Review: Full Metal Schoolgirl (PS5) – This Offbeat Anime Roguelite Somehow Gets It Right

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Despite being a game about rebellious robot students fighting a cruel government, Full Metal Schoolgirl surprisingly connects with players on a personal level.

As a huge fan of this story, let me tell you, the arrival of AI created this amazing, but creepy, wave of robotic workers – they’re called the Working Dead! Basically, this mega-corporation is using them as total slaves, forcing them to just endlessly work. It’s a really cool and disturbing concept!

Tokyo’s economy is run by one powerful company, and you play as one of two cybernetic cadets with chainsaw arms. Your mission: work your way up the corporate ranks and expose the CEO’s corruption. Be warned: it won’t be easy, and you’ll likely fail multiple times before succeeding.

Okay, as a huge anime fan, this new game from Yuke’s feels like Returnal, but with a totally awesome anime style! It’s got that same roguelite gameplay we all love, but the art and characters really make it special. It’s like they took a great formula and added a huge dose of Japanese flair.

Each floor of the company’s headquarters presents a new, unpredictable challenge, and you’ll face battles as you move upward.

The game combines shooting from a third-person perspective with close-combat action, which generally works well. We did find the initial controls a little sluggish, and we needed to adjust the camera settings to get it feeling just right.

After adjusting the DualSense controller’s stick sensitivity, we found the combat to be quite satisfying. It’s smooth to quickly aim and fire while approaching enemies, and even more rewarding to finish them off with impactful close-range attacks.

Weapons all have different strengths and weaknesses. Axes are powerful but slow, while blades are fast but don’t hit as hard. As you play, you’ll discover rare and legendary items that can significantly change how the game plays.

Like all games of this type, luck plays a part. Sometimes you’ll find exactly the powerful items you need and be incredibly strong. Other times, you’ll have to be resourceful and work with what you’re given.

The game can be really frustrating at times, with certain challenges and enemies pushing our patience to the limit. Those flying robots that drop explosive barrels? Seriously tough to deal with!

What makes this game so enjoyable, like many excellent roguelites, is that even unsuccessful attempts help you improve over time.

As you defeat enemies, you’ll collect resources that you can use to permanently improve your character – things like health, damage, and the ability to revive after being defeated.

Initially, going out might seem like a waste of time and money, as the game unexpectedly takes some of your earnings. However, after investing to fix this issue, it becomes much less frustrating.

As you climb the tower, you’ll discover new areas and enemies. While the overall corporate look stays consistent, the artists have made an effort to keep the later levels feeling distinct and interesting.

Throughout the game, you’ll face tough bosses on certain floors. While you can sometimes skip them with elevator keys, we occasionally had to repeat long sections of the game, which became frustrating.

The game can become quite repetitive at times, and while it’s meant to be a relaxing experience, levels can be lengthy – often lasting an hour or more. This makes it frustrating to lose progress after a long run.

You’re consistently improving with those upgrades, even though the doctor who installs them behaves inappropriately and makes you uncomfortable.

Also, each playthrough is designed to feel like a live broadcast, with chat messages appearing on the left side of the screen.

Sometimes, rooms will ask you to complete challenges in a specific way through Cash Chat. If you succeed, you’ll earn extra money that you can use to improve your game.

As we played, we often found ourselves rushing to the next floor, and the game actually encourages that pace. While exploring for better items is rewarding, sometimes it’s faster and more efficient to just keep moving forward.

We enjoyed the gameplay, but it could use a bit more polish to really make it shine like a classic arcade game.

Sometimes, the animations after sprinting don’t flow as smoothly as they could, which slightly impacts the overall experience.

These small issues are understandable given the game wasn’t made with a huge budget. At $49.99/£39.99, it’s more expensive than many indie games, but still much cheaper than most major, high-budget titles.

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2025-10-23 17:07