Slain was originally the product of a Kickstarter campaign by Wolf Brew Games that described the game as a "homage to the gory hack and slash games of the 80's and 90's" and cited Altered Beast, Shadow of the Beast, and Ghosts 'n Goblins as inspirations.
The campaign was successful, but the initial release of the game was a bit of a disaster, with many complaints about bugs and the game's controls. The studio a short time later relaunched the game in much improved form under the title Slain: Back From Hell. This edition fulfilled the promise of the Kickstarter campaign in providing a smooth playing but challenging action game with tons of gore.
The player controls a warrior named Bathoryn who is resurrected from the dead to battle Lord Vroll and his hordes. Bathoryn must hack his way through a litany of monstrosities that have turned the world into an apocalyptic hellscape. Successfully clearing the game mostly requires that the player master a system of timing your parries of enemy attacks to stun the enemy and counter with a devastating sword-swing. Although some progress can be made through mashing buttons, failure to master the parries will almost certainly result in the player hitting a wall before long. The game's detailed and smoothly animated pixel art and particle effects combine to create the sense that you're playing your way through a catalog of death metal albums.
The metal aesthetic doesn't stop there, either. The game's soundtrack was provided by former Celtic Frost member Curt Victor Bryant. After dispatching boss enemies, the game gives you the option of pushing the attack button to "honor the Great Horned Metal God in thanks for your victory!" Doing so causes Bathoryn to start windmilling his hair, sometimes right into the gore layered on the ground, while a heavy, down-tuned guitar riff blasts.
The overall experience highlights a kinship between sword and sorcery and heavy metal that has been there since heavy metal was established as a musical genre. So many songs draw on fantasy imagery, particularly of an edgier, bloodier style, and metal music generally favors a spirit of individuality, strength, and skill that is agreeable with the sorts of characters that populate S&S fiction and their stories. Consider the lyrics of, for instance, High on Fire's "Return to Nod":
Sing the psalms of the wailing winds, the entrance seer will provide
Stars reveal the tattered map, a land cursed of time
So speaks the words of our challenger seeking the ultimate prize
(chorus)
Speaking the words of the sorcerer's tongue
No one can stop what's already begun
Follow the footsteps and unlock the door
The giant you face has awakened
A sight that's filled the eyes of mighty men, the very cost of their lives
Take the aim of the shimmering blade, the vulnerable spot is precise
Swift is the hand of the waking beast, crown of two worlds is the prize
Speaking the words of the sorcerer's tongue
No one can stop what's already begun
Follow the footsteps and unlock the door
The giant you face has awakened
Exalting the hero forevermore, steps to the throne of eyes
Serve the shadows mountain peaks under the glass mirrored skies
Sing the psalms of the wailing winds, the entrance seer will provide
It would probably be harder to find examples of metal bands that don't compose songs rooted in fantasy than otherwise.
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