Heavy Metal Thunder Review

Heavy Metal Thunder isn’t like other game books. For one thing, you have to pay attention to it and the decisions you make. Some other titles, you can let your mind wander slightly or make a somewhat foolish decision and not be punished for it. Heavy Metal Thunder responds to any foolish call by smacking down on you - hard. It’s a satisfying adventure game, but don’t expect to complete it any time soon.

The early stages ably demonstrate what’s expected of you. Plenty of different skills are available, giving you a fairly varied experience. You can choose to be a stealthy warrior or to be a charismatic leader with a plethora of options at hand. It’s not long, however, before the decisions you make can bring huge ramifications.

While some adventure gamebooks ease you in gently, Heavy Metal Thunder can kill you off a few minutes in. Fortunately there’s a checkpointing system, which means you never lose much progress - other than a sense of mild irritation that you were a bit silly with a decision. Combat involves tapping on some digital dice to get a higher number than your foe, and can be occasionally frustrating given the random nature. The key here is to make better decisions earlier on.

Heavy Metal Thunder only offers the one difficulty level, so there’s no fast-track route here. Given the storyline revolves around being trapped in space with alien invaders out to get you, it does capture the loneliness quite well. Unusually for such a title, the soundtrack is quite gripping too, adding to the atmosphere.

It won’t appeal to the gamers looking for quick success, but for those who want to carefully plan ahead, Heavy Metal Thunder is a satisfying tale. It’s a pleasant change of pace from the usual adventure gamebooks on offer and, while plodding, is very atmospheric.