Metal Eden Hands-On: The Next Big Thing in Boomer-Shooters?
Metal Eden doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It straps that wheel to a blood-soaked rocket and blasts it through a synthwave sky. This is a pure boomer-shooter—fast, loud, unapologetically retro—but with just enough polish and personality to stand out from the horde.
In a year flooded with nostalgia plays and pixel-gore throwbacks, Metal Eden is the one that feels right. It knows what made games like Doom, Quake, and Blood work—and it executes with precision and style.
Gameplay: Speed, Guns, and Groove
Let’s be clear: this is not a cover shooter. This is not a crafting sim. This is movement, momentum, and massacre. You strafe, bunny-hop, and unload high-caliber regret into legions of biomech horrors. Every encounter pushes you to move or die.
Highlights include:
Multi-Weapon Mayhem: From triple-barrel shotguns to a lightning-infused axe, every weapon feels chunky and dangerous.
Enemy Design: Classic archetypes with a body-horror twist. Exploding cherub drones, screaming bio-tanks, and cloaked assassins that teleport mid-fight.
Fluid Movement System: Dash, slide, wall-jump. The verticality makes arenas feel like puzzles made of bullets.
It’s addictive. Every level is tuned for flow.
Visuals & Sound: Metal Never Looked This Good
The art style is somewhere between Brutalist sci-fi and metal album cover. Think rust, neon, blood, and bone. It’s grungy without being ugly—sharp pixel art meets dynamic lighting and slick animations. Visual clarity stays high even in chaos.
The soundtrack? Absolutely rips. A blend of industrial metal, synthwave, and ambient dread, it reacts to the action and builds intensity naturally.
What Doesn’t Hit
Narrative: The story’s there, but barely. You’re a rogue cyber-priest hunting for “Eden” in a hell-world run by AI demigods. That’s about it. Don’t expect Disco Elysium.
Difficulty Curves: A few mid-game levels spike hard in difficulty, mostly due to arena layout, not smarter AI.
AI Companion (Optional): Adds little, occasionally gets in the way. Thankfully, you can turn it off.
Verdict: A Glorious Throwback with Teeth
Metal Eden isn’t trying to chase trends. It’s built for people who miss the raw, ridiculous violence of the ‘90s FPS scene but want it with modern sound, art, and pacing. It’s intense, stylish, and surprisingly deep once you start mastering movement.
If you’ve got muscle memory from Doom Eternal or still have Quake installed, this is your next download.
Score: 8.7/10 - Among the best retro-FPS of 2025. A top-tier boomer-shooter with fresh blood
