Gal Metal

Gal Metal’s fun, silly story is a super-cute gateway to the driving rhythms of metal drumming, and once you’ve got a few rhythms in your head, it pays off in a way that makes you want to learn more.

Gal Metal is a game with bold choices. The Joy-Con motion controls are interesting, and tightly fit the ideas of the title. In addition, the idea to create your own jams upon existing layers works surprisingly well. That being said, for most, this will be a one-and-done deal. You will play through it and be done after an hour or five. Beyond this, there isn't much to the package, though I do find myself replaying tracks a tiny bit. It really depends on what you're searching for, but as a music game, it certainly knows how to entertain.

Gal Metal is a fresh offering in the musical genre... but some areas are a little bit ¿weird? Only classical music (with a rock paint coat) or the detection errors from the Joy-Con, ruin part of the joy. Also, the "over the top" Japanese adventure touches, and social elements, take the player far from the core (feel like a drummer).

Gal Metal is a rhythm game that may be an acquired taste for some players. The lack of direction will be confusing at first, but once you get used to listening to the song a few times, you'll come to appreciate the more freeform nature of rhythm. Though the game lacks original tracks, it does a good job with the metal-tinged classic songs, and while the story has seemingly endless cut scenes, at least it's humorous. While the Switch has a number of solid rhythm games, this flawed title is still worth checking out if you're looking for a different experience.

Gal Metal is not the average music/rhythm game. It's not the average game either, it's a very unconventional work and in a good sense, as the game's unusual premise certainly required an unusual gameplay. While its lifespan is certainly the game's Achilles heel and the repertoire of songs could be bigger, Gal Metal is still something worth checking out not just for fans of rhythm games but for all those looking to try something different.

Gal Metal is a unique experience that combines cute high school girls, galactic adventures, evil aliens and metal music together in one unmissable experience. The characters all stand alone in their own right and the story line is engaging with a few plot twists mixed in which has you wondering as to what will happen next. The game took about five hours to complete however mastering the rhythms and besting those difficult scores aided in my eagerness to replay levels factor and kept me coming back for more.

While there may be plenty of things I’d like to change in Gal Metal, the core of the game is an unmistakably fun time. With so many heavy hitters on the market in 2018, sometimes you need to just sit down, unwind, and out-play alien invaders with electrified versions of classical music.

While I did have some fun playing Gal Metal, I’m not sure it was the game’s intention for this to occur. By all means, check out this game. Perhaps my fumbling skills are the aberration, and I’m speaking right now to an audience of exceptional drummers. I certainly never felt like one while playing Gal Metal.

A group of high school students, an alien attack, and Metal. Gal Metal is a unique rhythm based game that mixes metal with a free form playstyle, from DMM Games. Nothing could quite have prepared us for this as we defend earth from certain doom.

Gal Metal is an average rhythm game that definitely falls in the “lost potential” category. With the huge falter that is the main plotline, the most appealing part of the main campaign would be the character interactions. Gameplaywise, Gal Metal is a novel concept that is ultimately limited by the accuracy of the motion control hardware.

Gal Metal starts off strong with its appealing world and witty protagonists, but falls victim to becoming monotonous when it reaches its halfway point.

Disappointing, that’s the best word to describe Gal Metal. It’s a game with great potential, but it just isn’t focused or accessible enough to capitalise on it.

Gal Metal has some great ideas, but fails to execute them soundly. It tries to break the mould of rhythm games by giving players more agency over how they play. There’s a big difference between removing the training wheels and removing the headlight though, and with a lack of proper guidance and feedback on what the player is doing, Gal Metal feels more like cycling in the dark than it ought to. Charming characters and a cute story redeem the package somewhat, but it’s still a bit of a chore to play through the music segments between those narrative beats.

Gal Metal is a game where you’ll probably find yourself playing through the story just to get to music scenes where your goal is to provide a steady, unceasing beat. Not exactly the most thrilling stuff. Different than most other rhythm games, sure — and if you love rhythm games for the rhythms themselves, there might be something interesting here for you.

The concept is interesting, but the freeform rhythm mechanic needs way more finetuning to live up to its promise.

Gal Metal is a weird rhythm game that unfortunately doesn’t live up to the hype that its premise promises. It’s worth checking out if you want some metal in your Switch diet, but other than that, you can probably skip it.

Depending on your own musical talents, Gal Metal can be cute and satisfying, or dull and frustrating.

Gal Metal is a great idea that fits well on the Switch, but sloppy pacing and a crushing difficulty curve make it hard to recommend.

One of the most esoteric games I've ever played, I can only recommend Gal Metal to the narrowest set of musically blessed Japanophiles around. [Issue #37 – January/February 2019, p. 23]