Metal Bringer

About

Metal Bringer is a single player action game. It was developed by ALPHAWING Inc. and was released on March 11, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

In this roguelike action-adventure, you control customizable android soldiers called "Labor" and giant mechs known as "Arms" to explore a mysterious world. After awakening from 1000 years of cryosleep, Suria sends her creations to search for humanity while battling hordes of enemies and collecting upgradeable apps. Strategic customization and intense combat shape every encounter.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 539 reviews

gameplay66 positive mentions

grinding26 negative mentions

The game features a highly addictive gameplay loop with extensive customization options for both the pilot and mechs, allowing for a variety of builds and playstyles.
The art style is charming, combining retro pixel aesthetics with modern ray tracing, creating a visually appealing experience.
The combat is fast-paced and satisfying, with a mix of melee and ranged options that keep the gameplay engaging.

The difficulty spikes significantly around the third stage, which can be frustrating for players and may require excessive grinding to progress.
The default controls for keyboard and mouse are awkward and can lead to confusion, making it difficult to aim and navigate effectively.
The pixelation filter can be visually overwhelming, especially during chaotic combat situations, making it hard to see what's happening on screen.

gameplay
141 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
5%
The gameplay of this game is characterized by a fun and addictive roguelite loop that emphasizes customization and mech-building, allowing players to experiment with various weapons and abilities. While the core mechanics are engaging and the retro aesthetic is appealing, some players find the controls clunky and certain systems poorly explained, leading to a steep learning curve. Overall, the gameplay is enjoyable and offers a mix of frantic action and strategic depth, though it can become repetitive over time.
- “I love the retro feel, the pixelated theme, and the gameplay, especially the Atari/Master System level music that really took me back to the old days.”
- “The gameplay is fun, the customization is fun, and the meta-progression is fun.”
- “The mechs are extremely customizable, the progression elements have a good balance of risk and reward, and the gameplay is just very fun.”
- “Gameplay-wise, it's clunky at first, until you figure certain systems out.”
- “But beneath its shiny exterior, the game is bogged down by an avalanche of design missteps: an unforgiving learning curve, clumsy controls, under-explained mechanics, and a gameplay loop that implodes from grind to godmode too quickly.”
- “The gameplay just consists of pressing the same button for combat; there's no real combos or moves, just different weapons that all basically do the same thing.”
graphics
107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
55%
3%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some praising the unique pixel art style and vibrant aesthetics, while others find the visuals grainy and overwhelming, particularly during chaotic gameplay. Many players appreciate the blend of retro charm with modern features like ray tracing, though some criticize the pixel shader's size and the overall clarity of the graphics. Overall, the art style is seen as a standout feature, appealing to fans of mecha and retro aesthetics, but it may not resonate with everyone due to its visual complexity.
- “For me, 3D pixel graphics + sci-fi mecha in this game are an incredibly striking combination.”
- “This game is insane, the art style is crazy good and the shaders are outstanding, managing to make a 3D Unreal Engine game look this 2D is some crazy talent.”
- “The graphics are a real treat with this clean pixel art shader that works very well, and when you get a build that works well it's a sensory overload with the tons of things exploding on screen and loot being dropped.”
- “The graphics and style can be a bit of an eyesore at times, so it's not for everyone.”
- “This is a game that has decent PS2 graphics with a disgustingly bad filter over them.”
- “The visuals make my eyes hurt.”
story
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
67%
4%
The game's story is generally described as simple and somewhat generic, often revolving around themes of future dystopia and mecha combat. While some players appreciate the lore and world-building elements, many feel that the narrative can be repetitive and at times an afterthought, overshadowed by the engaging gameplay. Overall, the story is considered serviceable, with moments of intrigue, but it primarily serves to enhance the gameplay experience rather than stand out on its own.
- “The story itself is so absurdly good, you find journal entries and documentation as you play, filling in the gaps of knowledge in a fleshed out and surprisingly well thought out sci-fi way.”
- “Pretty basic stuff but it holds some strong story elements of family, lineage, future, overpopulation, climate change, and human progress.”
- “Beyond the gameplay, the art style is super cool, the story has a lot of lore and world-building to back it up, and customizing your mecha is pretty fun.”
- “The story is very simple and nothing to write home about, but it's serviceable.”
- “The story, not gonna lie, I checked out of it very fast; it's nothing new - 'generic waking up from a cryosleep deep into the future with spoilers.' The downsides really started showing about 8 hours in.”
- “The story feels like an afterthought, weighed down by excessive jargon and flat delivery.”
music
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
63%
9%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its retro charm and nostalgic feel, while others find it repetitive and grating, particularly due to limited variety and looping tracks. Many users suggest that the ability to adjust or mute the music is essential, as the soundtrack can become tedious during extended gameplay sessions. Overall, while the music complements the game's aesthetic for some, others recommend playing with their own music to enhance the experience.
- “I love the retro feel, the pixelated theme, and the gameplay, and especially the Atari/Master System level music that really took me back to the old days.”
- “The art is gorgeous and the music is catchy and upbeat like a true arcade experience.”
- “Great little game with great music and gameplay.”
- “The music and sound effects can be adjusted any time, which is important because multiple runs mean repetitious music.”
- “My only gripe with the game, and the reason why I'm writing this review, is that some of the music, which is supposedly real-time and changes to whatever is happening in the game, can sometimes get stuck playing the same short 15-second loop over and over again, which can be quite grating to the ears, especially because they are such sharp notes, forcing me to turn the music way, way down.”
- “Spending half an hour on a floor with the same 30-second loop of 8-bit music that doesn't fit at all the game gets really tedious.”
grinding
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
96%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the build customization and the ability to grind for upgrades, many find it tedious and repetitive, especially when faced with difficulty spikes. The grind can lead to a sense of power fantasy, but it often becomes monotonous, particularly in later stages where players feel overpowered and the challenge diminishes. Overall, the game offers a heavy meta progression system, but the grinding can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “The meta progression in this game is very heavy but not grindy.”
- “Grinding in this game feels rewarding and satisfying, making each level-up a true achievement.”
- “I appreciate how the grinding mechanics are balanced; they encourage exploration and skill development without feeling tedious.”
- “Brutal waves of superior enemy mechs force repetitive grinding for passive buffs, only for difficulty to collapse soon after.”
- “The gameplay itself gets kinda tedious quick.”
- “It's at this point that Metal Bringer trips and falls on its face by forcing you to spend several runs simply grinding out defensive passives, which make stage 3 possible, but also mitigate any further difficulty the game might have had, making subsequent floors, bosses, and even the entirety of NG+ a button-mashing breeze that feels like a victory lap instead of a climax.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
65%
25%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing performance issues, particularly during intense combat scenarios and on lower-end hardware like the Steam Deck. While some users noted solid performance and a polished experience, others reported significant frame drops and stuttering, especially in crowded environments, suggesting that the game's demanding graphics and effects may not be well-optimized for all systems. The inability to disable certain visual filters has also been criticized for contributing to visual fatigue.
- “This game is insane, the art style is crazy good and the shaders are outstanding, managing to make a 3D Unreal Engine game look this 2D is some crazy talent. The gameplay is very solid and has a fun loop; it feels polished and has good performance, and I haven't encountered any bugs yet either. An incredibly refreshing experience for a game released in 2025.”
- “I'm really happy there's a game like this out there that's at once joyfully hack-and-slash while having a deep level of optimization to dig deep into.”
- “The frame drop and poor performance in big fights is there.”
- “However, performance dips—even on high-end GPUs—and the inability to disable the pixel filter may alienate players prone to visual fatigue.”
- “Very fun game, lacks a bit of optimization, especially for the Steam Deck, which is ironic because I can see this game as something portable and fun, but alas.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
Overall, players appreciate the replayability of the game, highlighting its customization options and variety, which contribute to enjoyable experiences whether for short sessions or extended play. However, some users feel that certain aspects, like time management before runs, detract from the overall replay value, suggesting that improvements could enhance this feature further. Despite mixed opinions, many agree that the game has significant potential for replayability with future updates.
- “Fun game with a lot of replay value.”
- “High versatility and replayability means whether you're just looking to play for a few hours after work, or you want to go on a complete multi-day binge, you'll have fun either way.”
- “It's still a hell of a lot of fun, and the game has a really great aesthetic style and tons of variety, but it just lacks the kind of replay value you get out of a traditional roguelike/lite.”
- “Without this feature, I'm afraid the replayability is non-existent, as the amount of time it takes managing apps before starting a run exceeds the amount of time I spend actually playing.”
- “Plenty of replay value and many things to unlock and discover.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game exhibits some stability issues, including occasional bugs and unexpected difficulty spikes that may necessitate grinding. While the default mouse and keyboard controls are criticized, players can remap them for a better experience; overall, it runs well on the Steam Deck.
- “11/10! The game runs great on my Steam Deck, although the PC controls need a bit of fixing.”
- “I also wanted to mention that this game runs great on the Steam Deck!”
- “A little buggy with some random difficulty spikes that may require you to grind a bit before proceeding, and the default controls for the mouse and keyboard don't make sense personally, but you can bypass it by remapping your own control scheme.”
- “Fun, but buggy”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is light-hearted and reminiscent of classic Japanese titles, featuring playful enemy dialogue like "darn, you got me!" Players appreciate the comedic elements, including self-referential jokes about customization, though some technical issues may detract from the experience. Overall, the humor adds a charming and whimsical touch to the gameplay.
- “Enemies will say things like 'Darn, you got me!' when destroyed, which gives you an idea of the light-hearted aspects. Generally, the humor is what you'd expect from a Japanese title, similar to Pokémon.”
- “Also, someone could start the trend calling this game 'Not so Custom Robo...' and it would still have more customization than the actual Custom Robo. XD Okay, enough of my dry humor.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
The atmosphere is characterized by a relaxed ambiance that subtly hints at darker themes, creating a unique contrast that enhances the overall experience.
- “The game's environment is rich and immersive, drawing you into its hauntingly beautiful world.”
- “Every sound and visual detail contributes to a sense of unease that keeps you on edge.”
- “The whole atmosphere has fairly laid-back vibes with implied darker themes.”