Elden Ring, Doom and more: 14 games every metal fan should play

Video games and heavy metal often have much more in common than just a brutal soundtrack. Here we show you 14 games that embody the metal spirit and that all metalheads should have played at least once.

The 14 best games for metalheads

In this series of pictures, we present you with some video games in which although primarily but definitely not only metalheads will be delighted. In addition, we give tips and suggestions for metal bands that are suitable for the respective games, which you should listen to while playing.

So, folks: French forks up and get to the controllers! Let’s push the limits of our eardrums and our thumbs!

So if a game is called Metal: Hellsinger, it’s not difficult to guess what the whole thing is about. Metal: Hellsinger is a rhythm shooter. This means that you have to match your actions, i.e. shooting, reloading, etc., to the rhythm of the music playing in the background in order to achieve the greatest possible effect.

The soundtrack says it all: Metal! As you brandish your guns and blast enemy demons to the rhythm of heavy guitar riffs, your adventures will be fueled by metal songs specially composed for this game by established greats like Trivium or Serj Tankian (System of a Down) accompanied.

This combination shoots differently!

Metal is a bit subject to the cliché of being overly masculine and, above all, celebrating stoic masculinity. Just like some areas of metal the Gears of War games are also bursting with ridiculous masculinity. If you don’t have a chin like an anvil, arms like anchor chains and aren’t at least two meters tall, you don’t even need to compete here. Of course, that’s completely over the top, but it’s also incredibly fun.

Great action, cool one-liners, heavy weapons and sometimes amazingly sensitive and emotional moments – what more could you ask for? Then just put a little more Pantera or Soil up and the evening is saved!

The Open world masterpiece from FromSoftware embodies much of what you can find in metal culture with its dark atmosphere, morbid aesthetics and constant stress. When you, as a minor tainted one, face off against overpowering and huge foes like fire-breathing dragons and insane demigods, it already feels like you’ve landed in an 80’s power metal album.

Do you then pull yourself up before each fight accordingly Manowar or Blind Guardian get in, get your blood pumping and your adrenaline pumping through the roof, nothing can stop you!

Except for a single hit from your opponent, of course. My face, the game can be merciless…

If just playing the air guitar to Master of Puppets isn’t enough for you, don’t worry because there’s something for you: Guitar Hero: Metallica, as the name suggests, focuses on to one of the greatest metal bands of all time.

You can do this right away Play 28 songs by thrash metal legends and you feel like Kirk Hammet. There are also 21 other songs that are among the personal favorites and biggest influences of the Californians, but come from the pens of other well-known artists. Legendary bands like Motörhead, Judas Priest and Alice in Chains are also represented in the game to round off the perfect metal setlist.

The God-of-War games, with their blatant brutality, pure anger as the leitmotif and the incredibly epic staging are simply pure metal! If you then throw all piety overboard as an obsessed Spartan and start, one after the Gods of the Greek (later the Nordic) pantheon unsharpened into the ground banging it will evoke feelings similar to watching Slipknot.

On top of that, Kratos just looks like he’s the grumpy frontman of a black metal band. It would not surprise anyone if the spirit of Sparta spends its free time exclusively Immortal or Dark Funeral heard, right?

If there is a video game that could really be called Metal: The Game, then it would probably be Doom from 1993. Doom and its sequels use typical themes and impressions that are also often received in the metal genre. These include: hell, demons, death, divinity, blood, wrath, apocalypse and rebellion.

Doom Eternal picks up on all of Doom’s peculiarities, dresses them in a new guise and cranks all parameters to the limit. Plus, the soundtrack is just fantastic! Specially composed, hard and rhythmic Metal, which gives you the feeling of being on a battlefield. That’s the way it has to be!

Games for metalheads don’t all have to be first-person shooters or action-adventures, but can cover all genres, including real-time strategy. And if an RTS game has metal at its heart, then this is it Warcraft 3 and especially its expansion The Frozen Throne.

Warcraft pays homage to high fantasy, so we’re tempted to Blind Guardian or Hammerfall to hear while we gamble. With the undead campaign, the game gets an extra polish that pulls us down from power metal to death metal.

Of course, if we’re into metal, then we want to it’s best to be on stage yourself and knock out awesome riffs. It’s just stupid that unfortunately not all of us are able to do this… Fortunately, there is a series of games that has set itself the task of changing that.

Rocksmith is a rhythm game designed in a similar way to Guitar Hero, but with the crucial twist that you’ll find here actually plug in and play an electric guitar or bass should. So you learn some musical introductions to the respective instruments, which also form the backbone of heavy metal.

First-person shooter and metal just conceptually fit together perfectly. Both are intense and both are immersive. There are few game genres that pull you into the action as much as first person shooters do, just like heavy metal with its intense way of playing completely absorbs the listener.

It’s even cooler when the music you hear while playing not only fits the game in terms of vibe, but also in terms of content. If you want an incredibly intense gaming experience, then you should Storm the Normandy Beaches on D-Day in Call of Duty: WW2while you run Sabaton at the same time and give the Nazis lead to eat to the sounds of Primo Victoria!

Who says metal is only for men? Women also know how to dig deepbe it in music or in games.

A female icon in video game history who is as much Metal as anyone on this list, is without a doubt Metroid’s Samus Aran. The space bounty hunter hunts down nasty criminals and wacky aliens, and is anything but squeamish.

The look and art design of the series was reminiscent of the artworks of numerous metal album covers from the 80s and 90s. This classic is also really fun in a playful way. When you, as Samus, rip open the interestingly shaped buttocks of all sorts of aliens and whatnot Run Arch Enemy or Jinjerhave the fun of your life!

A theme that suits metal as much as cheese fits pizza is vikings! Long hair, beards, tattoos, beer, mead and general party vibes, you can find all of this at metal festivals/concerts, but primarily associate it with Vikings. Metal and Vikings simply harmonize with each other!

So if you want to feel like a Viking, go on a raid, win a mead drinking contest or sail a little across icy seas, then Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is just the perfect game for you. Do you give yourself some Amon Amarth in the process?then you are sure of the favor of Odin, Freya and Thor at the same time!

Last but not least, metal is known for to point out general grievances with sometimes very drastic words or to position oneself politically and to criticize institutions.

The Oddworld games don’t shy away from large socially critical artillery pieces either. Capitalism, exploitation, environmental destruction and power politics: all of this is presented in Oddworld in the guise of a extremely challenging and creative side-scrolling jump ‘n’ runs condemned in the strongest terms.

The bitter subject matter and the gloomy atmosphere fit perfectly with socially critical alternative or industrial metal like Tool, System of a Down or Fear Factory.

Of course Skyrim has to be on this list too! There’s no need to argue! We’re a chosen one, walking through a dark fantasy world, beating on skeletons, hanging out in smoky taverns and punching fat dragons in the head.
Let’s down a mead just before we roar “Fus Ro Dah” and clip a dragon’s head, then we embody heavy metal in its purest form.

Let’s pair our game then with the epic sounds of Ronnie James Dio or the hyped, fast-paced guitar riffs of Dragonforce we feel absolutely invincible!

And of course, the playful declaration of love for heavy metal in general should not be missing from this list!

Brutal Legend is the story of the world’s greatest roadie, Eddie Riggs, who must save a demon-infested world with his badass roadie skills and brutal metal expertise. be there mainly paid homage to legendary bands like Iron Maiden, Motörhead or Black Sabbath.

The game reminds us that metal is all about feeling and cohesion with each other, where a huge pinch of humor just can’t be missing. Metal is about Passion, loyalty and damn awesome music.