4/5 ★ – jebus's review of Brütal Legend.

FULL REVIEW (Completionist ✓) [Xbox Gamepass] Released in 2009 on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC by Tim Schafer’s studio Double Fine, Brutal Legend is one of the most atmospherically fun games I have played. The 'Jack Black Heavy Metal Action Game' as I once remembered it stylistically stands out even today but with gameplay that lacks substance critical to having the game be otherwise remembered as a classic. This is a heavy metal epic of one man from the future uniting and liberating a world of metalhead personas through the power of heavy metal music alongside characters voiced by metal legends such as Ozzy Osborne and Lemmy Killmaster. The world has an alternate-médiéval style to it and offers a landscape and gallery of characters that feels endlessly and faithfully inspired by metal. It is at its best when sticking with its quirky, over-the-top soap opera style, but sacrifices a lot of its fundamental humour for its goth and death-metal influenced third act.  Boasting an admirable amount of licensed heavy metal songs, from the 80s through to the 00s of this game's release, the most fun I had playing this heavy metal game is speeding through its' heavy metal open-world in your heavy metal car. For a game with a lot of emphasis on style and fun, I appreciated its world for being accessible, and for having the option of a harder difficulty setting to get the most out of the gameplay mechanics which I rarely considered complicated or difficult enough to affect my casual enjoyment. Its heavy metal influence lifts the gameplay up with plenty of stylistic choices. Your combat weapons are an axe and guitar for ranged attacks, featuring more nuanced combos and attacks than some modern action games. Your car can be summoned at any time and upgraded with speed and weaponry as the game progresses, and is as much a part of your arsenal as your axe. Traversing the world doesn’t take long in your car (and would be foolish to do so without it) but the ever-changing vistas are always worth stopping to take in the view. The car is my personal favourite element of the gameplay, as it can be used at almost any time, even in the stage battles. The core gameplay device and often story objective is an RTS-lite stage battle between two factions, allowing the creation and control over many metal-themed units. Side quests are often uninspired but offer entertaining character dialogues, and collectibles are numerous but addicting; offering new songs for your car radio or guitar solo tablature you can activate via a quick time event for unit buffs, summons, and other, often epic abilities as you fight alongside your army in battle. Battles in the campaign don’t require much finesse in unit management and engagements can be short so long as you are aggressive and utilise all of your tools, which can make for fun and epic set pieces. Completing the majority of the game will take 10-15 hours with up to double or even triple that time for completionist goals, but as the game features a multiplayer component highlighting the stage battle gameplay, you will need partners for full completion of everything the game offers. A genius, outrageous setting that entertains more than it has any right to. Jack Black voicing the game's protagonist binds the product together with charm and heart, and even 11 years later I find it compelling and entertaining enough for a full playthrough.