Review: Metal Mind (Nintendo Switch)

Metal Mind is a single-player, rogue-lite, bullet hell game in which you play as an awakened robot with a mind of its own. You must embark on a journey in search of the liberation of all robots from the strings of humanity that bind them. You will build your robot, fight all kinds of other robots with a plethora of weaponry and attacks, and destroy all the overlords enslaving your fellow robots.

Rouge-lites and rouge-likes are amongst my favorite genres of games. And, like most guys, I love robots. Combine the two, and…well, let’s find out.

Metal Mind starts by asking if you’d like a tutorial. It is optional, but you most definitely should. The game’s mechanics are a little confusing at first, but they’re learnable after a little bit. For each run, you start with the same loadout that’s based on which robot you selected. You only have the standard robot at t the beginning of the game, but you can purchase four other starting robots as you progress. The beginning equipment is nowhere near the best, but you will find new equipment in each run.

The gameplay can be frustrating, but once you get the hang of the controls, it’s more or less just difficult. Even after you learn the controls, the game never really gets easier; it’s most definitely a bullet hell. A way to change the difficulty to an easy mode would be welcome for players trying to learn how to play and are newer to this type of game.

The map layout and all of the loot and drops from each run are randomized. There are also random portals that can appear after you complete any room. These portals allow you to play random minigames, earn different gear, or even lose different gear. You never know which one you’re going to get though, so it’s a nice breath of air in each run when a portal appears. Unfortunately, while the rooms are in different spots with each run, they are always the exact same room. This means the exact same enemies and the exact same layout—the loot drops are all that changes in each run and room. This gameplay loop leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to rouge-lite and rouge-like games.

The visuals are where Metal Mind excels. The game is in a 32-bit art style that’s really well done. The backgrounds and models for each robot and room are expertly made, and don’t even get me started on every different weapon and its unique projectiles and animations. Almost everything about the art of the game makes it look impeccable.

The sound isn’t exactly at the same as the visuals and art though. The sound effects are pretty good and they sound pretty well suited to the game’s environment. For the music, however, there is one song that plays on repeat. That’s it. It gets repetitive really quickly and isn’t great at immersing you into the game.

Last, but not least, is a bug that sometimes just soft-locks you whenever you open the settings menu. It happened to me at random times whenever I opened the settings, forcing me to close and reopen the game. Getting soft-locked in most games isn’t bad, as you can just reload a save, In rouge-likes and rouge-lites, however, this is very different. Since you can never have the exact same run every time you play, it can be really frustrating having to restart and lose all of your progress on your run.

Overall, Metal Mind isn’t the worst rouge-lite I’ve played, but it most certainly isn’t the best. And until they fix the soft locking issue, I wouldn’t recommend buying the game unless it’s on sale.