Metal Mind | Switch Review
When you think of the future and what could potentially be the downfall of humankind, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Would giant penguins enslave us and force us to fish for their food? What if the power grid failed completely so we had to go back to our basic instincts and live off the land? Now what about robots or AI becoming sentient like in Terminator and destroying all mankind? Well if you have a crazy messed up mind such as me, then AI becoming sentient would be the first. This happens to be the main plot for Metal Mind, a game built around a dystopian world riddled with awakened robots. All the other stuff is for my local conspiracy theory peeps.
Mellowing Horror
Metal Mind has a pretty basic look, with the top-down perspective. The graphics are decent and yet have a touch of retro to them. Quite pixelated where it’s more of an artist feel and not something they just forgot to fix. Overall the look of this destroyed planet is mellow on the eyes, but also has a feeling of horror when you enter new rooms.
Room Sweeping
While playing Metal Mind your main objective is to go through each room, destroying any robots that challenge you, pick up any loot to help upgrade, and beat the boss. The levels get more and more difficult as you progress, but keep in mind that this is a roguelike. So once you die, you are back to the beginning with nothing except the credits you picked up and any upgrades on yourself you have made. There are some rooms that have conveyor belts to keep enemies away from you as well as bombs so you can environmentally take them out from afar. Enemies spawn randomly each time, giving no help on remembering how you should handle it. One of the rooms has a vendor that sells you weapons or armor that could help you (if you can afford it that is). Finally, the boss room where you more than likely will die the first 32 times against what I can only describe to you as a humongous robo-gorilla.
Core Builds
Like any other roguelike, there are permanent upgrades that are unlockable if you collect enough credits. Upgrades that can help you dash quickly away incoming enemies, cool down your weapons easier, and add some firepower to new weapons. Core and actuator upgrades help with the efficiency and effects of your awakened robot.
Conclusion
I do enjoy top-down roguelike games that have amazing visuals and remarkable storylines, but Metal Mind does not hit that same note for me. The action is fun, the looks are decent, but the over story was lacking and just something that seems like a typical run of the mill game. Recently, these types of games have become more common, so they get diluted and hard to digest. I think Metal Minds wasn’t overall bad, but it makes me wonder if WHIRLLAXY LIMITED will actually step their game up.
To hear me talk more about Metal Mind, be sure to listen to the March 20, 2024 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 56:00 time stamp.
This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Metal Mind provided by Stride PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on Xbox, PC via Steam, and Epic Games Store.
Metal Mind
$17.99
Pros
- Killin’ Robots
- Artist Pixelation
Cons
- Basic Roguelike
- Lacking Substance
