Metal Mind is a single-player, rogue-lite, bullet hell game in which you play as an awakened robot with a mind of its own. You must embark on a journey in search of the liberation of all robots from the strings of humanity that bind them. You will build your robot, fight all kinds of other robots with a plethora of weaponry and attacks, and destroy all the overlords enslaving your fellow robots.
Rouge-lites and rouge-likes are amongst my favorite genres of games. And, like most guys, I love robots. Combine the two, andā¦well, letās find out.
Metal Mind starts by asking if youād like a tutorial. It is optional, but you most definitely should. The gameās mechanics are a little confusing at first, but theyāre learnable after a little bit. For each run, you start with the same loadout thatās based on which robot you selected. You only have the standard robot at t the beginning of the game, but you can purchase four other starting robots as you progress. The beginning equipment is nowhere near the best, but you will find new equipment in each run.
The gameplay can be frustrating, but once you get the hang of the controls, itās more or less just difficult. Even after you learn the controls, the game never really gets easier; itās most definitely a bullet hell. A way to change the difficulty to an easy mode would be welcome for players trying to learn how to play and are newer to this type of game.
The map layout and all of the loot and drops from each run are randomized. There are also random portals that can appear after you complete any room. These portals allow you to play random minigames, earn different gear, or even lose different gear. You never know which one youāre going to get though, so itās a nice breath of air in each run when a portal appears. Unfortunately, while the rooms are in different spots with each run, they are always the exact same room. This means the exact same enemies and the exact same layoutāthe loot drops are all that changes in each run and room. This gameplay loop leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to rouge-lite and rouge-like games.
The visuals are where Metal Mind excels. The game is in a 32-bit art style thatās really well done. The backgrounds and models for each robot and room are expertly made, and donāt even get me started on every different weapon and its unique projectiles and animations. Almost everything about the art of the game makes it look impeccable.
The sound isnāt exactly at the same as the visuals and art though. The sound effects are pretty good and they sound pretty well suited to the gameās environment. For the music, however, there is one song that plays on repeat. Thatās it. It gets repetitive really quickly and isnāt great at immersing you into the game.
Last, but not least, is a bug that sometimes just soft-locks you whenever you open the settings menu. It happened to me at random times whenever I opened the settings, forcing me to close and reopen the game. Getting soft-locked in most games isnāt bad, as you can just reload a save, In rouge-likes and rouge-lites, however, this is very different. Since you can never have the exact same run every time you play, it can be really frustrating having to restart and lose all of your progress on your run.
Overall, Metal Mind isnāt the worst rouge-lite Iāve played, but it most certainly isnāt the best. And until they fix the soft locking issue, I wouldnāt recommend buying the game unless itās on sale.
