A trailer from Morbid Metal has been released that features playable characters and their fighting techniques. Early Access is slated for the Fall of 2025, but a free demo is available now from which players are urged to wishlist in order not to miss any updates. As for the reactions? Well… they go from serious hype to sheer disdain.
For one, the trailer presents a flashy and rapid battleground-type of thing for a sci-fi samurai slasher involving melee combat, buff mechanics, and what I suppose prioritizes combo style of gameplay. The ambiance is dark and metallic, crazy and utterly top-level fight sequences might either be the first skid into the servers of hit or another entryway for the hit block of forgettable Ubi games that this generation has gone through so much of.
But here’s the kicker: Ubisoft is not the developer of this one. As concluded by user AnthroPersona, the real geniuses behind Morbid Metal are the indie outfit, Screen Juice. That might explain why this combat feels and hits much more forcefully than any recent Ubisoft title ever could. AnthroPersona even visited the demo and came out very impressed; he praised all those “sick combos, flashy moves, and buffs that actually matter.” That, if viewed from an optimistic perspective, is high praise from someone clearly not expecting much.
Not everybody bought that account, though. The replies streams evolved into a battlefield for hot takes-to both extremes of hype and disdain. Frogboyx1Gaming, for example, was on board: “freaking awesome,” he said after playing the demo. But others were not impressed, like Kalib (@sakasoufle) who dismissed it as “NetEase style slop,-just yet another miss by Ubisoft.” Ouch.
Then came along with all the Warframe comparisons, too. According to lots of users, including luku and Questbroski, Morbid Metal becomes nothing but a “knockoff Warframe” or “Warframe at home.” The question arose whether the comparison was fair or not; however, it seemed the aesthetic was bringing…let’s say, familiar vibes.
Another thorn in the side is platform availability. PlayStationCave and some others want to know if Morbid Metal is coming to PlayStation. Meanwhile, CombosNKills points out that the demo is not even featured on the PS Store yet. That would be very strange for an Ubisoft- or Screen Juice-led attempt at stirring excitement on all platforms. On the topic of hype, some gamers would outright refuse to engage with anything pertaining to Ubisoft, with SaberZer02 saying that while interested, they would “not touching anything Ubisoft.” Harsh, yet easily understood given all of the recent controversies the publisher has been embroiled in.
And then we get to Early Access. ADB (@AssholeDataBase) bashing Ubisoft for dipping into Early Access by declaring that “huge AAA publishers have no business” doing so. A fair point- Early Access traditionally is the realm of smaller studios that want and need player feedback, not some corporation with billions in the bank. Then again, if the real dev here is Screen Juice, then maybe that does make sense?
Among this madness, some are just outright confused. Greystone (@mati_z8) simply went on to ask: “What is this?” while others, like DeadlyMouse (@CasualGamer96), were more concerned about when Ubisoft would remaster Black Flag instead. Priorities, people.
So where’s that leave Morbid Metal? Somewhere between “could possibly be a sleeper hit” and “another Ubisoft flop.” The demo is available for download; players have to decide for themselves. In any case, if all this is any indication, the game has got its work cut out trying to win half the world over.
One thing is for sure: Whether loved or loathed, Morbid Metal is already being debated. And, considering today’s super-crowded market, that might very well count as its first victory.
