METAL EDEN Demo Impressions – Mixed Signals

METAL EDEN promises to be a first-person shooter that will please fans of killing deadly robots in an arena environment. While playing the game’s demo, there was Doom DNA from start to finish. It gave off gameplay elements similar to Doom Eternal.

This game strives to be a cyberpunk version of Doom that you can play in today’s times. However, its demo shows the game does still need some fine tuning before it can reach up the standards of the modern Doom titles. It does nail down some of the important fundamentals of the genre, but its plagued by other issues.

The METAL EDEN demo is playable on Xbox, Play Station, and Steam. This demo impression was reviewed on the Xbox Series X. The full version will be out on May 6.

Story – The Future is Uncertain

During my playthrough of the demo, it seemed like there wasn’t much information on the story. You play as ASKA, and she’s basically a female humanoid that’s designed to kill. There was a cutscene where ASKA did get killed during the first level, but was eventually reborn again for the second mission.

She also has an AI that’s assisting her, and its name is Nexus. That’s really all I got out of the demo. There was never a cutscene that explains why ASKA is hostile against these robots that’s after her. You also don’t know your AI companion’s backstory. There was a cutscene that did address the world you’re currently on is going through an erosive disease. There is currently not a cure for it.

It’s unclear whether METAL EDEN wants to be a story driven first-person shooter. But the fact there wasn’t much story elements shown in the demo; it looks like the game is more focused on the gameplay side of things.

Gameplay – Mechanical Warfare

For the gameplay, it definitely reminded me of Doom Eternal at first glance. It is a fast-paced styled first-person shooter promoting the player to move around within the arena. ASKA can also dash, and have the ability to carry multiple weapons.

She can also swap weapons quickly which seems to be an incentive for the quick switching technique. METAL EDEN wants the player to kill the bigger enemies to progress through the combat encounters. Doom Eternal follows this method too.

Figuring out what I want to upgrade…

You do have your lower tier mobs too, and they are akin to Doom Eternal’s fodder enemies. There are items placed throughout the arenas, and you definitely want to learn them. They do respawn and provide health, armor, and ammo.

There was also some light RPG elements as you play through the demo. METAL EDEN features a currency system where you collect Dust to upgrade your weapons. Some arenas gave me the ability to upgrade ASKA’s various passive skills like having more movement speed. The player must finish them before they have access to the upgrade.

Just Slay Them All…

METAL EDEN’s combat system was the highlight of the demo experience. It was fun to get into an arena, and start blasting these bad looking robots. The weapons were mostly standard fair for first-person shooters, but they all were fun to use. Every weapon felt like they had its situational purposes. I liked the shotgun the most because it’s highly damaging at various range. The weapon model also captured my attention.

The enemies also encouraged the player to move around the arena, and you must learn their mechanics. To survive in METAL EDEN, it is crucial to know which enemy is the highest priority. The demo only allowed a limited access of weapons and enemies, but it left me wanting to see more of it.

Core Thief and Difficulty Settings

There were also some additional mechanics that you must use. ASKA can steal an enemy’s core and you can simply use this as a grenade or charge up for a super punch. The super punch mechanic was good for the bigger threats, and is mandatory for combat efficiency. It should be noted that the demo only had two playable stages.

METAL EDEN’s stunning wallpaper photo.

I’ve played through the demo twice on Hard and Brutal difficulty. Hard felt right where it was challenging the player, but you also had enough breathing room to get the hang of the game’s mechanics.

Brutal definitely felt like the player should be prepared of how the game is played, and I did notice some gameplay differences. Enemies do hit harder, and your health and armor values from item pickups are significantly worse than the lower difficulties.

Controls Are Not Pleasant

The first thing that I was not happy with was the controls. I thought this weird aim acceleration made it clunky to aim. I tried playing around with different sensitivity options, but nothing felt right. METAL EDEN definitely needs to revise its controller experience.

You also don’t have the ability to customize your button inputs too. It’s 2025; this should definitely be a standard by now. I definitely felt like the developers seemed to optimize this game more for the mouse and keyboard set up after finishing the demo twice.

Linear Map Designs

As someone who enjoys exploring for secrets or sneaky item placements in first-person shooters, I was disappointed by the level design. They seem extremely linear, and it does make you feel like the game is on rails. Every time you finished an arena encounter, you just simply progress to the next combat encounter.

This section reminded me of Superman 64.

There was no hidden upgrade or early access to a new weapon that I encountered when I was exploring around these levels. I do hope the later levels will have more exploration involved because the modern Doom titles has definitely done a great job at balancing its emphasis on combat and exploration together.

Graphics & Audio – Mostly Fine, But Not Spectacular

METAL EDEN does allow console users to set their preferred performance options. I decided to go with Quality just to see how the game would look at its best. The visuals on that setting were mostly decent.

This game does not feel like a next generation Crysis, but it certainly looks appropriate for a 2025 game with a reasonable budget. The textures were definitely detailed, and  lighting was also nice to look at. There were also a good amount of different textures and color palettes being used in the maps.

I was completely shocked to find out that Sonic Mayhem worked on the soundtrack for METAL EDEN. As a big Quake II fan, I’m definitely familiar with his work. I found this soundtrack to not feel as alive as it should. Throughout the demo, there were tracks that were either ambient or anthem styled.

It should be noted that the music is completely electronic, and it’s not rock or metal like Quake II. However, the music wasn’t attracting me while playing through METAL EDEN. The enemies and weapons sounded fine for what they are.

There wasn’t anything that sounded memorable that should be pointed out, but there was also nothing that sounded off. The weapons sound appropriate based on how strong they are supposed to feel. The bigger enemies also sounded more menacing to let the player know that they are dangerous.