players fight their way to an enclosed arena where they'll face multiple waves of enemies, take a zipline to the next area, then do it all again. In fact, there are only two legitimate boss fights in Metal Eden's campaign, as almost every encounter is a major encounter anyway. On that note, I cannot stress enough that every combat encounter requires deep concentration and fast reflexes, so there's really no need for more boss fights than there are. Much of this, though, comes down to Metal Eden's enemy variety, and the diversity of Aska's arsenal that complements it.

Weapons, Upgrades, and the Core-Ripping Hook

A little over halfway through the campaign, players will have acquired every weapon in the game, which is a big win for Metal Eden. It's always disappointing to get the best or last weapon in a game just before its campaign ends, as it feels like there's not much use for it then. But Metal Eden lets you take advantage of Aska's seven-weapon arsenal early enough that players can also benefit from their upgrades before the credits roll.

Along the way, players will collect Dust, Metal Eden's primary currency, by defeating enemies and finding it in vials. More Dust is awarded when players are experimental with their combat methods, like using multiple weapons, getting multikills, and utilizing Metal Eden's Core-Ripping system. Each weapon, aside from Aska's standard automatic pistol, has two upgrade paths that are unlocked by spending the required amount of Dust, but not before killing a certain number of enemies with said weapon. The standard auto pistol also has unlimited rounds and simply overheats, whereas every other weapon requires ammo.

In general, upgrading a weapon unlocks a secondary ability for that weapon, like adding an ADS sniper attachment to an SMG or making a grenade launcher's grenades both homing and sticky. This is where Aska's somewhat small arsenal of weapons truly shines, as the seven weapons are already very distinct from one another, and they become even more so once they are upgraded. This ultimately factors into what makes Metal Eden's combat its greatest strength.

Metal Eden succeeds in its combat because of what it demands. While some first-person shooters might almost encourage players to find what works and stick with it, Metal Eden simply won't allow it. Constant weapon-swapping is the name of the game here, because although Aska's standard auto pistol can mow down the rank-and-file, it struggles against the game's larger, stronger, armored enemies. And even though there are plenty of other weapons strong enough to take those enemies down, their limited ammo supply and varied uses won't let players get too comfortable.

It's this kind of variety that keeps Metal Eden's combat interesting, and that variety is necessary because of how diverse its combat encounters are. For instance, the game's toughest enemies have armor that, while it can be whittled away at with a kinetic weapon, is more effectively removed with an energy weapon. Once an enemy's armor is taken out, players are encouraged to switch to a kinetic weapon to deal more direct damage to the foe than an energy weapon is capable of. It's similar to how Destiny 2's gunplay functions, though it's more punishing.

Additionally, Metal Eden's many enemy types are diverse in their own abilities, requiring players to remain vigilant at all times and become familiar with a healthy pool of unique movesets they'll face throughout the campaign. This inadvertently creates opportunities for players to be creative in their approach to each encounter, but it helps that Aska's weapons and abilities are all so unique. It's a lot of fun chaining together different combos to tackle enemy waves, like freezing a group with a grenade, then breaking their shields and sending a shockwave across them before you use your grenade launcher to blow them to bits.

Metal Eden's Core-Ripping system is an integral part of its gameplay, and one of the earliest mechanics players are introduced to. Cores are essentially the life force of every enemy in the game, so when they're removed, that enemy perishes. As long as it's not on cooldown, players can utilize Aska's Core-Ripping ability to pull the Core out of an unarmored enemy, which can either be thrown for damage or consumed to gain health and boost the effectiveness of Aska's next melee attack, transforming her normal punch into a Super Punch that can significantly damage armor.

What makes Aska's Core-Ripping ability so satisfying, though, is how seamlessly it fits in with the combat flow. It functions as both a survival ability and a damage ability, in that it allows players to instantly kill an unarmored enemy and heal Aska if the Core is consumed, which is essential for how challenging Metal Eden can be. Then, it can even be upgraded through two of the game's three skill trees, if that says anything about how vital it is to gameplay. Those upgrades can do anything from decreasing its cooldown to giving it AoE armor-damaging capabilities, making it one of Metal Eden's most useful abilities.

Variety, Missed Potential, and Replay Value

While Aska's Android Form is her default form, she also has a Ball Form, which sees her transforming into a sturdy steel ball reminiscent of Samus Aran's Morph Ball in the Metroid series. While in Ball Form, players can fire lightning at enemies as well as missiles, but the main purpose of this form is to get Aska across dangerous terrain and increase her movement speed. The main issue I took up with this, though, is that Ball Form can only be used at certain times, if the area opened up, which wasn't all that often. It's a shame because it's actually a really fun way to play, and it would have been nice to utilize it at any time.

Metal Eden isn't all combat, however, as it does have slower moments where players can venture off the beaten path to find secret areas that contain Dust, One Ups, and even Upgrade Points. Some of these hidden areas are also locked behind puzzles, adding another element to gameplay that refreshingly isn't just shooting baddies. Unfortunately, these moments are rather few and far between. Instead, Metal Eden's levels are largely designed to keep players on a linear path, even including plenty of invisible walls at times that can be frustrating, as it's hard to tell whether a platform is traversable or not, so you just end up falling and losing health and armor.

But despite all of its strengths in gameplay, one of Metal Eden's biggest weaknesses is how short it is. I was able to finish the campaign in just under 6 hours, and that's having acquired most of the weapon upgrades and even the game's achievements. There is no New Game Plus option or something extra that encourages you to get back into it.

This is where opinions on the game's length will differ, as some will find it unfortunate that it's so short. Others will see playing through the campaign again on a higher difficulty as a fulfilling challenge. Metal Eden's price will also factor in here, as 6 hours may not be enough to justify spending anything more than $20 for some players, and yet it may be worth it for others to spend $40.

It would help if Metal Eden were more about its story than its gameplay, but that's simply not the case. A short game that is primarily focused on telling a story is one thing, especially if the price backs that up, as it's almost like taking a trip to the movies, but it's an interactive one. However, Metal Eden's story is one of its weaker points, so a longer experience for gameplay purposes might have helped it in the long run.

Metal Eden's Story Is Weak, Its Presentation and Performance Strong

Metal Eden's story is there, but by the time the campaign ends, looking back on it all makes it seem like it was really just there because it needed to be. Despite having a BioShock-like rhythm to it, the narrative is very predictable. That being said, its ending may still surprise players, as it doesn't end on the beat one might expect.

Just like in BioShock, Metal Eden's story plays out through the different characters that speak to Aska during each mission. She rarely encounters these characters in person, leaving most of that dialogue coming through her comms. Even so, the message still largely gets across, though the sci-fi nature of the world still results in some confusing lore bits at times.

Metal Eden Aska looking at an Alpha Core

Metal Eden is captivating to look at, for one thing, with bright colors, sharp visuals, and some satisfying visual effects. This is especially noticeable in the game's diverse environments. Then there's the soundtrack and audio design, which are arguably just as strong as its combat. This is, without a doubt, a game that is best played with bass-heavy headphones if players really want to immerse themselves. And with that comes the voice acting, which is excellent. Not one character in Metal Eden lacks a convincing voice talent, so despite the story's poor landing, it was at least delivered well.

And this is all backed up by some great performance on the PC as well. During my time playing it on PC, it ran with a buttery smooth frame rate, it never crashed, and I encountered very few bugs.

Metal Eden Review: Final Thoughts

Metal Eden does so many things right, but a couple of major things it does wrong cut the lifespan of those strengths short. At the same time, those strengths are undeniable. Metal Eden has incredibly strong combat and presentation, despite lacking the soul of a story that might have catapulted it toward perfection. And that's also where its short length puts a damper on things, as its focus on delivering excellent gameplay doesn't jive well with its 6-hour runtime and minimal post-game content.

Still, Metal Eden is worth recommending to those who love challenging, fast-paced, sci-fi action similar to games like Doom — that is, if the price tag matches its length. Otherwise, this might be one of those "wait-for-sale" games, but it's nonetheless one that is worth a play once it becomes worth the money.