Morbid Metal – First Impressions of Screen Juice's Hack and Slash Roguelite

Morbid Metal is an action hack and slash game with roguelite elements, developed by the independent studio Screen Juice and published by Ubisoft. Its origins trace back to 2017 as a university project by Felix Schade. With a team of just ten people, this title, currently in early access, merges fast-paced combat with the repetitive structure and progression system characteristic of the roguelite genre.

The core concept of Morbid Metal revolves around the ability to instantly switch between different characters during combat. This real-time shapeshifting system is the cornerstone of its gameplay, allowing for deep exploitation in battles against a variety of mechanical foes. Below, we share our experience with Screen Juice's debut title in our Morbid Metal first impressions.

What is Morbid Metal Like?

Based on our initial experience, the narrative in Morbid Metal is not the central element. Unlike other roguelites, the game doesn't feature an intricate plot or a central mystery to propel the player forward despite repeated deaths. Instead, the primary motivation lies almost entirely in mastering its gratifying combat mechanics and the progressive improvement of available characters.

Delving into Morbid Metal, combat effectiveness hinges on constantly swapping between forms mid-combo to chain abilities. The game features a "Style Rank" (similar to DMC) that increases as players diversify their attacks and utilize the "shapeshifting" system. Naturally, a higher rank translates to better rewards upon completing enemy wave encounters.

Defensively, Morbid Metal allows for a "perfect dodge," executed by reacting when enemy eyes glow red. Successfully landing this dodge enables a devastating counterattack. However, in combat situations with numerous on-screen effects, this visual cue can be challenging to identify.

How is Morbid Metal's Combat?

Morbid Metal's combat system hinges on utilizing up to three characters, or "forms," which players can instantly swap between to extend combos. Each form features a unique move set, two special abilities subject to cooldowns, and an ultimate ability.

Flux is the starting character, an agile warrior specializing in high-speed melee combat. He possesses a teleport attack to quickly close distances and a special ability that unleashes multiple slashes, sending out waves of damage.

Ekku, unlockable after completing the first biome, serves as the team's tank. He is a heavy fighter with greater resilience than other forms. Though slower than Flux, his attacks deal more damage, and he can acquire "super armor" upgrades, allowing him to absorb enemy charges and take less damage while executing special abilities without interruption. Finally, Vekta is the ranged field control form, available after completing the second biome.

Morbid Metal's environments lean towards procedural generation, featuring platforming sections interspersed with combat encounters. Progression through these areas utilizes mechanics like double jumps, air dashes, and a grappling hook. Currently, the level design lacks a minimap, which can lead to initial disorientation and difficulty distinguishing between new and previously explored zones. Furthermore, the environmental and enemy variety in these procedurally generated levels is limited, though it's crucial to remember that the game is still in its very early stages of early access.

Three Forms and Limited Seconds

Progression in Morbid Metal is managed through "Routines," temporary enhancements acquired by completing encounters in each run. These Routines can boost damage stats or add secondary effects, such as support drones and projectiles linked to ability usage. However, in this early access phase, the depth of these options is limited. This often leads players to simply pick the most powerful upgrade rather than experimenting with diverse strategies, something we hope will evolve in future updates.

Conversely, upon death in Morbid Metal, players return to a central hub where they can invest resources acquired from runs into a skill tree. This tree allows unlocking enhancements like the perfect dodge or improving basic health and attack attributes. However, the system's economy feels quite restrictive in the early hours, with upgrade costs disproportionately high compared to earnings, unnecessarily prolonging player progression and creating a sense of repetition. Despite these points, Morbid Metal, in its early access phase, has left us intrigued to witness the evolution of this Screen Juice project, as we believe many of its ideas hold significant potential.