Metal Eden Review - Game of all Trades, Master of None
I wanted to rave about this game. I really did. To be clear, I enjoyed playing Metal Eden—truly. But is it a game I’ll find myself thinking about in a few weeks? Is it a game that, in its incredible fusion of influences from beloved titles such as DOOM, Ghostrunner, and Metroid, manages to outshine their lasting impact? Unfortunately, no. Perhaps my expectations are to blame.
When I heard Reikon Games, the studio behind the underrated isometric cyberpunk hit Ruiner, was making a new first-person game, I was stoked. Ruiner’s combat was brutal and fun, and the atmosphere created by its gritty art style and thumping soundtrack was striking. The opportunity to dive into a new Reikon world with a new perspective had me wishlisting Metal Eden before I’d even watched the trailer.
I knew from early commentary that this adrenaline-fueled, sci-fi FPS would draw on elements from fan-favourite titles and be injected with Reikon’s signature style. But what I really wanted to see was how it would forge its own unique identity. Instead, I played a game that was, admittedly, a fun but mediocre Frankenstein. It escaped the ‘do not’ bin but never quite managed to reach the ‘must-have’ recommendation, and here’s why:
Gameplay and Core Mechanics
Metal Eden’s mantra is: “Move fast and break stuff.”, and it was so close to living that chaotic dream. The movement of your character, ASKA, an agile ‘Hyper Unit’ android, initially feels incredible. Air-dashing, wall-running, and jet-fueled sprints have you slicing through the level in a way that starts the heart pumping. Yet, for a game that promotes constant motion, the level design often feels stunted. Doors, room-confined fights, and less-than-speedy zip-lines regularly interrupt the game’s flow. Levels feel chopped up into small “arenas,” and the paths between them are too short to truly enjoy flying through the air, even when you’re exploding heads on the way.
There is a Metroid-inspired ball-mode on specific levels that teases a new feel to the game, but as soon as I realised you could literally roll on by all the action with no penalty, so too did my interest in that mechanic. And yes, I did engage in electric combat with the ball, and no, it didn’t bounce back my excitement.
Fortunately, the movement translates well during the arena combat scenarios. Slingshotting yourself across the environment, zig-zag dashing, and rapid sprints to close in on your enemies make for an exhilarating moment, but it’s just that—a moment. Even on Hard mode, the fights couldn’t sustain a feeling of pressure. Enemies triggered in waves, and only a couple of them had mechanics worth noting, so combat became a relatively simple loop after a while. This, while satisfying in the moment, is easily forgettable once complete.
I will give kudos to the game’s “Core-Ripping” mechanic, which allows you to tear out the glowing energy core of an enemy and either absorb or throw it for additional benefits and damage. It was incredibly satisfying to rip out a core, consume it, and then deliver a devastating punch to whichever enemy made the mistake of being in my face. I used the upgrade system to buff up both the core-ripping and punching abilities, and they became skull-crushingly pleasing, despite accidentally throwing myself off the map a few times with the kickback. Thank goodness the punch packed a wallop, because the weapons in the game did not.
Despite an array of weaponry to choose from, all with some decent upgrade options, I couldn’t quite get past the lack of a tangible “gun feel.” The sensation created when audio, visual feedback, animation, and bullet impact combine to create a sense of real weight and force behind your click. Every FPS player knows it, craves it, and you just can’t have an epic shooter without it. Ultimately, I found myself using the starting SMG, freeze grenades, and the armour-depleting energy gun, only feeling the need to swap on the rare occasion I’d accidentally overheat the first or run out of the second.
Environment, Atmosphere and Narrative
This is the area where I felt Reikon Games would shine brightest, given my experience with the gritty, bleak world of Ruiner. My expectations were admittedly high; I was full of hope. Unfortunately, Metal Eden failed to reach the heights my expectations had set.
While the game technically manages to create a brutalist, industrial, sci-fi world around Aska—with towering metal structures, sprawling chrome warehouses, and neon lighting in all the right places—it feels shallow. The attention to detail feels repetitive and a bit lifeless, giving me no real desire to explore or scan the scene as I zipped between areas. Even on the surface of Planet Vulcan, a supposedly dystopian wasteland of forgotten tech, there was a distinct lack of depth and emotion.
The audio attempts to convey impactful and emotive moments, and it succeeds in adding a sense of frenzy and excitement to combat. However, some strange decisions were made, such as using similarly scaled music during relatively mundane sections, like the multiple zip-line journeys with no enemies in sight. Perhaps this was intended to support the gravity of the narrative, but not even the greatest soundtrack could have saved what was, without a doubt, the worst part of this game.
I wish I could tell you what the story of Metal Eden is without having to reference external notes, but honestly, it lost me from the get-go. From the generic naming conventions to the inconsistent language choices and the mediocre voice acting, I found myself physically wincing at times and wishing I could mute the voices entirely. The script feels disjointed, and while Reikon Games has been upfront about using some AI-generated voice content, it’s hard not to wonder if AI also wrote the story itself.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Metal Eden was a game of contradictions. While not being a bad game, it was also not a great one. Its movement is exhilarating yet stifled by poor level design. The combat is fun and often quite satisfying, but lacks a sense of pressure and depth, feeling too simple and, in turn, forgettable. And what should have been a stunning world, both visually and audibly, is criminally let down by weak narrative and generic writing.
With a playtime of just over six hours, Metal Eden is an enjoyable but brief distraction. For all its flaws, it is a fun ride, but its high price point for such a short, singular experience makes it a hard recommendation. Ultimately, it’s a game best left to those who have both an itch for a stylish, fast-paced shooter and the budget to spend a little more than the experience is truly worth.
Metal Eden was reviewed on PC with code kindly supplied by the publisher.
