In a field as packed as Steam Next Fest has become, getting to be the biggest entry in any genre is quite the achievement. But when your chosen genre is as competitive as the roguelike, getting anywhere near the top of the charts is a huge win. So when I spotted that a single game almost occupies the top spot in all three of the roguelike charts, I had to check it out.
Tears of Metal wears its Braveheart inspirations so clearly that there's a disclaimer at the start reminding you that it's a work of fiction. After a mysterious meteor strike brings invaders to your shore, it's up to you to fight them off and reclaim your island. In the demo, you'll do that with the sword hand of a distinctly Braveheart-looking main character, complete with kilt and long, flowing locks.
You're placed firmly on the back foot in terms of numbers, leading the charge of a handful of Scottish braves, whose numbers can be swelled by other clan leaders if you encounter them on your journey through Tears of Metal's Slay the Spire-style choice-based map. There are comparatively few ways to cut off a given route across the island, which means that your chances of discovering much of what exists on a single run are relatively high. The payoff there, however, is that the more havoc you cause, the harder your foes fight against you, bringing larger armies, more augmented "captain" units, and objectives like archer towers that you'll have to destroy.
Thankfully, that's good fun. Tears of Metal is very similar to the "musou" genre, best popularized by the Dynasty Warriors and the Zelda spin-offs Hyrule Warriors. That means that your main aim is carving through as many enemy soldiers as you can, as fast as you can, pausing occasionally to smash apart their ramparts or take on a boss. It's gritty, if fairly standard, hack-and-slash fare, but it's augmented by the upgrades you earn as you move between battlefields.
In my playthrough, I gained stacks of resonances, which bounced a share of the damage some enemies received towards others. I'm not 100% sure these pink crystals fit the medieval aesthetic, but they did make my run more fun.
In the end, my Tears of Metal run came to a close when I was almost instantly trampled by the final boss, having been caught up against a miniboss in the previous level with no time to heal. Still, it remains a solid roguelike, and one that will get some serious traction if it can hold its position high on the charts for the rest of the week.
It's a packed genre, so check out our list of the best roguelike games.
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