Momentum is king in this high-octane playground
By Paul Hunter
Metal Eden is a sci-fi first-person shooter from Reikon Games that centres on speed, choice and a single, decisive tool: the core. You take control of ASKA, a Hyper Unit built to move, fight and extract those cores mid-combat. Guns, melee and core executions form a tight loop where each choice changes the flow of a fight.
Weapons evolve through branching upgrades, so your loadout grows into a defined approach rather than a random pile of perks. Movement is integral: wall runs, grapples and ziplines keep you on the move, and a Ramball transformation (think Metroid morph ball) opens fast, chaotic stretches that swap traversal for direct momentum. Combat focuses on arenas that demand timing, quick weapon swaps and smart use of resources.
The result is a focused, motion-first shooter that wears its influences openly but finds its own rhythm. Does Metal Eden’s core-ripping combat and Ramball-fuelled movement make it worth your time or is it just another trigger happy shooter? Let's find out!
The game sets its scene on Moebius, a city orbiting the planet Vulcan where human minds live on as Cores. You are ASKA, a Hyper Unit tasked with breaching that city and recovering those digitised essences. The premise places personal stakes at the heart of each mission.
The world-building relies on contrasts. Moebius has a distinct futuristic cyberpunk flair, and the presence of preserved human minds gives the stakes an ethical edge. Nexus, your constant companion, narrates and explains the building blocks of the plot, steering you through objectives and weighing in on the events you trigger.
The excellent voice performances anchor much of the story’s weight. Well-delivered lines keep the emotional beats high as you uncover the dark secrets of this orbital city.
Characters feel well developed and carry clear purpose that fit the setting. Several key figures reveal layered backstories and motives through dialogue and mission beats, which keeps you curious about their aims. Those portrayals add real texture to the world and help the campaign’s themes land alongside the action.
In sum, the story delivers strong messages about identity and preservation that add interest to the campaign. With its lean exposition and a steady pace, the narrative matches the high energy of combat and left a lasting impression.
The best part of Metal Eden is how it keeps you moving while you make hard calls. Rip a core, then decide in a blink: toss it to blast a cluster, consume it to charge your melee, or finish an enemy outright.
Your guns back that up. There are two main weapon types: energy weapons are great at blasting off enemy armour, while kinetics are better suited at delivering the final blows. Within these weapons types there are several different classes including handguns, shotguns, rifles and SMGs, each with their own alt fires, attachments, and branching upgrades. Defeating enemies earn Dust to unlock mods, and small tweaks matter. A rifle grenade or a shotgun burst can change the whole approach to an arena.
Here’s the moment it clicked for me. In a tight early campaign arena, I cracked a heavy’s armour with the shotgun burst, yanked a core from a nearby grunt, pitched it into a flying drone, then consumed the next core to supercharge a punch and take out the final enemy. The room went quiet fast, it was a satisfying victory.
Freeze grenades help when crowds swarm. One toss parks them in ice long enough to reset the fight or deal immense area damage. Ammo and armour pick-ups keep things rolling, but tougher waves push you to swap between weapon types smartly.
Metal Eden excels at delivering a satisfying combat loop that works. Read your enemies, break plating, rip cores on cooldown, collect Dust and then use it to unlock more cool weapon mods. When you’re chaining kills while performing slick parkour movements, it lands like a clean speed-run slice through enemy-filled maps.
Metal Eden looks powerful in motion. Light sources carve the edges of metal and concrete, and reflective surfaces give texture to the city’s large structures. Close-up work on models holds up during movement, so details remain crisp when you zip through an arena.
The world’s architectural choices give Moebius a consistent identity. Broad slabs, exposed framework and harsh lines make each area feel built for function, not comfort. That visual language helps you locate cover and plan routes, which matters when timing and angle matter as much as aim.
Audio pulls the pieces together. The soundtrack drives the pace with steady techno pulses that sit under combat without drowning the sound effects. It keeps tension high during fights, and several tracks stick with you long after the action ends.
Technical performance matches the game’s pace. On PS5 the action stays smooth and responsive, even in the busiest arenas. Inputs feel tight, so your wall runs, core rips and weapon swaps connect without hesitation. That reliability keeps momentum intact and makes chaining movement and executions feel deeply satisfying.
Overall, the presentation gives you a clear, seamless world to move through. Lighting, materials and model work present Moebius with scale and grit, and the soundscape supports frantic encounters.
Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Developer: Reikon Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Metal Eden is a sci-fi first-person shooter from Reikon Games that centres on speed, choice and a single, decisive tool: the core. You take control of ASKA, a Hyper Unit built to move, fight and extract those cores mid-combat. Guns, melee and core executions form a tight loop where each choice changes the flow of a fight.
Weapons evolve through branching upgrades, so your loadout grows into a defined approach rather than a random pile of perks. Movement is integral: wall runs, grapples and ziplines keep you on the move, and a Ramball transformation (think Metroid morph ball) opens fast, chaotic stretches that swap traversal for direct momentum. Combat focuses on arenas that demand timing, quick weapon swaps and smart use of resources.
The result is a focused, motion-first shooter that wears its influences openly but finds its own rhythm. Does Metal Eden’s core-ripping combat and Ramball-fuelled movement make it worth your time or is it just another trigger happy shooter? Let's find out!
The game sets its scene on Moebius, a city orbiting the planet Vulcan where human minds live on as Cores. You are ASKA, a Hyper Unit tasked with breaching that city and recovering those digitised essences. The premise places personal stakes at the heart of each mission.
The world-building relies on contrasts. Moebius has a distinct futuristic cyberpunk flair, and the presence of preserved human minds gives the stakes an ethical edge. Nexus, your constant companion, narrates and explains the building blocks of the plot, steering you through objectives and weighing in on the events you trigger.
The excellent voice performances anchor much of the story’s weight. Well-delivered lines keep the emotional beats high as you uncover the dark secrets of this orbital city.
Characters feel well developed and carry clear purpose that fit the setting. Several key figures reveal layered backstories and motives through dialogue and mission beats, which keeps you curious about their aims. Those portrayals add real texture to the world and help the campaign’s themes land alongside the action.
In sum, the story delivers strong messages about identity and preservation that add interest to the campaign. With its lean exposition and a steady pace, the narrative matches the high energy of combat and left a lasting impression.
The best part of Metal Eden is how it keeps you moving while you make hard calls. Rip a core, then decide in a blink: toss it to blast a cluster, consume it to charge your melee, or finish an enemy outright.
Your guns back that up. There are two main weapon types: energy weapons are great at blasting off enemy armour, while kinetics are better suited at delivering the final blows. Within these weapons types there are several different classes including handguns, shotguns, rifles and SMGs, each with their own alt fires, attachments, and branching upgrades. Defeating enemies earn Dust to unlock mods, and small tweaks matter. A rifle grenade or a shotgun burst can change the whole approach to an arena.
Here’s the moment it clicked for me. In a tight early campaign arena, I cracked a heavy’s armour with the shotgun burst, yanked a core from a nearby grunt, pitched it into a flying drone, then consumed the next core to supercharge a punch and take out the final enemy. The room went quiet fast, it was a satisfying victory.
Freeze grenades help when crowds swarm. One toss parks them in ice long enough to reset the fight or deal immense area damage. Ammo and armour pick-ups keep things rolling, but tougher waves push you to swap between weapon types smartly.
Metal Eden excels at delivering a satisfying combat loop that works. Read your enemies, break plating, rip cores on cooldown, collect Dust and then use it to unlock more cool weapon mods. When you’re chaining kills while performing slick parkour movements, it lands like a clean speed-run slice through enemy-filled maps.
Metal Eden looks powerful in motion. Light sources carve the edges of metal and concrete, and reflective surfaces give texture to the city’s large structures. Close-up work on models holds up during movement, so details remain crisp when you zip through an arena.
The world’s architectural choices give Moebius a consistent identity. Broad slabs, exposed framework and harsh lines make each area feel built for function, not comfort. That visual language helps you locate cover and plan routes, which matters when timing and angle matter as much as aim.
Audio pulls the pieces together. The soundtrack drives the pace with steady techno pulses that sit under combat without drowning the sound effects. It keeps tension high during fights, and several tracks stick with you long after the action ends.
Technical performance matches the game’s pace. On PS5 the action stays smooth and responsive, even in the busiest arenas. Inputs feel tight, so your wall runs, core rips and weapon swaps connect without hesitation. That reliability keeps momentum intact and makes chaining movement and executions feel deeply satisfying.
Overall, the presentation gives you a clear, seamless world to move through. Lighting, materials and model work present Moebius with scale and grit, and the soundscape supports frantic encounters.
The Verdict
Metal Eden is pure momentum. You sprint, wall-run and snatch cores, then decide in an instant whether to toss it as a bomb, or absorb it to power up a finisher. A huge variety of guns mixed with deep upgrade paths, means you'll always have fresh weapons and upgrades to bring into battle. Ramball mode and ziplines keep the pace high and make traversal an exhilarating part of your tactics. The world looks sharp and the soundtrack drives each firefight, while voice work gives the tale teeth. The thrill of chaining movement and executions makes every minute of this action-packed shooter a memorable ride.Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Metal Eden details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PCDeveloper: Reikon Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.