A little while ago, on Jack Black’s surprisingly gaming-less gaming channel, Jables set up a poll asking subscribers if they preferred videos featuring the recently released Red Dead Redemption 2 or the underrated heavy metal classic Brütal Legend. The cowboy epic obviously won by a landslide, but while I can’t fault anyone for enjoying Rockstar’s take on a virtual Westworld, I felt that Brütal Legend deserved some more love in 2019, the game’s 10th anniversary (EDIT: Jack did, in the end, play a bit of Brütal Legend on his channel).

Even back in 2009, Brütal Legend was that one weird Tim Schafer project that everyone was intrigued by, but very few people actually bothered to play. Boasting a star-studded cast (with Jack Black front and center as the demon-slaying roadie protagonist Eddie) and a heavy metal-inspired fantasy land, not to mention a soundtrack that rivaled the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this game was a wet dream for head-bangers everywhere. Nevertheless, Schafer’s peculiar sense of humor and a never-before-seen mash-up of gameplay mechanics seemed too bizarre for general audiences, and it didn’t take long for the game to drift into obscurity.

That’s a damned shame because, despite a few quirks and an oddly structured learning curve, I believe Brütal Legend is one of the best and most unique games of the seventh console generation.

From the surprisingly effective FMV-based main menu, Jack Black introduces us to Schafer’s vision of a world clearly inspired by the best of heavy metal album covers. From horrific hell-scapes to fantasy lands that wouldn’t look out of place in a Frank Frazetta painting, the world-building here is fantastic, and every area is packed to the brim with creative designs and subtle references to everything from Lovecraft to Tolkien. This is all accompanied by a legendary track-list that dials the action up to eleven.

While I admit that I’ve had more than my fair share of fun just wandering around and admiring the scenery, the story here is actually quite entertaining as well, with our protagonist Eddie being transported to this mysterious land created by Ormagöden, after suffering a freak accident on-stage in our world. Thrust into the middle of a violent revolution, Eddie must rally an army of familiar allies (featuring everyone from the late great Lemmy Kilmister to Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford) in order to combat the minions of the demonic Emperor Doviculus, voiced to deliciously evil perfection by the one and only Tim Curry.

As Eddie embarks on his quest, always careful not to steal the limelight from the true heroes of rock (after all, roadies are only meant to make other people look good), he’ll slowly organize the greatest tour this fantasy land has ever seen/heard, harnessing the mystical powers of rock along the way. While the setup here is decidedly silly, with tongue-in-cheek dialogue and exaggerated characters, this is still an earnest love-letter to everything heavy metal, where even the most basic enemy types have varied designs and personalities inspired by the music they represent, and where there’s an in-universe justification for nearly every single gameplay mechanic.

Of course, it’s these mechanics that ultimately scared off some players, as the game’s intro and EA’s marketing would have you believe that you’re in store for an open world hack and slash epic. While you never really stop getting up close and personal with enemy forces through the use of appropriately brutal combos and solos, there is something of a bait and switch at work here. After a certain point, the game starts to reveal itself as a kind of pseudo-RTS, with Eddie commanding his troops from afar in literal stage battles.

Personally, I found this shift in gameplay to be as entertaining as it was hilarious, with Eddie being forced to back up the revolution with inspirational guitar solos like a heavy metal bard, but I understand why this might piss some players off. Console limitations of the time prevented these battles from taking on a truly epic scale, and the controls are more than a little finicky. Even so, these battles work like a primitive version of a modern MOBA, and though the execution is rather clunky, Brütal Legend was still ahead of its time with this fun, albeit slightly confusing, genre mashup.

Sadly, the experience is often marred down by glitches and frustratingly vague tutorials, but once you finally get a handle on things, these battles are actually lots of fun. The online component is great as well, once you settle on what faction works best for you (I’m particularly fond of the Drowning Doom, which features hilarious goth-inspired undead units that look like they just attended a Birthday Massacre concert).

Of course, this is still Bloody Disgusting, and there’s a reason why I’m preaching about this decade-old game to horror enthusiasts. After all, horror and heavy metal have been close friends since the early 70s, much to the chagrin of conservative parents everywhere. Brütal Legend is no exception, as it features some kickass monster designs that wouldn’t look out of place in a Clive Barker story. From leather-clad demons to Lovecraftian abominations, the game’s creatures range from amusing to genuinely intimidating and unsettling, with environments that are just as creative and intricately detailed.

The gore is also on-point, often used for comedic effect as Eddie and his road crew quite literally plow their way through snowy wastelands, haunted cemeteries and much more. In this regard, it can be said that the game lives up to its name, though there is an amusing option early on to censor much of the violence and profanity.

With the revival of other Tim Schafer properties like Psychonauts and Full Throttle, not to mention the continued evolution of MOBA titles and RTS games, now is the perfect time for Brütal Legend 2. Tim has previously expressed interest in a sequel, and Jack Black is obviously still fond of the game, so who knows? Despite all its quirks, Brütal Legend still has an absurdly high approval rating on Steam 10 years later, and while it may not have been the most popular game of its generation, nearly everyone that played it to the end loved it.

Only time will tell if we will ever return to the land of Ormagöden, but for now, the original game is still available for those who wish to fight for the honor of Bladehenge, for the freedom of its people and for the glory of its metal!