Tears of Metal is an extremely deep Scottish history Musou game
Take to the Scottish Highlands with your armies over and over again
What a title.
Yes, on its face, Tears of Metal just looks like a game where you play as William Wallace and blast through hordes of enemies — Dynasty Warriors style — until you complete a grander objective and move on. But the game has way more depth than that initial description suggests, and it makes for an impressive early-access title.
The two most obvious things that set Tears of Metal apart from its Musou game inspiration are its art style and the fact that it’s a roguelite.
Starting with the art, the game looks stunning with its “high school doodle journal“ aesthetic. Each character looks hand-drawn, but it’s the effects — like fire or your super meter — that look like they’ve been “carelessly” crafted with bright markers. It’s a really fun and unique style, especially for the contrast in a game set in the Scottish Highlands where you play as historical figures.
If you're a roguelike enjoyer, the systems in this game are going to be familiar. Each run starts in your village, and you’ll move from battlefield to battlefield clearing objectives, collecting run-based upgrades, and picking up permanent currencies that you’ll carry home with you when you win or lose your campaign.
Where the game gets interesting is when you start to look at what those currencies can buy you. Sure, you can use that gold to upgrade your hero, but you can also use it to promote captains in your own army, or improve their commands.
See, in Tears of Metal, you don't just control William Wallace or one of the other heroes; you also command an entire army around you. As you get hits and clear out enemies, you’ll increase a bar on the bottom left of your screen. If you charge it all the way up, you can spend it on a super attack for your hero. But you can also spend segments of your energy to command your spearmen, infantry, or archers to perform a special move.
By spending currency between runs, you can empower these soldiers that you’ll unlock and recruit as you play. You can even attach different family crests to your captains, which will give bonuses as long as they remain in your army, like increased dodge recharge speed or more damage for your basic strikes.