Tue. Jul 29th, 2025

The sword fights in Morbid Metal are so good that I can’t believe the game was made by just one developer.

Morbid Metal 1


Morbid Metal feels like Sekiro at triple speed and completely blew me away when I first played it.

If I had to describe the demo of Morbid Metal in one word, it would be flow. Virtual combat is an art form in itself: blocking, parrying, dodging, striking, thrusting.
Depending on the weapon or the player’s skill, the steel dance quickly degenerates into an awkward gauntlet. I lose my balance, stagger, and at some point just hammer away at individual buttons.
Even in the tutorial, my movements flow together incredibly smoothly and naturally, as if I’ve never done anything else. I glide over chasms, pull myself up on handholds, and whirl through enemies. As usual, a flash in the mechanical eyes suggests the perfect window of opportunity to dodge. I press the right button and perform an impressive finisher almost as if by reflex.

The free demo of the action game lasts about 20 to 50 minutes – depending on how good you are. Because even though the elegant fights sound so choreographed that they almost seem to play themselves, Morbid Metal expects precision and quick thinking from me.

Fight until the simulation breaks

If I had to draw a comparison, we’d probably be somewhere between Devil May Cry, Nier: Automata, and Sekiro. Thematically and in terms of gameplay. After playing the game, it’s still hard to guess what the story is, but the Steam page promises a deep lore. And you can already see glimpses of it between the stylish combos when an AI voice mockingly comments that I’m wiping out my own kind to prove myself in the simulation.

I am interchangeable, a toy – but will I remain so? Morbid Metal relies on the classic cycle familiar from roguelites. After death, I always start over and diligently slay groups of robot-like enemies, who then let me choose between three random upgrades.

For example, a certain attack is significantly strengthened, or I suddenly regenerate health through perfect dodging. This makes me stronger and adds variety because I adapt my fighting style accordingly.

If my health drops to zero, the journey starts all over again. What remains are permanent upgrades and the unlocked characters, which are then available to me in every run.

Four heroes in one

However, I don’t choose the heroes of Morbid Metal before starting a run. I can switch them directly in battle. This further expands my combat strategy: While Flux dances across the battlefield like a samurai, slicing through the air with quick cuts, Ekku knocks enemies off their feet with powerful area attacks.

Enemies attack me in very different ways and are often very numerous. That’s why the fights feel best when I switch regularly and try to counter them specifically with the strengths of my heroes. Everything happens so fast that I don’t have time to hesitate, I just throw myself into the fray.

There will be a total of four playable heroes, which you can switch between seamlessly during your run. Each of them has three special attacks and a rechargeable super attack.

 

 

Between Sekiro and Cyberpunk

While playing the demo, I roam through the first, very linear level, which is graphically impressive. With its steep mountain slopes and Shinto gateways, it is visually reminiscent of Sekiro. However, futuristic details repeatedly break with the picturesque Japanese-inspired landscape, leaving no doubt that I am in a world dominated by machines.

The areas are partly generated and partly hand-built and are said to feature a wide variety of biomes, such as former human ruins and a hostile desert. Each level brings new enemies, bosses, and upgrades that strengthen me in the long run.

Morbid Metal is supposed

Born as a small labor of love

It all seems well thought out and polished, with a clear focus on one core idea: A roguelite with stylish combat where I swap my heroes right in the middle of battle. No frills, just to the point. So I’m all the more surprised to find out that the game was originally created by just one developer.

Felix Schade has since gathered a small team atScreen Juice and has a well-known publisher, Ubisoft, on his side. So he’s no longer completely on his own. Nevertheless, Morbid Metal was originally a labor of love that he worked on by himself. Since then, he has tirelessly shared his progress on X. This post, for example, clearly shows how far the game has come since 2019:

Are you curious? you can try out the demo for yourself on Steam.
Or you can wait a little longer, because Morbid Metal is scheduled to officially launch in Early Access in fall 2025.

When small games focus on fancy graphics, you sometimes end up with nothing more than a glorified tech demo that doesn’t have much else to offer. But that’s not the case with Morbid Metal. The heart of this action game is clearly its smooth and well-designed combat. Not only do I beat up enemies at an insane pace, but if I want to make it through the first level, I also have to swap characters around, exploit weaknesses, and protect my health bar.
If I don’t find the right upgrade, my health doesn’t regenerate, and when I die, the run is over. It will be exciting to see how much variety and depth Morbid Metal can offer in the long run. The combat system seems complex and elegant, but it can also wear thin quickly if the enemies in each level follow the same patterns. Personally, I’m also curious about the story and whether the world actually has a few secrets left to reveal. Of course, the carnage works even in a pretty setting, but there’s definitely potential here.



By uttu

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