Over the years, metal has been one of the mightiest genres of music, but as time has passed and video gaming has become more popular, developers have tried to invoke the power of metal in their games. Going much further than having a metal-based soundtrack, pioneering developers have moulded metal into a sub-genre of gaming by creating games which base their gameplay and features on the metal theme. When you play these games, you can tell that the developers and designers have a love of metal and understand how to apply it to their industry.
Doom
Doom didn’t work to incorporate bands into its gameplay, didn’t feature any superstars of metal, and didn’t really feature any known metal tracks, as you’ll find in this article here. However, the first-person shooter certainly delivered an environment akin to the world of metal, with its demonic and hellish setting backed by an adrenaline-pumping soundtrack. For the score, developers id Software sought the services of composer Robert Prince, who opted to draw inspiration from many of metal music’s greats for the 1993 game.
Prince took cues from the likes of Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Judas Priest, and, of course, Metallica to create a thunderous soundtrack that enhanced the gameplay experience a great deal. While Doom wasn’t the first game to use metal in its soundtrack, it was one of the earliest major releases to do so, with the heavy influence of metal being recuperated in the 2016 reboot.
Brutal Legend
If you’re a heavy metal fan and were a gamer through the 00s, there’s a fair chance that you will have encountered and loved Brutal Legend. The game from Double Fine Productions followed a long line of humorous games developed by Tim Schafer. While the developer does induce a fair amount of comedy into Brutal Legend, the 2009 release was a unique experience that immersed players in the world of heavy metal. The game stars Jack Black, both in voice and in likeness, who finds himself in a heavy metal album cover fantasy world where you play as the saviour.
The game is both real-time strategy and action-adventure, featuring the voices of superstars Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister, Lita Ford, and Rob Halford. It’s an incredible mash-up of heavy metal and gaming, and while the music and musicians within the game may be enough to attract any metal fan, the gameplay itself is sound and very enjoyable, as reported here. If you haven’t played Brutal Legend yet, you really should read this review before you find it to see if it’s for you. But if you’re a metal fan, the chances are that it’ll be right up your street.
House of Doom
The modern way to game for many people is on free-to-access websites or through free-to-play games, where competition is fierce. Due to the high level of games being released every month on platforms like the Play Store or at online casinos, developers have been forced to get creative to bring out unique experiences for all fan groups.
Play’n Go are world famous for their innovative slot games, with House of Doom being a grand example of their creative genius. For the game, the developers teamed up with metal band Candlemass to create a game in line with their unique brand of metal as well as create a new metal track to back the game and be released alongside the slot. While there is some information that you should read before you play any casino game, House of Doom allows fans to quickly dip in and spin on easy-to-learn controls for a quick dose of metal music.
As gaming continues to evolve and explore new ways to bring exciting experiences to players, we can only imagine that more metal-invoked games are on the way. For now, though, these are the iconic titles which have helped mould metal into a gaming genre.
