Heavy metal has been a bit of a social outcast for most of its existence – on the outskirts of popular culture, popping into the mainstream for a bit here and there, but generally staying away from the day- to-day. In fact, it shares a lot of characteristics with video games. Both have had flirtations with the mainstream, with video games currently embracing it a little bit too tightly for our liking, but arguably the best years for both came when behaving as an outsider. 

It’s no shock that video games and heavy metal have crossed paths on a number of occasions. There have even been some heavy metal-based casino games released for online casinos. Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and Guns N’ Roses are just a few of the artists/bands that have released video slot games to the market. With so many heavy metal video games out there, which are the best to play? Take a look through our list so that you can find the best games and avoid the worst. 

Guitar Hero: Metallica

While Metallica might not have released an album for a while, they still have a back catalog that most bands would kill for. This is why it was no surprise when Guitar Hero chose Metallica to be the focus of one of its releases. While it could be argued that Guitar Hero 2 should be taking this spot as it featured one of the best selections of songs of any of the games, this one has to be there purely for name value. 

The game has a great setlist, with lots of 80s Metallica on show and avoiding the majority of St. Anger. It also features lots of other bands. Some of the biggest names in metal can be found here, and even if you’re no good at the game, you can still enjoy the tunes that are on show. If you’re a fan of Metallica and just metal in general, then this is the Guitar Hero game for you.

KISS: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child

The name is extremely unwieldy. Two lots of colons certainly does seem a little bit self-absorbed. Is it any surprise either? KISS are known for selling anything and everything that is to do with their name to anyone who will buy it. This licensed game is actually based on the comic book of the same name. The storyline is a little bit out there, but behind that is a surprisingly fun game. 

The basic premise is that Gene Simmons has sold the KISS name to the highest bidder. No, that’s far too realistic. The actual premise is that a KISS tribute band has to collect a variety of battle enhancements that will transform them into the real KISS. This may sound utterly shocking, but as we said, the gameplay is actually pretty fun. 

The game itself is a first-person shooter game and was released before the days when nine out of 10 games were FPS titles. It might not offer the realism of some other first-person shooter games, but it definitely offers lots of fun. If you’re a KISS fan, you get to listen to some tunes as you slay monsters. What more could you want?

Quake/Doom

We had to pair these two games together. It’s almost impossible for them not to be recognized as trailblazers when it comes to combining heavy metal and video games. First, we’ll go over Doom.

Doom wasn’t the first ever first-person shooter game. It was, however, the first that really captured people’s imagination on a large scale. Doom is undoubtedly a classic game and the fact that it is still being made and remade today almost 30 years after it was originally released just shows how much of an impression it made. Why is Doom a heavy metal video game though? Well, back in the 90s when Doom was made, CD-quality soundtracks just weren’t a thing. There was no chance of featuring any real music on there, let alone some thundering metal that would have fit the game perfectly. So, what did the developers do? They improvised.

Doom features music that is quite obviously influenced by some famous heavy metal tunes. There really is some great stuff to be heard in Doom, even if it is in extremely old MIDI files. Listen closer next time you play it and see if you can spot the tracks that are being ripped off. 

Quake came a few years later and took things entirely to a new level. Not only did it increase the quality of the graphics to a much higher level, but it also used the band Nine Inch Nails to create the soundtrack. You could argue that they’re an industrial band, but that’s nit-picking. Quake is as metal as it gets, and for the time, it was a huge coup. 

On top of all of this, the game featured a nail gun, which was an obvious homage to Trent Reznor’s musical baby. Doom might have been the first to come, but Quake was the game that took things to the next level. 

Brütal Legend

What is there to say about Brütal Legend? It’s probably the most heavy metal game of all time. You follow an ex-roadie as he travels into album covers to slay all of the demons inside. He uses his axe (that’s not a pun – he has an actual axe as well as a guitar) to fight his way through the levels. There are plenty of great tunes in this game as well as pools of blood. 

The main character is voiced by Jack Black, which adds a bit of extra authenticity to the title. It’s obvious that the developers of this game are fans. It’s just too metal to have been made by anyone who doesn’t get the scene. There are over 100 great songs on this game, so even if you can’t fight your way out of a paper bag, it’s still well worth playing.