METAL EDEN Review

Even in today's endlessly varied indie space, you don't often stumble on first-person shooters like METAL EDEN. Most indies either lean into roguelike or embrace a retro boomer shooter approach, but few attempt a full-throttle one-and-done campaign. It's refreshing, really, because so many studios chase replayability at the cost of substance, hiding thin content behind endless progression systems. That's what makes METAL EDEN stand out.

Coming from Reikon Games, the devs behind Ruiner, a cyberpunk action game that earned a small but loyal following, METAL EDEN just feels like a natural step-up. Instead of repeating the top-down perspective of their debut, the developers strapped on a jetpack and went flying into the first-person shooter lane. The result is a game that feels like the lovechild of Doom and Ghostrunner.

Now, story-wise, don't expect METAL EDEN to be the next Cyberpunk 2077. In the game, you take on the role of Hyper Unit ASKA, who is dispatched to the ruins of MOEBIUS to fight its INTERNAL DEFENCE CORPS and save the "COREs" of those who once sought refuge there.

What sense do you make of that? If your answer is none, you are on the same page as us. The game buries the plot all under concrete-thick layers of cyberpunk jargon. If you feel like you've been dropped into Game of Thrones starting at season five, you're not alone.

The narrative is sort of messy and often delivered in mid-combat chatter when you're too busy dodging plasma fire to pay attention. It's not bad so much per se; rather, it's just vague and leaves you feeling empty-handed with plot holes. Some decent cutscenes help a little, but the plot never takes center stage. And honestly? That's fine. Nobody's coming to METAL EDEN for a deep lore dive.

At its core, METAL EDEN is a speed demon's dream. Movement is the backbone of the game. When your bullets, energy beams, or electromagnetic pulses strike an enemy, they realistically stumble, throwing pieces of armor into the air before exploding into clouds of biomechanical blood.

It's the kind of game that will have you holding your breath every step of the way as you jump out of a wall run and land a flurry of shotgun pellets in slow motion in the hopes that it will be the last thing your enemies see. Combat pushes this even further. You're equipped with an arsenal of punchy weapons; you name them: shotguns, rifles, energy beams, and more, everything you could ever want or need is available.

Guns have alternate fire modes and can be upgraded with "dust," the in-game currency (more on that later). The pacing forces constant weapon swapping since ammo runs out fast, making every fight feel like a juggling act of guns that could mimic a circus clown juggling balls.

METAL EDEN takes cues from all of the new age of acrobatic shooters. There's wall running, grapple hooks, massive slides, dodges, and, remember, a jetpack. The movement here is fast, and it will feel even faster if you turn the game up to its 115° maximum field of view, which makes the experience even more hectic and fluid.

Then there's the core-grabbing mechanic, one of METAL EDEN's most original ideas. When enemies are close to their demise, you can rip out their mechanical hearts and either chuck them like grenades or absorb them. What's so special about absorbing them? 

ASKA's punches become supercharged after absorbing it, making it easier to break shields and transforming the screen into a color-changing trip that could make you feel like you are high on crystal meth. Guys. Seriously, can you imagine how cool that sounds? It's equal parts brutal and strategic, rewarding aggressive play.

ASKA's abilities don't end there. Another feature is the ability to change into a literal ball and sort of cannonball quickly around different areas. It's not just about traversing more quickly, either. ASKA gets two different weapons for this mode and even gets to solve a couple of environmental puzzles with them. It's a really useful feature that can be used spontaneously. 

Now, don't get misled by the "puzzle" part. This isn't the sort of game that makes you scratch your head on every stage. Your skills do the talking! And what skills, you may ask. The real skill is in figuring out the puzzle of how to survive while juggling speed, mobility, and firepower. Combat is frantic but so damn precise, requiring split-second decisions, so playing wisely is of the ultimate essence. 

Massive exploration sections, never-ending mazes, or other filler are not used in the level designs. It's fast-paced and essentially all-out action. The levels in METAL EDEN are more akin to Ghostrunner games than Doom in that regard, extending more or less in a straight line as opposed to making you run around in circles. Kill the enemies in an area, and move to the next one. 

Sometimes you can even bypass combat altogether, while other times the doors get closed until we finish waves of foes sent against us. The game utilizes parkour in a style similar to Assassin's Creed or Uncharted, characterized by stylish and fluid movement. Not overtly taxing. It's more about giving you tools to survive the relentless waves of enemies rather than testing your platforming skills.

What works best is how combat feels like you're ballet dancing. You're constantly on the move, on the run, having no time to think. Everything's that swift. You're in bullet time one moment, shotgunning an enemy in mid-air, and ziplining across the arena the next. When it clicks, it's jaw-dropping. Just the sheer amount of depth in combat alone makes it so fun. 

Before you get too excited, though, there are downsides. Some arenas are too small, leading to cheap-feeling deaths where the sheer volume of enemies overwhelms you. Variety could also be better, and after almost seven-ish hours, you'll notice the game doesn't try to get out of its comfort zone. 

Progression is refreshingly simple. No endless XP grind here—thank god. Instead, you gather dust during combat, which is then used to upgrade weapons and unlock alternate fire modes. The suit upgrades are where things get more interesting: bullet-time upgrades, traversal buffs, and tweaks that make core-grabbing even more frantic.

It feels very Doom Eternal in philosophy: every upgrade matters, but nothing bloats the game. The focus remains on moment-to-moment gameplay rather than brain-frying grinding or chasing endless loot drops. This keeps the campaign satisfying without dragging on.

On the graphics front, METAL EDEN flexes Unreal Engine 5 as much as an indie studio realistically can. Environments shimmer with metallic neon, drenched in cyberpunk vibes. The whole thing remains remarkably smooth, despite the hard-hitting graphics. On high-end rigs like an RTX 4080, the game hits over 100 FPS with ease, and even mid-range cards like the RTX 4060 hold up great with DLSS.

But guys, sit your butt down. There are a few downsides in this regard, too. Environments tend to blur together. For all its graphical prowess, METAL EDEN starts to feel a little generic after a while. Do not get me wrong, it's beautiful for sure, but is it original? Not quite. There are standout set pieces, but too often it's shiny sameness. Still, the overall presentation is clean.

Steam Deck owners, though, will want to steer clear for now. Even at the lowest settings and with FSR balanced mode, performance struggles to stay above 30–45 FPS, and the game looks rough in the process. For something this fast-paced, that's a deal-breaker. 

Sound design, thankfully, nails it. Gunfire is loud and crunchy, every weapon firing with meaty feedback that makes your teeth clench in satisfaction. From the robotic screams of your enemies to the impact of a CORE rip, it all meshes quite well.

Voice acting is solid across the board, though often overshadowed by the sheer speed of combat. The soundtrack is, unfortunately, a bit of a weak spot. It's serviceable but forgettable. You'll remember the gunfire far more than the music.

At the end of the day, METAL EDEN is exactly what it sets out to be: a chaotic cyberpunk shooter that doesn't waste your time. The story is borderline nonsense; eventually it ends up finding its feet by the end, but they leave it a little too late. The environments sometimes blur together, and the lack of variety keeps it from being an instant classic. But when you're in combat and tearing up a CORE, nothing else matters. 

It's not trying to reinvent the wheel, but it polishes its chosen wheel. Reikon Games understood the assignment; that is, if you're going to take inspiration from Doom and Ghostrunner, the shooting and movement must feel incredible. And in that department, METAL EDEN, bravo.

Clocking in at around seven hours, it never overstays its welcome. It's the kind of game you can blast through in a weekend, come out sweating, and feel fully satisfied. Could it use more variety, cleaner storytelling, and better optimization on Steam Deck? Absolutely. But those flaws are still a bit too difficult to ignore at the $35 price tag. It's fun for what it offers, though, but don't say we didn't warn you of the drawbacks.