Videogame review: Brütal Legend (2009)

Technnical data:

Developed by: Double Fine Productions

Distributor: Electronic Arts

Director: Tim Schafer

Writer: Tim Shafer

Genre: Action, Adventure

Summary: In this game we play Eddie Riggs (Jack Black), the roadie of the band Kabagge Boy (a band that softens and commercializes the sound of metal to please his pre-teen audience), who is crushed to death while trying to save the guitarist, but his blood falls on an amulet he wore on his belt, invoking Ormagöden, a metal beast that teleports him to another world, which is a visual representation of what Heavy Metal is. There he meets Ophelia (Jennifer Hale), who invites him to join the resistance; Eddie accepts and together they embark on a journey to free their world from the rule of General Lionwhyte (Rob Halford) and other tyrants.

Review:
For a while I was looking for a videogame (apart from Guitar Hero) that revolved around Heavy Metal, then I found Brütal Legend and it exceeded all my expectations.

Everything in this game is brutal, starting with the artwork, which did not go for hyperrealism like many games of the time, but for a cartoonish aesthetic, with very curious details, such as the super muscular neck of the headbangers:

Lionwythe's exaggerated hairstyle and appearance, which is a parody/reference to 80's glam aesthetics:

Or the bats with Ozzy Osbourne's head:

The scenery also stands out, since all of them are full of life (or death) and have cycles of day, night, rain, etc.

Now let's go to the mechanics. Something that I found curious is that you can't jump, but this doesn't affect the game at all. Apart from that, I loved destroying enemies with the axe "The Separater" and casting spells with a Flying V juggernaut, with the advantage that with them you can make powerful combos. But, something that surprised me is that you can do solos that invoke special powers, like melting the face of the enemies or improve our defenses. The battles are also very interesting, because we will have a stage from which we will summon troops to attack the enemy stage, but to recruit the troops we have to build merchandising stands on the geysers of fans. The more fans we have the better troops we can recruit, from the aforementioned headbangers to bikers who burn everything.

The performances in this game are spectacular, with Eddie Riggs, who has the voice and charisma of Jack Black:

Ozzy Osbourne, who gives his voice and image to the guardian of metal, who will help us with improvements throughout the game:

Rob Halford, who plays the aforementioned Lyonwhite, or Lemmy Kilmister, who is the voice and image of the Kill Master, who ironically is a doctor who uses his bass to heal:

The plot and references are very interesting. The first part of the game is much more humorous, having to face the army of General Lyonwhite, which basically are the same troops as ours only with a glam aesthetic, I understand this as a reference to the fact that the glam is called "metal", but leaves behind the ideals of anti-commerciality and authenticity of metal to be a more marketable product, and this statement adds to the fact that Lyonwhite uses metal for selfish and narcissistic purposes, leaving behind all the ideals of brotherhood and struggle of metal:

The second part of the game is much darker, having to face the army of the Drowning Doom, an undead with a gothic style, which have more varied troops, such as zombies digging up graves or horsemen of the apocalypse, being the final battle against Doviculus (the leader of the Drowning Doom) an epic and challenging moment:

As for the plot, the only thing I disliked is the romance between Eddie and Ophelia, which is a bit cliché, but it develops well.

But what would a game about heavy metal be without the music, which has a careful selection of songs for each moment, such as heavy classic songs like "Mr. Crowley" by Ozzy Osbourne or "Am I Evil?" by Diamond Head or the extreme metal that sounds during all the confrontations against the Drowning Doom, with great songs like "Her Ghost in the Fog" by Cradle of Filth or "Murmaider" by Deathklok, but without a doubt the song that I most enjoyed listening was "Painkiller" by Judas Priest, as it sounds in the confrontation against Doviculus, making it an epic ending.

Conclusion:
This game surprised me at every moment, trapping me with its plot and incredible mechanics. If you like heavy metal this game is definitely for you, and if you don't like it you might also be interested. It is unfortunate that they have not been able to make a sequel.

Rating:
9.8/10