Tears of Metal looks like a medieval Dynasty Warriors with a roguelike knife twist, and it’s headed to Steam next year

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Rally a friend into battle with bagpipe metal.

Permadeath, limited character upgrades, and a growing battalion sure sound like the perfect combination to evoke the intensity of an army charging into battle with one "last hurrah." It's the strategy hack-and-slash roguelike Tears of Metal showed off during today's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted with its new gameplay trailer signaling a plan to deploy in 2025.

Tears of Metal - Player units running into battle against a large group of enemies, the battlefield is full of characters fighting and looks very much like a Dynasty Warriors game.

(Image credit: Paper Cult)

You can't name a game "Tears of Metal" and not go Devil May Cry-style hard on the soundtrack. There is no reality in which I actually beat Dante Must Die mode, but the music makes me feel like I can, and that's what's important. Fortunately the same applies here if the trailer track is anything to go off of. Ashamed to admit I didn't know bagpipe metal was a thing, but now I do, and I'm better for it.

All of that attitude aside, Tears of Metal is a neat one for me to see cued up after being on a bit of a co-op roguelike/lite kick. Typically the more committed to that recipe a game gets, the more inclined I am to fly solo, but I've been playing a ton of Ravenswatch, Don't Starve Together, and The Outlast Trials' Escalation mode lately. The risk and reward of individual, permanent choices mixed with RNG is a good time with the right group, and I can't say I have anything quite like Paper Cult's hack-and-slash in my library.

Tears of Metal is out next year, though you can keep an eye on it now by wishlisting the roguelike on Steam. And while you're at it, end 2024 on a good note by tuning into today's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted for a top 25 list of even more games to look forward to in 2025 (hopefully).

Andrea Shearon
Andrea Shearon
Evergreen Writer

Andrea has been covering games for nearly a decade, picking up bylines at IGN, USA Today, Fanbyte, and Destructoid before joining the PC Gamer team in 2025. She's got a soft spot for older RPGs and is willing to try just about anything with a lovey-dovey "I can fix them" romance element. Her weekly to-do always includes a bit of MMO time, endlessly achievement hunting and raiding in Final Fantasy 14. Outside of those staples, she's often got a few survival-crafting games on rotation and loves a good scare in co-op horror games.