Metal Gear Solid is definitely primed for a parody. The completely serious, utterly ridiculous game series, with all of its cardboard boxes, iconic sound effects and “Snaaaaaake!” death rattles, is just waiting for a game bold enough to dismantle it. And dismantle it UnMetal does.
UnMetal is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch.
The game starts with Jesse Fox, soldier of fortune, arriving on U.S. soil in a commandeered Russian helicopter. Needless to say, the U.S. military has questions, and what ensues is a game-long flashback as Jesse recalls how he escaped Russian prison (for a crime he didn’t commit) and made it back.
Except Jesse is about three thousand miles west of being a reliable narrator. He has a habit of exaggerating the situations he wiggles out from under, and reality gets ejected out of the backseat. It makes for hilarious situations. Overcome tentacled bosses, choose how many enemies are waiting for you behind a corner, and generally overpower people with ridiculous homebrewed objects like chloro mixed with form to make chloroform.
We’ve played this through to the end and a review covering our thoughts on how UnMetal plays on Xbox can be found here. We even had a chance to interview UnMetal’s Fran Téllez de Meneses to find out more. Very generally, we fell in love with UnMetal and would thoroughly recommend you give it a go. Not only is it hilariously funny, but it manages to be a sturdy stealth adventure game in its own right. If you ever played through the early Metal Gear Solid games, you will be right at home: this has all the patrol-memorising, patient stealthiness that you could possibly want.
Key features include:
- • Uncover a clandestine plot as you escape from an enemy base where you were imprisoned for a crime you didn’t commit.
- • Modern gameplay mechanics that pay homage to a solid classic.
- • Gain experience and skills by utilizing stealth to take down your enemies.
- • Deceive, adapt, and do whatever is necessary to escape… even if you have to impersonate a cat.
- • Enjoy the thrill of interrogation as you elaborate specifics of your great escape to a lieutenant who seeks to scrutinize Jesse’s every word in an intricate report.
- • Decipher a plethora of satirical culture, gaming and movie references. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll fall in love with them.
- • Collect an arsenal of classic gear, things that go “pew-pew”, maybe a thing or two that goes “BOOM!”, and some things that go “BOING!”, and definitely a thing that goes “SCRATCH”.
- • Does this smell like chloroform to you?
From the makers of UnEpic, we didn’t expect this one to be quite as easy a recommendation as it is. Grab an encrypted walkie talkie, some cigarettes, a couple of empty cardboard boxes and give UnMetal one a go.
UnMetal is out now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, priced £16.74, discounted to 13.39 for a week from the Xbox Store. It’s also out on PS4, PS5, Switch and PC.
Game Description:
You play as Jesse Fox who finds himself imprisoned in a covert military base where he was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. Jesse must now escape using his dry wits, quick words, improvised skills, arsenal of warfare, violent explosives, MacGuyvered gadgets, and an elaborate explanation of how it all went down. If that all fails, he’ll use his fists.
It also came out on PlayStation Vita some months ago.