Metro Exodus
4A Games/Deep Silver
I’m a sucker for good post-apocalyptic games, especially considering I’m also a book author who has written within the genre. Luckily for me, there have been many games set in the genre over the years, and although they seem to be getting a lot of competition from the recent glut of battle royale titles, I don’t think they’ll ever fade away.
There’s just something addictive about trying to eke out an existence when all of the societies of the world have collapsed, and you have to contend with not only limited food and water, but also minimal weapons and equipment.
While we have access to a number of multiplayer post-apocalyptic games, such as the PvP meat-grinder Rust, and the better-paced Miscreated, besides Fallout 4, there aren’t a ton of single-player offerings. The recent release of Fallout 76 (although that also had multiplayer) teetered, and then of course bombed, so what does that leave us with? I’ll tell you what: 4A Games’ Metro Exodus.
Set several years after the happenings in Metro: Last Light, Metro Exodus continues to follow the gritty adventures of the series main protagonist, Artyom. However, whereas in Metro: Last Light there were only a few travels from within the titular subways to the surface world, in Metro Exodus you’ll play almost exclusive above ground. The Dark Ones are just a fading memory and Artyom has set out on his own in order to find a place to live on the surface, and perhaps team up with other survivors.
One of the first things that I noticed out Metro Exodus is how much more of an open-world affair it is than its predecessors. While Metro: Last Light’s freedom of movement improved over its forerunner, Metro 2033, in Metro Exodus your travels are opened up even further this time around, partially due to the game’s expansive environments, as well as its narrative structure.
Instead of backtracking through the same dismal tunnels of the previous titles performing fetch-quests, Metro Exodus allows you to guide Artyom through frozen Russian winters, lush forests, and scorching deserts. There’s also more of a sense of verticality present here, and much of my travels involved pulling Artyom’s binoculars out and surveying areas from elevated areas—such as perched on foothills.
This gave the proceedings a much more organic feeling, as I’d spot different landmarks of interest and then cautiously approach them. If they happened to be old bunkers or warehouses, I’d usually explore them if I wasn’t attacked right away by some of Metro Exodus’s scurrilous bandits or roving packs of mutated monstrosities.
All of these elements tie into Metro Exodus’s game play mechanics nicely. For instance, you can surveil potential enemies from afar, and then devise a strategy based on your own personal playstyle, as well as the level of danger presented and various environmental aspects. If you’re more of a run-and-gun type who likes to go in with your assault rifle blazing, you can do that.
However, you can also choose a more subtle approach and utilize the game’s excellent stealth system. If you feel that certain foes might be a little too much to handle, simply stick to the shadows and you can (hopefully) avoid conflict altogether.
Metro Exodus features a more comprehensive continuation of the last game’s weapon customization and crafting systems. In this regard, most of your time will be spent gathering parts in order to upgrade your weapons or gear, or fashion all new devices. The same limited ammo sources are also present, so it is highly recommended that you keep aware of how much of it you’re expending when fighting off enemies.
Metro Exodus is an example of a highly immersive, post-apocalyptic extravaganza. It features highly optimized and engaging gameplay, fearsome survival horror elements, amazing graphics, and excellent writing. Any fan of the post-apocalyptic genre will definitely want to check this game out.
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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