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Metal Slug Rush turns the classic side-scroller into a Vampire Survivors-style shooter

Metal Slug Rush turns the classic side-scroller into a Vampire Survivors-style shooter
  • Metal Slug Rush is out now on Android and is slowly rolling out on iOS
  • It takes the SNK classic and gives it a brand-new Vampire Survivors-style coat of paint
  • Rush through enemies, blazing away and gathering power-ups to survive

The Metal Slug series is a pretty big one for SNK and has been going strong for many years, including on mobile with Metal Slug Awakening. But now, Metal Slug is jumping into a brand-new subgenre with the debut of Metal Slug Rush, which takes inspiration from a much more modern source.

Available now on Android and slowly rolling out on iOS, Metal Slug Rush is, of course, a Vampire Survivors-style take on the original side-scrolling shooter. You'll drop into battle as one of the iconic Metal Slug characters, blasting your way through enemies and collecting power-ups as you go, trying to survive to the end of the time limit.

An image of various Metal Slug enemies stacked up on metal shelving with the two main characters grinning and giving thumbs up.

Survive...Survive!!!

Yes, it's a pretty shameless spin on the Survivors formula, but not exactly a bad one either. Metal Slug's iconic retro graphics are directly translated here, which, while a bit of a shortcut, also means that the game looks just as good as any of the arcade classics.

Gameplay, meanwhile, is just as visceral as the original thanks to the (surprisingly gory) animations being carried over alongside the graphics. Admittedly, all those death noises might start getting on your nerves, but I've certainly heard worse.

It is a shame that Metal Slug Rush hasn't had more fanfare on the way out the door. This is a game we only stumbled across by pure chance, and it hasn't had nearly the same PR campaign that Metal Slug Awakening did. Here's hoping that Rush resonates with fans and proves there's hunger for a more engaging shooter experience on mobile!

In the meantime, if you find yourself wanting more to play besides Metal Slug Rush, or just want to check out what else is available, then be sure to take a gander at our list of the five new mobile games to try this week!

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Iwan Morris
Iwan Morris
Iwan is a Cardiff-based freelance writer, who joined the Pocket Gamer Biz site fresh-faced from University before moving to the Pocketgamer.com editorial team in November of 2023.