I was drawn to this game for because of its aesthetic and the generally positive feedback it has seemed to received since release. Turns out this is the worst game I have completed in recent memory - sad but true.

Pros:
+ heavy metal setting is unique
+ backgrounds are pretty and detailed
+ counter attack mechanic is fair and powerful
+ checkpoints are frequent
+ dialog can be quickly skipped
+ the final boss is sufficiently epic

Cons:
- try-and-die gameplay loop is archaic and frustrating
- combat is boring and repetitive
- weapon upgrades have no bearing on gameplay
- overworld level select is pointless
- lever hunt quickly becomes tedious
- platforming sections are uninspired and simplistic
- boss fights require rote memorization
- enemy drops are randomized and far too rare
- knockback on hit leads to a lot of frustration
- death traps and bottomless pits lead to cheap deaths
- the bland metal soundtrack gets grating after a short while
- the writing is full of typos and syntax errors

Playtime: 7,5 hours as part of the "Valfaris/Slain" double pack. With some secrets discovered and a lot of repeated attempts at boss encounters suffered.

Blagic Moments: Transforming into a wolf, only to play even worse platforming sections and not gaining any new ability. Skippping most combat situations at some point, because it saves time, and because they don't even matter.


Verdict:
In many ways, Slain is the complete opposite of modern Heavy Metal: bland and uninteresting, repetitive and unpolished, lacking fresh ideas and stuck in archaic gameplay loops that weren't even fun when they were first introduced.

Skip this if you value your time or play any side-scrolling 16-bit game instead. At least they let you use save states.