Slain: Back from Hell

Heavy metal is not a genre. It is a survival instinct.

Slain might be the hardest game I played... but the more you play, the easier it becomes. Yeah, the game is unforgiving, but not really unfair. It hits that spot between frustrating and addictive. Let me exp(S)lain The combat is rather simple, yet works fine to me. Parries are especially rewarding, maybe the most satisfatory parry mechanic i've used in a game. Once you master it, combat becomes much more manageable. Some points you might wanna know too: -There are plenty of checkpoints in every level, so dying is not the end of the world. (there are checkpoints even in the final boss fight) -There's a HUB, where you can select the level you wanna replay to get the collectibles or fight bosses again. You can access it not only between levels, but also after finishing the game. So don't be afraid of missing achievements in the way. -This is not a Metroidvania, progress is linear. You cannot increase your health bar, and there is no inventory/potions. The sooner you know, the better -If negative reviews discourage you, many of them refer to a previous version of the game which had broken hitbox and worse combat control. Current version is well polished. I also wanna talk about the graphics. Visually its impressive, I always loved pixelart, and this one is just great: gloomy and beautiful. the animations are smooth too. Also, the soundtrack is freakin awesome, they're all heavy metal tracks. Those guitar riffs match perfectly the intensity of the game. I wanted to play Slain for a long time, but people saying the combat is awful kept me from trying. I'm glad I finally gave it a chance, I had a blast playing it. If you like hardcore games, you'll enjoy this one. Slain is a hidden gem [i]-May ice, fire and steel prevail[/i] [spoiler](I have to confess i first played the game for free, but liked it so much that I decided to support the developer buying the game+DLCs)[/spoiler]

[h1] Dark, metal monster slashing in underworld. Gameplay similar to 16-bit action platformers. Lots of slashing, lots of slaying and lots of red. Visuals depending on the taste, overall well made. Some blops and blots of redness. Levels are straight forward, proceed to the right, sometimes flip switches and don't fall into the lava. Two CRT filters. Checkpoints between levels. Multiple different enemies. It's one of those games - learn pattern and enemies movement to win. For fans of 16-bit slashing it might be worth a spin. [/h1]

Slain has all the pieces to be a really great side scrolling action platformer. Graphically the game is top notch. The pixel art and animations are really lovely and you can tell a lot of time and attention went into the background art. The blood and gore is very satisfying and fits well with the overall theme. The heavy metal influence is a fun touch. The game play is reminiscent of an old school Castlevania game. It is a bit slow and requires some patience and there is no leveling up or upgrading to be done so it will never be confused with a Metroidvania style game, which suits me just fine. But ultimately this game falls flat for me and this review is comprised mostly of what I didn't like about the game. The gameplay is tedious. At first you will feel like a total bad ass, running around with a giant sword or axe and hacking away at enemies. But you will soon realize that the standard button mash attack does very little damage. In this way the game punishes you for trying to rip through enemies like Devil May Cry. In reality the only way to inflict real damage is with the charge attack or the counter attack. The latter of which requires you to wait for the slow, plodding enemies to strike. Mastering this is essential but when you die over and over and must replay the same segment repeatedly this becomes quite maddening. The enemies are pretty but are essentially the same exact set of enemies in each level with a different coat of paint. I like the heavy metal theme but unfortunately the music in the game sounds like “elevator” heavy metal. It's very tame and forgettable. Lastly, and by far the most egregious problem with this game, is that it continuously misses button inputs. At first I thought my controller was broken. Then I thought it was user error. But eventually I realized the game just straight up ignores random button presses. This makes an already difficult game rage inducing because this game requires very precise input to execute the counter attacks. Your health bar is very limited so every bit of damage you take is a big deal and when it is caused by a missed jump or sword swing you will be pissed off. It is so bad that I would not recommend this game even for the few dollars I paid for it on sale.

[b]Score:[/b] ★★☆☆☆ [b]Played on Steam Deck:[/b] Yes. [b]Tags:[/b] Action, Platformer, Heavy Metal [b]Game Review:[/b] [i]Slain: Back from Hell[/i] is a clear case of presentation outpacing execution. Its pixel art is striking, often compared by critics to heavy metal album covers; and the animation work is legitimately impressive. The soundtrack leans fully into that identity. It’s aggressive, cohesive, and fits the tone, even if it won’t appeal to everyone. The problems begin the moment precision is required. Controls lack the responsiveness needed for a precision platformer. Movement feels floaty, attacks carry unintended forward momentum, and parry timing is inconsistent. This is especially problematic because the game is built around tight defensive play, particularly parrying and dodging with accuracy. When a successful input still results in taking damage, the failure shifts from player error to system reliability. Difficulty is not inherently the issue. Execution is. Enemy encounters often stack pressure in ways that feel uneven rather than intentional. Projectiles overlap, hazards appear with limited reaction windows, and checkpoint spacing forces repeated runs through the same sections. This aligns with early critical reception, where the game was widely criticized at launch for being unfair before later patches attempted to rebalance it. Even in its improved state, deaths are avoidable in theory but inconsistent in practice. Combat and platforming never fully stabilize. Attacks lack clear feedback, hit detection can feel unreliable, and movement precision is not dependable enough for the level of punishment the game demands. The result is a loop that tests patience more than mastery. There is a solid foundation here, but it is buried under systems that do not consistently support the player's skill level. [i]Slain: Back from Hell[/i] succeeds visually and thematically, but those strengths cannot carry a game that struggles at the level of input, control, and encounter design. It looks the part, sounds the part, but does not play well enough to justify the investment. [b]Achievement Difficulty:[/b] ★★★★☆ [b]Completion Time:[/b] ~12 hours (significantly longer with retries) [b]Achievement Review:[/b] Completion leans heavily on repetition and execution under inconsistent conditions. Requirements such as clean boss fights or efficient clears demand precision that the game itself does not always reliably support.

Delays in attack, delay in defense, step back not usable when u need it(delays), u cant run and atack,wth? dude who ever made this, take sword run and atack, does it work? yeah it works.... i just tried i broke my door ... now i need new door. why i keep seing games with this kind of physics. im gona attack, oh no wait i must stay absolutely still so enemy can kill me for sure ........... every other game like this is broken ..... i dont care if its good made audio/graphics(it is), but if gameplay is broken,, then everything is broken.

come idea il gioco non è male ma pecca sotto TAAANTI punti di vista, sopratutto a livello di gameplay,storytelling e il gioco che è tremendamente ripetitivo dopo un po.Non è malaccio ma lo sconsiglio per gente che si annoia facilmente con giochi moooolto sempliciotti

Vou ser extremamente direto sobre Slain... É uma pedrada que só aqueles que tem convicção em jogar um game até o final, mesmo que esse game seja extremamente punitivo, vão gostar. É um game com uma pixel arte muito linda e com uma trilha sonora muito boa e marcante. Não tem como você não se lembrar da trilha sonora, o fato de que você morrerá muitas vezes nas fazes e as repetirá vai ajudar nisso kkkkkkk, mas não se preocupe, a trilha sonora é marcante. Eu platinei o game e pra quem quer platina-lo apenas digo isso aqui... SE PREPAREM PARA O HELL.

Lo jugué porque tiene un pixelart y arte espectacular, no es muy largo pero al ser un poco dificil en algunas zonas igual te dura lo que a mi si te atascas.

В начале не распробовал. Но потом как распробовал =))