Morbid Metal

**Morbid Metal** is a stylish, high-octane hack-and-slash roguelite that already feels excellent in Early Access. Developed by Screen Juice (started by solo developer Felix Schade) and published by Ubisoft, it launched on Steam on April 8, 2026, and has maintained Very Positive reviews (around 81% overall). ### The Core Fantasy You play as the last AI created by a mysterious Operator, trapped in a collapsing dystopian simulation. Your goal is to fight through waves of machines, uncover fragments of humanity’s self-inflicted downfall, and eventually escape. The presentation is pure heavy metal: gritty industrial ruins, floating technological islands, and a soundtrack full of brutal drums and shredding guitars that perfectly match the combat. ### Combat Is the Star This is where *Morbid Metal* shines brightest. You control three distinct characters and can shapeshift between them **instantly**, even mid-combo: - **Flux** — Lightning-fast precision striker. Blades, mobility, and single-target execution. - **Ekku** — Heavy-hitting brawler built for area devastation and brutal slam attacks. - **Vekta** — Ranged controller who grips, pulls, and dominates from a distance. Each character has unique basic attacks, two skills, and an ultimate, all on independent cooldowns. The real magic happens when you start chaining them together. A perfect dodge gives character-specific counters (Ekku’s can launch enemies for juggles), and seamless swaps turn fights into a fluid techno-ballet of blades, heavy impacts, and ranged control. The combat has strong Devil May Cry DNA mixed with modern character-action responsiveness. It feels tight, weighty, and deeply satisfying once the muscle memory kicks in. There’s a real skill ceiling here that rewards learning the full kit and weaving forms together. ### Roguelite Loop (Still Growing) Runs follow the classic structure: clear rooms, fight, pick upgrades, push deeper, face bosses. Between runs you get lasting meta-progression. The current systems include: - Routines (ability modifiers) - Corporas (stat boosts) - Devil’s Bargains (risk/reward trade-offs) - Operator’s Trials for high-stakes rewards Right now the progression is the weaker side. Upgrades can feel a bit flat or lack the wild synergies that make games like *Hades* explode with possibility. Runs can start to feel similar after a while, and the number of biomes and enemies is still limited (as expected in Early Access). The developers have a Year One roadmap and plan to add a new playable character, more environments, and new bosses. ### Presentation & Technical State The game looks sharp for its price point, with high-fidelity character models and atmospheric environments. Performance is solid on mid-range hardware, and it runs acceptably on Steam Deck (though not fully optimized yet). Controller support is good. ### Verdict **Morbid Metal** already has excellent bones. The shapeshifting combat system is genuinely special and feels better than many full-priced character-action games. The roguelite systems still need more depth and variety, but the foundation is strong enough that the game is fun *right now*. At its current Early Access price (usually around $18–25 depending on region and sales), it’s an easy recommendation if you love stylish combat and don’t mind supporting a game still growing. If Screen Juice and Ubisoft continue delivering on the roadmap, this has real potential to become a standout in the action-roguelite space. **Score: 8/10** (Early Access) **Best for:** Fans of Devil May Cry-style combat, roguelites with strong moment-to-moment gameplay, and anyone who wants something that feels metal in both sound and substance. If you enjoy chaining stylish combos and learning a high skill ceiling system, jump in. The core loop already hits hard.

Very fun, great to pass time with a very balanced challenge, very beginner friendly if you're not used to Rogue-like.

Overall enjoyable for a few hours. Fast and smooth gameplay, easy to turn your brain off as only the bosses require attention. The current final boss requires you to build around it and nothing else. Also has a poorly telegraphed 1 shot kill attack, that I only discovered after looking at the community page. Would love to see improvements in the future, but in it's current state it's a very short game. It's grindy and has plenty of RNG when it comes to the loot, not the combat or map layouts.

Its a solid base for a game. Its still in development but is good right now to play. One thing is there is no way to go back to the main place once you start playing. You advance to these new areas with no way to stop playing and be able to pick back up where you left off. If you leave you start over the whole adventure each time. If that is how its designed to be i am not sure but im not a fan of that aspect. You should be able to complete a new area and not have to start all over again. But i do enjoy the gameplay.

Needs 2 more Biomes and more enemy types and then it's easily worth the asking price. So far I really enjoy what's here, just not enough to really keep me playing, which rouge-lites are all about.

DMC Meet Returnal and then some.