Double Kick Heroes is a stunning shoot-'em-up with a metal rhythm

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We don't get to cover rhythm games in the Indie GIF Showcase very often, in no small part because a GIF isn't the best format for sharing music. Thankfully games like Double Kick Heroes, a rhythm shooter from appropriately named developer Headbang Club, blur the line. It stars a metal band whose members never got the memo that the '80s ended and tour in a Cadillac that is absolutely strapped. Which is good, because the Mad Max-esque world they're touring is apparently overrun with zombies and, er, engineer sharks?

There's a raunchy, unmistakably roadie vibe to Double Kick Heroes. Everyone is a stereotype and nobody cares—nor do they care about that zombie trying to climb through the rear window of this garage.

It's easy to forget that this is a rhythm game amid all the shooting, but there is a beat to hit. Different notes power up different weapons, which is especially interesting considering you can import music into Double Kick heroes and design tracks for your favorite songs from scratch.

Double Kick Heroes will come to Steam later this year.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.