PAX Rising is always packed and one of my favourite areas of the weekend, and one of the games getting a lot of attention was Metal Heads.
It’s being developed by Nathan Francis, a solo developer from NSW and has been work in progress since November 2017, with this as its first showing at PAX. I had the pleasure of speaking with him about his game and he told me the levels were inspired by old-school multiplayer games. He drove down from NSW with his gear plus his Girlfriend and Brother in tow to help man the booth for his first PAX showing. His days have been 12+ hours long in the 4 month lead-up to PAX, so luckily the packed crowd made it more than worth his while.
Metal Heads is in development with an intended release date of mid-2020. The plan is for 30 levels in the finished game and roughly half of those were on show for PAX Aus 2019. These included a kind of marble madness level, dodge the laser and jump between the gears to reach the centre and back. Simple ideas but I have to say the gameplay was super solid and the physics were spot on and second nature to most gamers. I managed to win my first round against the crowd but then my Checkpoint colleagues Elliot and Luke showed up and put me in my place. (Where you belong!! – Ed).
The game has been tested on his friends and their feedback has been shaping the way of the game and its levels.
Here are some of the features intended for the final release:
8 players local, online or a combination of both. No more missing out on the fun because the game doesn’t support enough players!
Over 30 fun, whacky and challenging mini-games on launch. Each catering to different strengths such as platforming, memory, reaction time, timing, observation, mind-tricks and more, with more mini-games planned post-launch.
Classic party game Board Game mode with a twist. Roll the dice, then take control of your Metal Head to run and jump your way to your destination.
Customize your Metal Head! It’s just not as enjoyable unless you get to make your Metal Head the way you want. Change colours, change head, change arms, legs, body, and accessorize your Metal Head.
Mini-Game and Board Game editor planned post-launch, so that you can create your own mini-game levels and board game levels to share with your friends, and online. Don’t feel like making your own? Download someone else’s levels and enjoy other people’s creations.
Metal Injected music! It’ll be tough to focus when you’re too busy banging your head to the fun, metal infused sound track.
Post-Launch expansion of features is planned. Metal Heads aims to be the GO TO of the party game genre, and it needs regular content updates and new and exciting additions to make that happen.
The screenshot may say it’s work in progress, but it’s looking very good even now and plays as good as it looks. The indie scene may be awash with games at the moment (which is great) but some, like Metal Heads, truly stand out. I know I’ll be keeping a keen eye on the progress of this game.
I’ll just need to find 7 friends to play with me.
At this point in time its due for release on PC only, so the PC faithful are in for a treat – although, you never know what the future may hold. We will keep you posted with the progress of this one. Keep an eye out and in the meantime, add it to your Steam Wishlist.
About the Author
Kolby James
He/Him
Advocate for Sega. Fan of the 90s.
