Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast released yesterday on iOS and Android devices, and as far as free-to-play mobile games inspired by heavy metal bands go, it's pretty darn cool.
A turn-based RPG mobile game inspired by the lyrics and album art of Iron Maiden's long music history sounds like an odd combination at first, and it kind of is. Players collect various creatures and versions of Iron Maiden's immortal mascot Eddie and do battle with various beasts across realms inspired by the band's music. Battles are short and sweet, perfect for mobile, and require precise timing in order to inflict maximum damage on opponents.
It's not all that different from other collection-focused RPG battling games that have found popularity on mobile, but Legacy of the Beast stands out because of the game's incredible sense of style and overall high production values. This is a great-looking game from head to toe. The game worlds bring to life the iconic heavy metal imagery of Iron Maiden's albums in a gorgeous, cel-shaded style, and each of the game's creatures look right at home. From the menus to the actual battles themselves, developer Roadhouse Games knocked this one out of the park.
And that's all without even mentioning the huge amount of Iron Maiden fan service that makes the game a must-play for any fan of the band. From the loading screen to all of the unique (and badass) Eddie variations, this game is an Iron Maiden fan's dream.
There is, of course, the game's stellar soundtrack as well. Iron Maiden's more than 40-year career means the band has a huge variety of music available for use, and it's used in-game to great effect. Whether in the menus or in battle, there's an Iron Maiden song perfect for every occasion, and the developers have done a great job of picking the right tunes for each aspect of the game. There's even unreleased versions of classic Iron Maiden songs, giving hardcore fans yet another reason to install the game and take it for a spin.
Being a free-to-play game, there are of course a number of ways that incentivize players to shell out some cash. The game features an energy system that is replenished every so often (or can be replenished instantly with real money) as well as in-game currencies that can be bought and then exchanged for the chance to unlock new rare characters for use in battle and other items.
It's all fairly standard free-to-play when it comes to its monetization scheme, but thankfully it never feels like players truly need to spend money. The energy system allows for plenty of play time before needing to be replenished, and the wait times for it to replenish automatically are fair.
Fans probably didn't expect all that much from the Iron Maiden mobile game, but I'm happy to report that it's far better than it has any right to be. Dripping in style and fun to boot, it's definitely worth checking out for metalheads and mobile RPG gamers alike.
