METAL DOGS

About

METAL DOGS is a single player casual hack and slash game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by 24Frame,inc. and was released on March 23, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

"Metal Dogs" is a casual top-down shooting action game featuring a fighting dog as the main character. With simple controls, players can enjoy shooting various weapons and battling monsters across changing dungeons. Customize your load-out with a wide range of weapons in three categories: machine guns, cannons, and special equipment, and strategize according to your play style.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 84 reviews

music7 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Metal Dogs offers a fun and unique gameplay experience, combining action and dungeon crawling mechanics with adorable canine characters.
The game features a variety of weapons and customization options for the dogs, allowing for engaging combat and upgrades.
The chaotic and explosive gameplay, along with memorable music, creates an enjoyable atmosphere that keeps players entertained.

The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of enemy variety, which can lead to a monotonous experience over time.
Controls are poorly optimized for keyboard and mouse, making it difficult to play without a controller, and there is no option to remap controls.
Localization issues and awkward translations detract from the overall experience, making some dialogue feel unnatural and confusing.

story
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
76%
12%
The game's story is minimal and often confusing, lacking meaningful character interactions and agency for the player. Players navigate through repetitive missions with a basic plot involving a dog searching for its owner amidst a backdrop of bizarre enemies and environments. Overall, the narrative feels disjointed and serves primarily as a backdrop for the gameplay rather than a compelling experience.
- “All in all, this game is much like Hades but minus the memorable character interactions, story, and dialogue; but it's also much more approachable to those not confident in their skills when it comes to this type of genre.”
- “Progress through the story isn't terribly difficult, but the recently added postgame ex missions have challenging boss enemies you may need to grind gear for.”
- “The plot so far seems like you're a pup looking for its owner or heading to its family after some weird bio-mechanical mutation happened to humanity?”
- “The mission structure is even more basic and repetitive than the random level generation, as almost all missions simply send you to complete 3-8 'floors' of randomly generated levels.”
- “Confusing unlocks and storytelling.”
- “Mechanically it doesn't interfere with the game, but what little story the game has is reduced to nonsense.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The gameplay of Metal Dogs is a blend of action and dungeon crawling, featuring cute canine characters and a mix of mechanics that can be both fun and repetitive. While the core loop is engaging and ramps up in difficulty with new mechanics, issues like slow weapon handling and auto-aim detract from the experience, particularly in boss battles. Overall, it offers a casual, stress-relieving experience with potential for customization, though it requires further refinement to justify its price.
- “Metal Dogs is a very interesting and fun action and dungeon crawling game, which combines many gameplay mechanics with very cute canine characters, resulting in a combination of success.”
- “The main gameplay loop is pretty fun and causes all the right 'number go up' good brain juices.”
- “A good game for non-committal stress relief that's easy to get into and learn, combined with a cute theme and an easy gameplay cycle.”
- “Your weapons turn too slowly, combined with poor accuracy of the awful auto-aim mechanic (yes, you can't manually aim), it made the first boss impossible to beat and now I'm stuck on the fourth mission.”
- “The core gameplay is easy and highly repetitive.”
- “Just about every stage halts for a tutorial, and the gameplay ramps up so slowly that I worried the game was flatly going to be bad.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and memorability, with many noting its nostalgic ties to previous titles in the series. Reviewers highlight the excellent boss music and overall fitting soundtracks that enhance the gameplay experience, despite some instances where sound effects may overshadow the music. Overall, the soundtrack is described as enjoyable and well-integrated, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “The music slaps harder than a Karen trying to keep her purse from being stolen, and the controls are as smooth and fluid as a refreshing shower.”
- “Very creative enemy designs and excellent music.”
- “Epic game, good music and smooth gameplay; I am really enjoying myself.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and lacking in excitement, comparing it unfavorably to other titles like Diablo or Path of Exile due to the absence of meaningful build decisions and strategy. As the game progresses, the grind becomes more pronounced, especially after unlocking all characters, leading to a repetitive experience focused on farming materials rather than engaging gameplay.
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
- “Farming materials and cash to dump on a downgrade is kind of sad, but I guess you could reload if you really care about it.”
- “The grinding parts of any Diablo or Path of Exile clone feel tedious without compelling build decisions or a need to strategize.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The graphics in the game are criticized for their limited settings, offering only two options and lacking support for 4K resolution, which results in a blurry experience on higher-resolution displays. However, some users note that the graphics are clean and visually appealing, likening them to a polished aesthetic.
- “Graphics are clean and visually appealing, providing a polished experience.”
- “I can't understand why, with these graphics, they wouldn't add 4K resolution; my screen is native 4K, and at 1920x1080, it's a blurry mess.”
- “There are only 2 graphic settings available, with limited resolution options and no choice between fullscreen or windowed mode.”
- “I can't understand why, with these graphics, they wouldn't add 4K resolution. My screen is native 4K, but at 1920x1080, it's a blurry mess.”
- “Graphics are clean, but they lack depth and detail.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is initially entertaining, particularly with the amusing concept of a dog wielding a gun, but it quickly loses its charm as players realize there is little depth beyond the novelty. While the premise is cute and funny at first, it ultimately lacks sustained comedic value.
- “I got this solely because attaching a gun to a dog looked funny.”
- “So cute, so funny.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, indicating significant stability issues that detract from the overall experience.
- “The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs and glitches.”
- “I frequently experience crashes that disrupt my gameplay.”
- “The stability issues make it nearly impossible to enjoy the game.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the replayability of the game promising, as they can unlock additional dogs and revisit previous areas to enhance their experience. The ability to experiment with different loadouts and dogs without restarting the game further boosts its replay value, despite being in early access.
- “The replayability is there as you gain the other two dogs later in the game and revisit old areas to build them up.”
- “Even though it's early access, the game does have an ending, and I reckon the replay value could be high if you want to try different loadouts or different dogs, which you can do without starting a new game.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is negatively impacted by poor sound design, with users noting that sound effects, such as the machine gun and explosions, are poorly implemented and detract from the overall experience. The hub/base theme also clashes with the intended atmosphere, further diminishing immersion.
- “A lot of the sound effects are pretty bad or poorly implemented - the machine gun sounds like a door being quietly shut in rapid succession, the explosions stack instead of layer, and the hub/base theme feels like it clashes with the atmosphere.”