Recent action-roguelike Metal Unit really wants to be the next try-and-die-again obsession and throws enough items and weapons at players to make it seem up to the task. With some fun mix-ups and diversionary challenges, it’s definitely the type of roguelike that seems exciting in its first hours, but visual design bloat and an overwritten narrative drag its stronger qualities down. Still, for some lighter-fare mech nonsense with decent post-game treats that lengthen its value, Metal Unit has enough going for it to make for a few fun afternoons of screen-clearing action.
First things first, though: anyone who lacks the appetite or patience for cheesecake anime girls will probably turn Metal Unit off after the first few scenes. The game and its lackluster story are in no way sexually charged beyond the images themselves, but these are fiercely front-loaded; the pause screen itself showcases an animated view of main character Joanna coquettishly presenting her heaving chest in motion. Again, it’s a purely visual note, with the translated narrative housing a variety of other non-scintillating anime tropes, but this still comes off as tone deaf and potentially disrespectful to some of the game's audience.
Metal Unit functions as a 2D platformer with a roguelike structure, and Joanna’s mech Unit 11 traverses a set of multi-stage biomes, each punctuated by campsite breathers and an end-level boss. At each of these bite-sized stages - of which there can be 20 or so in a given area - players have the chance to pick up a piece of gear, a few gold coins, some "core crystal" permanent upgrade currency, or tangle with secrets and light puzzles. While the biomes themselves are quite lengthy, a good variety of activities and traps keeps players busy, even though stage and enemy layouts are static throughout.
When not traversing these areas (or after dying in them), the Sun Tail Base hub area allows Joanna to visit shops and speak to NPCs. Again, a nice bit of variety here affords a blacksmith for crafting, shops for potions and randomized items, a synthesis NPC which combines items a la Power Stone, and even a special semi-secret storage area where gear can be banked for later runs. True to roguelike fashion, Metal Unit strips players of their gear and gold after death, though a replenishing amount of weapons, armor, and special items can be found at a console near Joanna’s room in the hub.
There are seven total slots which can be fastened with bespoke pieces of gear, like a projectile weapon, armor piece, or special ultimate technique; even Joanna's cute robot companion can wield any projectile weapon. Gaining XP with these weapons and leveling up allows the player to secure them in an armory for later runs, and there are a mix of massive swords, whips, daggers, and even more unusual weapons like drones and barrage missile launchers. Unfortunately, the amount of visual noise during some of the more explosive armaments makes some Metal Unit screens completely unreadable, often leading to unavoidable damage.
Metal Unit initially seems to have a diverse item pool, but it makes for a double-edged sword; wide variety leads to certain key drops being all-powerful, and bad runs where nothing OP falls from a chest feel doomed, especially after the challenge spike in the game’s third area. There’s also little in the way of effective item synergies, something which is, by this point, part of the lifeblood of the best action-roguelikes.
There’s also very poor feedback to the action, with plenty of time spent learning how to react to surprise damage or which enemy projectiles most easily blend into the background. While Metal Unit’s pixel art is quite strong for its characters and most enemies, blander backgrounds easily blend into these sprites, making the complete visual experience much too flat. Certain biomes fare better than others in this regard, and player movement otherwise has a weightless but snappy and responsive feel.
Metal Unit doesn’t have the mechanical novelty and character of something like Skul: The Hero Slayer or the precise feel of Enter the Gungeon, but it does have a long list of colorful weapons to try out and some interesting secret challenges to return to after completion. At its price point, there’s more than enough to satiate a roguelike fan with nothing else on their plate, but Metal Unit lacks the fundamentals to elevate it closer to the top of the roguelike heap.
Metal Unit is available now on Steam for PC, with an expected release on Nintendo Switch to come. A digital PC code was provided to Screen Rant for the purpose of this review.
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