Raw Metal Review | A Stealthy Invite to Suplex City

Raw Metal is an indie stealth-action, roguelite, beat-em up hybrid that’s finally out! Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

Raw Metal Review Overview

What is Raw Metal?

Raw Metal is an indie stealth action beat-em up game with some roguelite elements. It combines the focus of sneaking around rooms using the shadows and walls as your cover similar to games like Metal Gear and Splinter Cell, and the fast-paced melee combat of Absolver and Sifu when it comes to engagements. It’s a weird combination of two genres that isn’t commonly seen together, but it works in this satisfying gameplay experience.

You are a lone scavenger in a desolate planet who comes across a mining facility, Katabase 6, owned by the megacorporation known as Orpheus Tech. Sneak through the facility using gadgets and gear you find lying around and fight through to find the secrets of Katabase 6 and survive.

Raw Metal features:
 ⚫︎  Top-down stealth-action meets beat-em up combat with hints of roguelite gameplay
 ⚫︎  Great soundtrack and voice acting
 ⚫︎  Difficult yet satisfying freeform combo system and combat
 ⚫︎  High contrast visuals complemented by in-game lighting
 ⚫︎  Smooth animations for both movement and combat

For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Raw Metal's gameplay and story.

Raw Metal
Steam

Raw Metal Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Unique and Amazing Gameplay Soundtrack You Can Vibe To Smooth Animations and Visuals	Fairly Difficult Gameplay Camera-Locked Perspective Some Softlocking Bugs Exist

Raw Metal Overall - 88/100

Raw Metal is a game that accomplishes something that I never thought was possible. It’s able to combine the meticulous and calculating gameplay of a stealth-focused game with the fast-pace, high-intensity gameplay of a beat-em up and it does so gracefully. There’s a ton of things to like in this game, and I recommend anyone and everyone to give it a try and put your fists to the test.

Raw Metal Story - 7/10

Strictly speaking, the game’s story is gated by its difficulty and will be explored more by players who are already familiar with how the game works. This might irk some people, as it took me roughly 2-3 hours to start getting used to the game’s combat mechanics. It’s definitely a learning process, and the story picks up quickly after the first two acts which is good because your efforts are rewarded afterwards.

Raw Metal Gameplay - 9/10

The best part about this game is that it is completely different from the rest of the games I’ve played. Raw Metal is what you get by making stealth a core mechanic to a brawler game like Sifu, and it does so quite well. The combat mechanics are easy to understand, yet still have a high skill ceiling for players to master which makes the game all the more satisfying for those who want these types of games.

Raw Metal Visuals - 9/10

The visuals and animations are what elevate this game even further. From the dark color scheme, the use of lighting to enhance the characters’ silhouettes and figures, and the smooth flow between movement and fists, mostly everything is top notch. This game is a near-complete package in terms of the presentation of its visuals through its gameplay and vice-versa.

Raw Metal Audio - 9/10

The soundtrack is a vibe. It hypes up at the right moments when it comes to the moment-to-moment gameplay and is atmospheric enough to make you feel like you’re both in danger and THE danger. Not to mention that the voice acting is also stellar. While the voice lines are repetitive, the delivery from the main character, the villains, and even the grunts make you wonder if it really is just a small indie game.

Raw Metal Value for Money - 10/10

For $20 dollars, this game is a complete steal. The game’s difficulty alone will keep you in it for a long time, and add the fact that it has a ton of achievements and even a new game plus to complete, you’re definitely going to need some time to master this game to fully complete it.

Raw Metal Review: A Stealthy Invite to Suplex City

The moment I saw the gameplay of this game from Steam NextFest, I was hooked. Immediately, I was impressed by how good the game looks, feels, and sounds even just basing off videos I saw of it on YouTube. I didn’t want to spoil my first time experience that I was going to have with this game so I opted not to play the demo which was hard for me to do. But I’m glad that I didn’t spoil myself, as this game has it all. Great visuals and animations, fast and interesting gameplay, amazing soundtrack, and a pretty good story.

I’ve always been a fan of brawler type beat-em ups like the older Yakuza games, Absolver, and the recent critically acclaimed brawler, Sifu. This game scratches that itch to beat up some thugs to a great extent as the roguelite elements also make the game more interesting. It has a simple freeform, combo-based, combat structure that rewards aggression and proper timing, which is definitely the main appeal of this game. While the stealth mechanics aren’t exactly novel or groundbreaking, it enhances the game’s vibe of being a lone survivor.

Gameplay-wise, the game is difficult, which is to be expected from a game that’s clearly inspired by Sifu and the like. It’s not as hard as a Souls game, but it definitely has its moments where you’re overwhelmed, especially when you stealth attack a single enemy and find out that there are three people in a single room. It rewards proper usage of your gadgets, both in-combat and out of combat, as they can be used to lure enemies out of difficult positions and isolate opponents in actual combat. The combination of proper timing and aggression makes the game intense in both presentation and gameplay in the best way possible.

The game is elevated by the game’s overall look and feel from its color scheme, animations, and lighting. The color scheme and lighting lend each other a hand in highlighting the game’s colors while keeping its imagery to the shadows. The latter is used to enhance the characters’ features especially with how the armor and gear look for both the player and the enemies. The animations are also top-notch, as the whole flow of the game is smooth and is vital to how the game is presented.

Overall, it’s a gem of a game that should be played. It’s a wild fusion of genres to see and I’m glad that it works because I want to see more of this type of gameplay in the future.

Pros of Raw Metal

Things Raw Metal Got Right
Unique and Different Gameplay Soundtrack You Can Vibe To Smooth Animations and Visuals

Unique and Different Gameplay

I know I sound like a broken record by now, but combining stealth-action and a beat-em up is not something you see everyday. While these two genres SHOULDN’T work, Raw Metal makes the marriage look like a work of art. Granted, the stealth component of the game isn’t something like Metal Gear or even the Arkham games, but it's still a core part to the game’s vibe and gameplay loop.

It rewards the player’s resourcefulness by using what you pick up and taking enemies down one at a time as opposed to just running in and punching everyone in the face (which you can definitely try, but difficult to do). Even the combat, while simple, is still interesting as it has a freeform combo system that is supplemented by both good gadget usage, proper timing for defense, and most of all the ability to combo using the walls in the game.

Soundtrack You Can Vibe To

The game’s soundtrack is pretty good. It puts you in the right mood to both sneak through a corrupt mining facility full of minimum wage earning guards as well as punch and kick said guards in the face. As expected, the boss themes are amazing. I won’t spoil too much as the game’s second boss music is downright metal.

Smooth Animations and Visuals

In my life, I haven’t seen a suplex be used as a stealth attack, and I’m glad I’ve seen one now. To keep things short, the animations for this game are amazing. It's smooth, yet impactful in combat, and is heavily reminiscent of both Absolver and Sifu, which I’m a big fan of.

Cons of Raw Metal

Things That Raw Metal Can Improve
Fairly Difficult Gameplay Combat Camera Lock Some Softlocking Bugs Exist

Fairly Difficult Gameplay

I won’t sugarcoat it, this game is quite difficult. It’s not your run-of-the-mill beat-em up where you can mash your way to victory. Disregard the normal enemies, as they only become punishing if they come in higher numbers, but the boss fights will take you a while to learn their patterns and gimmicks. Being aggressive is the name of the game, but you also have to be precise with your advance, as being too greedy could lead to you repeating the whole level again.

Combat Camera Lock

I praise the game’s presentation and combat a lot, but sadly I’m not a huge fan of the camera being locked. It took me a while to adjust to this, as some angles can obscure enemies’ attacks. This is completely subjective, but some sort of camera rotation can alleviate some of these issues when it comes to situations where your or the enemy’s back is against the wall.

Some Softlocking Bugs Exist

There’s still some bugs to iron out and the devs are hard at work to fix them as not even a full day of release and a few hotfixes are already out. One example is using the teleportation gadget or the "Tear Module" could lock you in rooms where you would need another one to get you out. Another example would be enemies being thrown out of bounds with no way to beat them, resulting in you needing to restart the level. This shouldn’t be that big of a deal, as the devs are definitely looking into it as well as looking through the community’s feedback through their official Discord server.

Is Raw Metal Worth It?

Absolutely. It’s Time to Take the Guards to Suplex City

I’ll keep this short and sweet, this game should have more eyes on it. It’s an interesting concept that the dev team pulled off greatly. It’s simply fun without compromising the difficulty, and is a huge hit to those who are a fan of this type of gameplay. Those reasons, and of course, you can just suplex a guy for a stealth attack, who wouldn’t want to do that?

Digital Storefronts
Steam
$20

Raw Metal FAQ

What are the System Requirements needed to play Raw Metal?

The System Requirements are as follows:

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Raw Metal Product Information

Title	RAW METAL
Release Date	March 20, 2024
Developer	Team Crucible
Publisher	Team Crucible
Supported Platforms	PC (Steam)
Genre	Action, Stealth, Beat ‘Em Up
Number of Players	1
ESRB Rating	N/A
Official Website	Raw Metal Website

Michael Gerra-Clarin

Resident fighting game nerd, avid FFXIV fan, and enjoyer of mostly anything gaming. He is currently trying to get farther in the Tekken ranks while waiting for Dawntrail.