Review - Metal Eden... In the Garden, Honey.

Image Credit: Reikon Games

It's amazing what a game can do to your willingness to dive in with something as simple as a gun and a set of sci-fi powers. Now add a few more guns and a soundtrack that bangs with every track... and you've got Metal Eden.

    You play as Aska, a "hyper unit" Android tasked with releasing the uploaded minds of millions of citizens that have been held hostage in what amounts to a sort of brain-storage-facility. This all takes place on a planet that has been designated as mankind's best new setting as Earth has been rendered uninhabitable. Unfortunately for Aska, but fortunately for us, there are obstacles in the way of her mission in the form of thousands of enemies that are tasked with guarding the "cores" needed to advance further.

    Sound confusing?

    Just wait 'til you play it.

The Good

First and foremost, the gameplay takes a front seat here. It's not just the combat, although that alone is truly special. The platforming and grappling mixed with the managing the fuel in your jetpack to make it to the next spot is fun and engaging. Now toss a bunch of enemies all over those platforms and give Aska a handful of weaponry... Now we've got something really amazing. The combat is certainly where the game shines. Several weapons, and upgrades of each, make the combat different enough to vary how you handle different situations. In addition to the guns, we also have an assortment of powers. Ice grenades will freeze enemies. Knock their armor down and you can rip their core from their chest, and at that point it's up to you to decide what to do with it. Chuck it into a crowd for a hearty explosion, or absorb it for a boost and a super-punch. It's up to you. Either one will be pretty satisfying.

    The audio is also great. The voice acting is minimal, but when it shows up it comes with a great flavor. Nexus carries the game with his creepy "always-watching" performance. Somewhat creepier than Roz from Monsters, Inc. 

    Sorry. 

    I had to.

   Probably my favorite part of the audio, however, has to be the soundtrack. This thing is chock full of bangers. Sci-fi techno with a cyberpunk flair? Yes, please. Sonic Mayhem and Vola Default compiled a great set of tracks that match the mood and tone of every moment for Aska on her mission.

   Visually, Metal Eden scores again. I was surprised that this was the same company that did Ruiner, although it makes sense given the 8 year gap. Metal Eden is clearly made by an indie company that knows how to stretch their budget to its limits and then some. I'm impressed.

The Bad

There are really only a couple of bad points here, but they are big ones.

    First off, the narrative. Ruiner was a convoluted game with some struggles of its own. Metal Eden is arguably worse in that regard. I played the whole thing through in less than a week. Easily done, as each of the nine missions can be done in less than 30 minutes, but I still felt like I was missing something as it came to its conclusion. I really wanted to like this story and fully grasp what was going on with the creepiness of Nexus and the humanity-saving of the missions... but Reikon leaned so heavily into the less-is-more thinking that I had little to go on for why certain things were happening.

    And... Glitches galore.

   Unfortunately there are a few glitches in this game that drop its score for me. Trophy glitches are frustrating, but those I can handle. The fact that my final gold didn't pop at the end... like I said, frustrating. Not a huge deal, though. In game glitches were more obnoxious. The fact that the game decided to wipe half of my weapon upgrades with only two missions to go... that was a pretty rage-filled moment. And the problem also lied in the fact that I didn't really understand why that happened. Plus from then on the upgrades would go in and out. I would have the generic shotgun for a moment then when I switched to it later it would be upgraded, only to falter once more when I ran out of ammo. I'm not sure how Reikon bungled that one, but it replaced the grin on my face with a grimace pretty damn fast.

The Garden of Eden

Overall, I really did enjoy the game. It's certainly worth your time, as it will take up so little anyway. Will you fully understand the story? Maybe. Maybe not. If narrative is that big of a deal for you, maybe you won't even be touching a first person shooter in the first place. But if you want a fun romp through a sci-fi city with a plethora of weaponry at your disposal... try it out. It's free on PS Extra, anyway!

7/10

Good Enough

Want to play something with a bit more brainpower on PS Extra? Try the Shadowrun trilogy.