Bow Down Before the Beat! Music and Gameplay Become One in Metal: Hellsinger

Hello! We’re working on Metal: Hellsinger, a rhythm-based FPS where you play as The Unknown, a vengeful demon on a hunt through the Hells for the devil herself. We’re super excited to have just announced the 15 September release date on Xbox X|S, or 48 hours earlier if you pre-order it. We also just put out a free demo that you can play right now!

It’s particularly exciting to work on this project because it combines three of our favorite things – first person shooting, rhythm games, and of course, metal music. We’re also lucky enough to have an absolutely incredible roster of celebrated metal musicians in the game, like Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Alissa White-Glüz from Arch Enemy, Randy Blythe from Lamb of God, and much more.

It’s easy to explain how the game works, but actually conveying the feeling of playing, and why it works, is another matter. It’s kinetic and visceral. It’s a bit like trying to explain music in general; it’s better to just listen to it, or in our case, play it. Luckily, you can do just that right now, with our demo! But if you’re still here, let’s look into what makes Metal: Hellsinger tick.

In Metal: Hellsinger, you shoot, slash, dash, and perform takedowns on the beat of the music. You don’t have to, but your success is heavily dependent on it.

The goal is to help you do this through visual indicators in the world and UI. The crosshairs are the main indicator, clearly showing when each beat will land. Everything feeds into this unifying purpose, to get you into the groove and make you ride that wave. The world – the Hells themselves – pulsate to the rhythm. Enemies and gates flash, jets of flame burst, all serving the galloping cadence of Metal.

You can still attack and dash off-beat, but it’ll be harder and won’t feel as good. In a way, you’ll be the only thing in the world out of sync. Do it on the beat and you’ll deal more damage, and you’ll charge the ultimate ability for your equipped weapon faster. Most of the weapons you use also have beat-bound bonuses. With the shotgun, you’ll hit most demons in range if you shoot on the beat.

The other way we try to bring together the music and the gameplay is to make you want to play to the beat. The better you play on the beat, the more the music unfolds, layer by layer, until the vocals come in, and you reach peak badassery. Just by hearing the vocals, you want to remain there. Go off-beat too many times and the music gets stripped back.

When you reach that max x16 score multiplier and the music blasts on all cylinders, vocals roaring, and you’re tearing demons apart, leaping from one to the other, you enter that very particular state of death-dealing flow, like you’re headbanging on top of the world and the world is drumming to the sound of your guns.

Having such a mind-blowing group of musicians really ties it all together. It was so important that the music in Metal: Hellsinger be good. Composed by the Swedish duo Twin Feathers, who have outdone themselves, and with performances from globally known metal vocalists some of us have listened to since childhood, we’re still pinching ourselves.

We all hope you’ll try the Metal: Hellsinger demo, which is available right now! The full game releases on September 15 and can be played 48 hours early if you pre-order it.

Metal: Hellsinger

Funcom

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Part human, part demon, and obsessed with vengeance. Become The Unknown, and fight through the fiercest domains of Hell. Destroy the demon hordes and their leaders to set yourself up for an epic showdown with The Red Judge herself.

Every legend has a song. And yours is one of metal, vengeance, and destruction.

Slay to the beat
Metal: Hellsinger is a rhythm FPS, where your ability to shoot on the beat will enhance your gameplay experience. The more in sync you are with the rhythm, the more intense the music will become and the more destruction you will cause.

Demonic arsenal
Defeat the demon hordes with a skull-clad blade or a wide range of murderous guns. Each weapon has its own ultimate ability, such as Murder of Crows or The Big Goodbye.

Epic story and Challenge Mode
Play through an epic storyline, narrated by award-winning actor Troy Baker. Then conquer the leaderboards or challenge your friends to beat your score in Challenge Mode.

Fight through fire, ice, metal and madness
Although commonly known as Hell, The Infernal Planes is in reality a union of a thousand Hells, all of which are terrifying and diabolical in their own way. In order to dethrone The Red Judge, you must fight your way through the fiercest corners, from the icy world of Voke to the maddening world of Stygia.

From the Lead Designer of Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Metal: Hellsinger is created by an experienced FPS team at The Outsiders and is the passion project of David Goldfarb, Game Director on Payday 2 and Lead Designer on Battlefield 3 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Original metal soundtrack
Every track is created specifically for the game with vocals by metal icons, such as Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Matt Heafy (Trivium), Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity), Randy Blythe (Lamb of God), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy) and Tatiana Shmailyuk (Jinjer).