METAL SLUG XX

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METAL SLUG XX is a single player and multiplayer shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by SNK CORPORATION and was released on January 31, 2019. It received neutral reviews from players.

Metal Slug XX is an entry in the long-running series of side-scrolling shooters. It is a revised version of Metal Slug 7. The Peregrine Falcons, Marco, Eri, Clark, Tarma, Fio and Ralf, are once again running-and-gunning in colorfully hand-drawn levels, throwing grenades, driving vehicles and slashing enemies. Metal Slug XX includes various single-player features in the form of a Combat School tha…

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54%

Audience ScoreBased on 304 reviews

story7 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

Classic Metal Slug run-and-gun gameplay with satisfying shooting, explosions, and large bosses remains intact.
Includes a variety of playable characters, including the Ikari Warriors team and Leona Heidern with unique abilities.
Combat School mode with many challenges adds replay value; local co-op mode available for multiplayer fun.

The PC port is poorly optimized with issues such as frequent crashes, input lag, lack of proper keyboard support, and limited control customization.
Visual presentation is inconsistent and uninspired, with low resolution, blurry or mixed art styles, and poor fullscreen support.
Extremely high difficulty with unfair enemy placements and mechanics, making progress frustrating and tedious.

story
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
80%
6%
The story is minimal, weak, and largely uninspired compared to earlier Metal Slug titles, centering on a simple rebellion attack with some sci-fi elements like portal or time travel technology. The main campaign is short and overshadowed by challenging, sometimes frustrating mission design, with the narrative taking a backseat to gameplay. Additional combat school missions provide extra challenges but lack story content, making the overall narrative feel negligible.
- “The Steam release gives players access to seven intense missions filled with relentless enemies, massive bosses, and branching stage paths that encourage replayability.”
- “Featuring more than seventy missions, these challenges push players to refine their skills and replay sections with new objectives.”
- “The main campaign is relatively short, as expected from an arcade shooter, but the branching stage paths, different character options, and the large pool of combat school missions add replayability.”
- “Bought this on sale in order to complete my Metal Slug collection but I have to say: worst Metal Slug ever, every mission felt like a masochistic chore and the only good moment was when the final one ended.”
- “The 'story' of Metal Slug games has never been super important to me but the 'narrative' of this title just seems weak and uninspired compared to earlier titles.”
- “Plus the theme and overall story is stupid and senseless.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
78%
9%
The gameplay in this Metal Slug entry largely retains the classic, intense, and punishing arcade style that longtime fans appreciate, including improvements from Metal Slug 6 and new mechanics involving Ikari Warriors characters. However, it features steep difficulty spikes, frequent bullet chaos that can overwhelm casual players, some input lag, and occasional technical issues like crashes and stuttering. While faithful to the series' frantic and nostalgic experience, it may feel repetitive and less refined compared to earlier titles, making it more suited for fans of the genre rather than newcomers.
- “For long-time fans, this challenge is part of the appeal, faithfully preserving the punishing nature of arcade gameplay.”
- “The combat school helps bridge this gap by offering smaller, skill-based challenges that ease players into tougher mechanics, but the campaign itself never lets up on its intensity.”
- “Metal Slug XX or Metal Slug 7 is not as good as the first 4 games (Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3) but has a few new gameplay mechanics and new Ikari Warriors characters (Leona, Ralf Clark), making it a lot of fun.”
- “Second of all, I believe that this is one of the worst cases of unnecessary difficulty spikes, as the gameplay became less about understanding obstacles and more about throwing a bunch of random challenges with no time to react.”
- “Most common enemies are foot soldiers that appear so frequently that bullets fly everywhere to the point the charm of 'dodging the bullet' is lost because it's impossible to dodge that many bullets for a casual gamer, resulting in lacking fluidity in gameplay.”
- “This game doesn't even attempt to reach the bars set by any of the previous titles; mechanically it can't compete with Metal Slug 6. Actually, nothing here can compete with Metal Slug 6, but honestly even Metal Slug 1 or 2 had more content than this!”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
53%
18%
The graphics in this Metal Slug game maintain the classic pixel-art style with crisp upscaling for modern resolutions, but suffer from inconsistent art styles and some bland, muddy environments. While some appreciate the ability to modify visuals and the improved graphics over previous entries, others criticize the poor port quality, lack of graphical options, and departure from the series' traditional detailed pixel art. Overall, the visuals are charming but marred by design choices and technical shortcomings.
- “Visually, the game sticks to the classic pixel-art style that Metal Slug is famous for, and the Steam version enhances the look with crisp upscaling to 1080p and 4K.”
- “The graphics are greatly improved over Metal Slug 6, the music is epic as always, and you still get a lot of amazing action, enemies, bosses, and vehicles like you would expect from any Metal Slug game.”
- “Ability to modify visuals (with scanlines, backgrounds) and other aspects in the game such as the screen, etc.”
- “And thanks to the game bringing over Metal Slug 6's miserable art style, virtually every environment blends into one big, bland mush in my mind.”
- “It has bad controller support, input lag, bad UI, one of the worst graphics I've seen in a Metal Slug game, and it's just the worst.”
- “Not gonna lie, when I saw its trailer on Steam, I knew I would be disappointed with its DS graphics, since they just plopped it in for PC support.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
23%
18%
The music in the game is generally praised as strong and fitting the Metal Slug style, often described as epic and a highlight alongside the visuals. However, some users note occasional technical issues such as lagging or cutting off, especially in menus, and a few feel the soundtrack doesn't quite match the quality or memorability of earlier entries. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a solid and enjoyable aspect.
- “Overall, while this is definitely the most disappointing game in the Steam franchise, it's still a Metal Slug title that, even with its frustrating game design, has amazing sprites and music, which is why I still recommend the game despite its shortcomings.”
- “The graphics are greatly improved over MS6, the music is epic as always, and you still get a lot of amazing action, enemies, bosses, and vehicles like you would expect from any Metal Slug game.”
- “Beautiful game and great soundtrack; it's very good if you want more Metal Slug.”
- “Then the menu is laggy along music is cutting off and slowing down in options.”
- “The music is meh and forgettable.”
- “The OST is not on the same level as earlier entries, but in fairness, not many games are.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
50%
29%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including frequent fps drops, stuttering, crashes, and lag, even on high-end hardware. While some improvements have been noted over older versions, performance remains inconsistent and problematic, particularly in co-op mode and during key gameplay moments. Additionally, control setup is cumbersome, lacking proper in-game rebinding options, further detracting from the overall experience.
- “Performance is far better, and no issues opening the game.”
- “Putting aside that players cannot play this game with a keyboard, this game is the best optimized and best looking Metal Slug game on PC.”
- “On top of that, it's much more optimized than Metal Slug X.”
- “Good game plagued by horrible optimization.”
- “And after that, a variety of issues welcome you; from numerous crashes to desktop, to severe FPS issues and massive stuttering upon starting gameplay.”
- “The performance is awful, FPS drops on 2080ti.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
44%
The game offers high replayability through its intense missions, branching stage paths, various character options, and a large pool of combat school missions. While the main campaign is relatively short, the variety and classic arcade shooter elements keep players coming back. Some reviewers note that online co-op could further enhance replay value.
- “The Steam release gives players access to seven intense missions filled with relentless enemies, massive bosses, and branching stage paths that encourage replayability.”
- “The main campaign is relatively short, as expected from an arcade shooter, but the branching stage paths, different character options, and the large pool of combat school missions add replayability.”
- “Classic Metal Slug fun with a ton of replayability.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor has a niche, somewhat dry style that adds a comical touch to enemy deaths but may not appeal to everyone. While it retains some classic Metal Slug elements, much of the franchise’s signature humor feels diminished or missing. Overall, the humor is quirky but less impactful compared to previous entries.
- “The game also has its style of humor that makes even the deaths of enemies a little comical.”
- “Considering there's almost no POW whatsoever, it's funny they actually had a POW tracker in the main menu.”
- “Otherwise, it's the same classic Metal Slug gameplay that's defined the franchise for 20+ years, although some of the signature humor that made it so popular seems to be missing.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of this game is widely criticized as a lazy and uninspired cash grab, perceived as an attempt to profit from an old IP without offering substantial new content. Users feel it should have been an expansion rather than a standalone release.
- “Obviously, this is just a cheap cash grab SNK dumped out to siphon more money out of this old IP.”
- “Very lazy cash grab.”
- “This game is a total cash grab, nothing new at all.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is often seen as tedious and time-consuming, especially early on when players have weak weapons. Progression relies heavily on repeated stage runs to improve, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “I just want to run through the game with my friend once or twice, and I found myself in many tedious situations when an enemy or boss took forever to kill because all I had was the default pistol.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You get better by grinding and repeating the stages over and over again.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from persistent visual glitches and general bugs that affect stability, though it remains playable and enjoyable once properly set up.
- “Tons of little visual glitches with sprites that I heard were patched but still happen.”
- “Unfortunately buggy, but fun once you get the title up and running and working with your controller.”
- “Buggy.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel the atmosphere could be enhanced with more dynamic visual effects, such as the shadow details seen in Metal Slug 6, to create a more lively and immersive environment.