Metro Exodus
4A Games
Battle Royale games have obviously become solid gold, at least the upper tier titles. It seems like every time I turn around, some gaming developers are desperately trying to cobble together digitized offerings that they hope will capture the hearts and minds of the gaming masses the way PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds did.
For the first time perhaps in a couple of decades, traditional first-person shooters seem to have been dwarfed by this onslaught of recent Battle Royale titles. Even the latest Call of Duty and Battlefield titles have been trounced by this new incursion.
However, some developers are taking a step back and regressing to what they know best—and that happens to be a very good thing for developers 4A Games, who have just released their new project called Metro Exodus, upon the gaming masses. They’ve also doubled down on their particular specialty amid very vocal cries for a multiplayer Metro experience, and instead have delivered yet another unfettered (and sublime) single-player experience.
Metro Exodus takes place a full two years after the wrap-up of the previous chapter in the series; Metro: Last Light, and once again you step into the well-worn boots of main protagonist, Artyom. Instead of the story revolving around the supernatural Dark Ones of Last Light, Metro Exodus switches gears and has Artyom seeking a simple, more tranquil life outside of the massive subway system that he was once trapped within.
Metro Exodus is indeed a fitting title, as after the game’s preliminary intro, Artyom is thrust out into the dilapidated remnants of outer Russia. You’ll begin in a frigid winter landscape, but will eventually travel to scenic autumnal forests and even scorching desert regions.
Although this departure from the dank, dark confines of Russia’s vast subway system is a welcome change, it was in the writing that I felt Metro Exodus truly shines. Every NPC that you encounter has a very distinctive (usually of the eccentric kind) personality, and intriguing background.
Not only was it fantastic to get a digital adaptation of author Dmitry Glukhovsky’s series, but the game’s writing team have done a phenomenal job of bringing many of its characters to “life,” and I couldn’t help but to develop an emotional connection to them.
Although Artyom can consult his clipboard map to look at the various points of interest that NPCs have told him about, Metro Exodus is played best when roaming about the map and discovering things for yourself.
For instance, there were many times when I’d be traversing elevated terrain and would pull out my binoculars for a look down into battle-scarred cities or desolate valleys, only to spy some dilapidated complexes or ruins of some sort which begged for exploration. Once I’d run down to check them out, I’d usually find a way in and my challenging adventures would begin.
As with the previous games, food and water aren’t needed for survival in Metro Exodus. However, you do need to keep your ammo reserves stocked up at all times. You also want to craft (or find) gas mask filters, different types of grenades, and of course the ever important medical supplies for healing up.
While Metro Exodus’ pure survival elements are solid, its story-driven objectives really showcase the game’s excellent pacing. One particular mission involved finding and killing a dastardly gargoyle-type monster and acquiring a worn out teddy bear within its loot-pool. Once I got my mitts on the little toy I was able to return it to a young girl living in a nearby community of survivors. Seeing her cherish and hold her teddy bear oh-so tenderly once again galvanized me to continue on my travels throughout the devastated landscapes, with renewed vigor.
When it comes to combat, Metro Exodus doesn’t force you into any specific modality. While you can always go in guns-blazing, there are plenty of opportunities to utilize the game’s excellent stealth mechanics. You can even avoid particularly deadly enemies altogether using the latter, just as in the previous Metro titles.
Metro Exodus’ graphics are superb, and really showcase the game’s great optimization by allowing high frame-rates at high settings. You’ll gawk at all sorts of dystopian fare in this game’s tragically beautiful environs—from sprawling caverns to crumbling wastelands not only do your surroundings look convincing, but the many different types of enemies do as well.
Metro Exodus oozes with post-apocalyptic greatness and combines gorgeous visuals, with exciting gameplay and excellent writing. If its initial release is any indication of things to come, Metro Exodus will be staying downloaded to my Steam library for a long time to come.
SCORE: 86%
Metro Exodus features great graphics that make its post-apocalyptic gameplay truly shine. However, you’ll want to have a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming rig:
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