I tried surviving Metal Slug Rush's arcade chaos and ended up spamming Heavy Machine Gun
It's not very often that I find genres that are a perfect match on mobile, but the only thing I can really say about Metal Slug Rush is that its mix of genres is, indeed, a match made in heaven. I don't know why it took SNK this long to figure out that all they really needed to do was slap the classic run-and-gun franchise with Survivors-like mechanics to adapt it to the modern age - and I honestly wouldn't have thought of it, either.
I even gave Metal Slug Tactics a go when it came out on Crunchyroll, and while that was definitely enjoyable in its own right, it was a strategy game - and turn-based, at that.
Obviously, I have nothing but good things to say about Metal Slug Rush, especially since I've been playing this for three hours non-stop, effectively forgetting that I had to make dinner until my grumbling stomach started protesting. It's just that the visuals, the aesthetics, and the sound effects are all there, and each time I picked up a randomised boon - one of three for each level up - I got all giddy inside hearing the old-timey voiceover exclaiming "Heavy machine gun!" at me over and over again.
Normally, I bemoan a lack of hand-holding in most games, but for this one, for some reason, the lack of a proper tutorial actually kind of… makes it work? As soon as you boot it up, it simply thrusts you into battle and just tells you to survive for as long as you possibly can, and that's it. It doesn't even walk you through the main menu, likely because you don't really need it - and I love the freedom it gives you there.
In essence, the bits and bobs on the main screen are optional - you can upgrade your gear, boost your stats, and even purchase the rest of the gang like Fio and Tarma. But you don't really need to analyse every single thing to enjoy all the action - simply hit the "Mission Start" button and off you go.
Of course, the difficulty ramps up as you progress, and you'll need to be more strategic about the boons you choose as you go along. While it's incredibly satisfying to blast enemies to kingdom come with your thunder clouds, mobile satellites, and wayward orangutans (yes, you read that right), things will inevitably heat up when incoming fire starts to look frustratingly similar to the little pellet level-ups you need to run right into on the ground.
I do love that the vibes are still very much Metal Slug despite the genre shift - there's even that poor POW you need to rescue that'll randomly give you rewards out of the goodness of their heart. There are ads, of course, but they're optional, and mainly there to help you revive when you perish or shuffle rewards should you so wish.
I'm not going to pretend that there's nothing to complain about, of course. There's no escaping the battle pass and the in-app purchases here, for instance. But if all you're really looking for is the titular rush of combat for something that's filled with arcade nostalgia, then Metal Slug Rush isn't one to miss.
Now, if only there was a productivity app that'll happily scream an adrenaline-fueled "Heavy machine gun!" at me when I'm rushing to meet a deadline…
