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The Red Judge is the main antagonist you’ll fight in Metal: Hellsinger. However, this enemy will attack you with different “aspects” at the end of each level, right before the final clash. Your first battle will be with The Red Judge Aspect in Voke.

Related: Metal: Hellsinger - Beginner’s Tips

Voke is the first hell in the game, and it will come right after the tutorial. Here you’ll unlock Persephone (a shotgun), which will come in handy for the first (of many) bosses in your metal journey. Let’s check a few tips for this battle.

Voke’s The Red Judge Aspect Overview

The arena in Voke.

Being the first aspect you’ll face in this (heavy) rhythm experience, this boss will teach you the fundamentals of any boss battle. For example, right until the end, you’ll encounter these flying heads with wings. Of course, all of them will have different abilities and some unique features, but they will also share attacks and mechanics.

The Red Judge Aspect in Voke can teleport from one side to the other (it will become orange particles when it does) and throw fireballs. The fireballs can be shot in a couple of ways: it will often throw two in a row from any of its sides, or create a horizontal line made of five projectiles.

However, that’s not it. This aspect will produce small explosions if you get too close. And something that you should learn from now on is that bosses have a second bar below their health gauge. This bar will charge automatically, but it will increase faster with the damage you deal to the boss.

The boss throwing fireballs.

Once it’s full, the aspect will make a special move, and then become stunned until the gauge is depleted. In this opportunity, Voke’s aspect will throw multiple projectiles in a straight line.

Finally, the bosses will spawn enemies after getting recovering from their stun. Sometimes (normally the first time), they will disappear from the stage while their minions attack you, but beware of them also appearing as the battle progresses.

How To Defeat The Boss In Voke

Facing the boss with a sword.

First of all, you should notice that your arena has quite some red crystals (the ones that make explosions) and green crystals (the ones that heal you). You can leave the former for the regular enemies, as you’ll destroy them instantly if they come near the crystal.

One green crystal alone will heal all your life, so don’t use them right away.

Two green crystals on the arena.

Now speaking about the boss itself, this first iteration shouldn’t bring you too much trouble if you follow some simple tips. For starters, it’s not recommended to use your sword against this or any of the upcoming bosses.

The reason is that, unless you move in and out pretty fast, you will be too exposed. It isn’t really worth it considering the damage you can deal with this weapon. Also, it’s hard to predict when the boss will make its explosion move, leaving you vulnerable and unable to react fast.

Aiming at the boss with Persephone.

The best choice for this battle is to just focus on your recently acquired weapon, Persephone. Even if it’s a shotgun, you can have some distance between you and the aspect, dealing a good chunk of damage and being able to read its move with more time.

While it’s not strictly necessary to shoot on the beat, you’ll deal much more damage if you do so. This can be hard to achieve when fighting an important enemy like this one and avoiding dozens of projectiles, but it’s also key to your achievement. Try to focus, and always remember that the song will change its speed from time to time.

Voke's aspect special attack.

As for avoiding this creature's attacks, a good dash to either side when a couple of projectiles are coming to you should be enough. The horizontal line is best avoided by jumping, and the enemy’s stun attack can also be avoided the same way, but make double jumps and add your dash in-air for more security.

Don’t forget that you have two possible retries for the whole level. If you lose both, you’ll have to restart the whole stage.

Rewards

Voke's boss vanishing.

After defeating the first boss, you’ll unlock the next hell, Stygia, and the first Hit Streak Boon, the Enduring Fury Boon. A Hit Streak Boon is a special perk that activates when you reach a certain Hit Streak (a combo of shots to enemies on the beat, without receiving damage). This particular boon will make your Fury gauge decrease slower when you reach a Hit Streak of six.

Also, the first three Torments of the game will be available when you win this battle. A Torment is a challenge that will ask you to defeat enemies under special conditions. When completed, it will give you a Sigil, another kind of perk that you need to equip before jumping into a level.

The Torments unlocked after completing Voke are Killing With Rhythm: I, Weapon Trickery: I, and Relic Thief: I.

Next: Metal: Hellsinger Review - Shoot, Shriek, Increase The Streak, Repeat