UnMetal (2021)

I have never played any game in the Metal Gear franchise though I did watch a playthrough of the first three out of curiosity. This was a fun and challenging parody of those games. I can't speak to exactly how it compares difficulty-wise. I certainly had a good challenge getting through, especially on the final boss. Nothing was unbeatable but it forces you to play carefully or lose your progress. Enemies will follow you through rooms if they spot you, which was a change from what I expected and added new challenges. You can't simply flee and reset the alarm.

I like stealth games but I usually play games more in the Mimimi style than this style. The graphics were very Super NES and a nice bit of nostalgia for me.

It's narrative does seem to intentionally parody some of the absurdities of Hideo Kojima's writing, of which I'm aware of only through said watch-throughs. It's told as a story-within-a-story-within-a-story and includes a whole host of jokes as a result. The humor is pretty good. There are moments of player choice, usually around selecting the encounter associated with entering a room.

I played it on Steam Deck and it worked perfectly. No issues ever.

If stealth games had a chaotic cousin who never shuts up and rewrites history mid-sentence, it would be UnMetal. You play as Jesse Fox, a man imprisoned for a crime he absolutely didn’t commit... or so he claims. From there, the game unfolds like a fever dream told to a disbelieving interrogator, with each exaggerated memory becoming a new level full of stealth, improvised weaponry, and just enough wild nonsense to keep you guessing.

The magic of UnMetal lies in how committed it is to the bit. The unreliable narrator concept isn’t just for cutscenes — it actively alters gameplay in real time. Say you "fought a dozen armed guards"? Then congrats, you’re now fighting a dozen armed guards. It’s the kind of interactivity that feels both ridiculous and brilliant, and it turns every new scenario into a surprise party thrown by a compulsive liar.

It helps that the stealth gameplay is actually solid (pun so intended). You’ll sneak, punch, and chloroform your way through guards with just enough challenge to keep things interesting, but never enough to feel punishing. It’s more about playing along with the story than mastering perfect routes. There are also light puzzle elements, inventive boss fights, and item-based shenanigans that reward experimentation, sometimes to hilarious effect.

The voice acting deserves special mention. Jesse delivers every line with the deadpan confidence of a man absolutely convinced he's the star of his own action movie... and maybe he is. Supporting voices hold their own too, adding to the game's radio-drama vibe without ever undermining the humor.

That said, not every gag sticks the landing. A few jokes are dragged out longer than necessary, and some puzzle moments rely more on trial-and-error than actual skill. The pacing dips here and there, especially toward the final chapters, when the jokes start to feel a little more scripted than spontaneous. But honestly? It’s a testament to how strong the game is that these rough patches never break the experience — they just give you time to blink between laughs.

UnMetal doesn’t just parody classic games. It weaponizes nostalgia, twisting familiar mechanics into hilarious new shapes. It’s a game where comedy and gameplay don’t just coexist — they feed off each other. And in a genre where “retro” usually just means “hard and moody,” this game had the audacity to be fun.

👍 POSITIVES

• Terrific use of unreliable narration as both storytelling and gameplay mechanic • Genuinely funny writing that rarely feels forced • Nice stealth and puzzle design with surprising variety • Excellent voice acting and pacing (for most of the game)

🤏 MIXED

• Humor might not click if you're not on its wavelength early

👎 NEGATIVES

• Some jokes overstay their welcome • A few late-game sections rely too heavily on trial-and-error