My first thought after a few minutes with Metal Eden was "Wow!'" The game is described by the Polish developers as an "adrenaline-rush sci-fi FPS", and I can certainly attest to that! Imagine a mix of Doom with a dash of Neon White and Ghostrunner, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what Metal Eden is all about, and it really packs a punch!
Metal Eden takes place far in the future, where Earth has become too small for humanity, which continues to grow. Therefore, in a remote corner of the universe, the megacity Moebius has been built, floating above the surface of the abandoned mining planet Vulcan. Robots have gone berserk in Moebius, stealing the so-called "Cores", digital devices where humanity stores their identities so that they can be brought back to life in another body at a later date when Moebius becomes habitable. The android Aska is sent on what can best be described as a suicide mission to take on the army of runaway robots and secure the valuable Cores.
The gameplay is simply breath-taking. You move lightning-fast through the levels in the best Ghostrunner style (the developers make no secret of the fact that they were inspired by this game, and there is even an upgrade called Ghost Runner in the game), and the enemies come in waves and sometimes even in horde-like sequences, where masses of enemies must be exterminated before you can move on. The action is non-stop, and you barely have time to breathe; there are explosions everywhere, enemies attack from all angles and all parts of the level, and you jump from platform to platform to find more ammunition, shields, and to create some distance between yourself and your enemies. It's hectic, it's cool, and it's wonderfully old-school.
Along the way, you are equipped with a range of more or less sci-fi-like weapons. Some weapons are good at removing enemies' shields but do not do much damage, while others do not make much of an impression on the shield but are far more effective on the enemy itself once the shield has been removed. You therefore have to constantly switch between your weapons, which fortunately happens quickly and smoothly. The weapons work well and it looks cool when you hit enemies and they explode and fall apart, but unfortunately the weapons lack a bit of weight. You can see that your weapons are effective against enemies, but you can't really feel it.
Aska is equipped with a clever Core Ripping mechanic. It enables her to rip Cores out of the bodies of attacking robots (not the same Cores that the human identities reside on), which will kill them instantly. Aska can then throw the core at other robots, which will explode, or she can absorb it herself, giving her a powerful melee attack for a short period of time, which can, for example, remove enemies' otherwise impenetrable shields. There is a cooldown on this ability, so it cannot be used all the time, but you end up liking this mechanic over time.
Between waves of enemies, you move through the levels by jumping, running on walls, jumping from platform to platform, and flying around using a kind of grappling hook. Aska also has the ability to curl up into an armoured ball, but in this form you don't have the parkour abilities and you're not nearly as heavily armed as in Aska's normal form. I didn't use this form very much, only when required by the game, as there is a single type of enemy, a kind of turtle-like robot, which is much easier to defeat in ball form.
At regular intervals, you are forced to transport yourself via a glowing zip-line, which is a strange interruption. These trips are both boring and can actually be frustrating, as the grabbing mechanism for grabbing these zip-lines does not always work as it should. Therefore, you sometimes end up struggling unnecessarily with these sections, especially when you have to jump from one zip-line to another at speed - and to make things even more annoying, these zip-lines are also used in a boss fight later in the game - not ideal.
Along the way, you can upgrade your Core Ripping mechanics, your own Core abilities, and your suit via a three-part ability tree. Your weapons can also be upgraded with something called Dust, which is a form of currency that can be found in some cylinders in the environment, but you can also earn it by killing enemies in various ways, such as with Core Ripping, explosions, or by killing multiple enemies at the same time.
Although the difficulty level is not on par with Ghostrunner, you can easily get your ass kicked if you're not careful. However, there is also an Easy difficulty level, which is actually quite simple, so most people can play this game, but if you want a solid challenge, just choose one of the higher difficulty levels out of the four available, and you'll have plenty to do.
Aesthetically, Metal Eden looks really good, and the game as a whole is quite well designed. The futuristic style permeates everything, from the cold steel environments, your HUD and menus, to the cutscenes, and the design of the weapons. It all oozes future and cyberpunk, and I personally love how the designers at Polish Reikon Games have apparently gone all out.
Without being a tech expert, the technical side seems more shaky. I played Metal Eden in Performance Mode on PlayStation 5 Pro and experienced slowdown and screen tearing several times when there was a lot happening on the screen. It also seems that the game dynamically scales the resolution quite heavily, because, again, when there is a lot happening on the screen, the graphics can look a bit rough, as if it is running at a fairly low resolution at times. However, I would like to emphasise that this is based solely on visual observation and not something I have the tools to measure, but the visual side takes a hit from time-to-time. It doesn't affect the gameplay, but it IS something you notice.
The sound is quite impressive and supports the visual style well with good, heavy sound effects, good voices from the "traders" you hear, and the soundtrack is fast, weighty, and electronic, which fits well with the hectic battles.
Metal Eden is a solid sci-fi shooter that's full of action. The weapons work well, there are a few good ideas here, and the whole package seems well-designed. If you care about the graphics in your games being razor sharp all the time, then Metal Eden is not the game for you. However, if you are usually entertained by fast-paced, over-the-top sci-fi shooters, then Metal Eden is for you, as it plays well for the most part and is well put together for the most part too. Yet, it's over relatively quickly, as it can be completed in around 8-11 hours, depending on the difficulty level.
Metal Eden is the most ambitious project from Polish developer Reikon Games, who previously created the small top-down isometric cyberpunk shooter Ruiner. They've done a pretty good job here, but there's definitely room for improvement on the technical side. However, if you can overlook the occasionally uneven graphics, Metal Eden is a good, solid sci-fi action experience.