Metro 2033 Redux

Metro 2033 is a game I'll buy on any platform. I've owned it on console, PC, Switch, Stadia, and GeForce Now. A4 is a Ukrainian dev with an interesting history, and I'll support them as much as I can. The Metro series is a comfort game in a way. Yes, it's a dark, depressing take on nuclear power run amok, but it's also a deeply personal story of a society making the best of the worst kind of situation. There are thematic aspects of this game that haven't aged all that well, but it's easy for me to look past. It's also a linear experience, but the hardcore mode is an itch that's always thrilling to scratch. Metro games are shooters on the surface, but there's a ton of heart poured into the details. As you pass through the Russian metro, you'll see a society teeming with life. The setting is dark, messy, and noisy. If you're not shooting at feral beasts, you're listening to the murmers, clanks, and creeks of dilapidated living quarters, dingy bars, and cobbled together supply shops. When people talk about atmospheric games, Metro should be referenced in those conversations. It's livelier than many open world games. It's more intense than many shooters. And it's darkly heartfelt like all Eastern Bloc games should be. It's strangely a comfort game to me and I love it to bits.

You controlls Artyom, a young guy refugiated at Moscow Metro's entrails with a few survivors of a nuclear war. His station, VDNKh, is in danger due to the Dark Ones, humanoid creatures originated from the radiation caused by the war. You have the task of saving the entire Moscow metro. Metro 2033 Redux is a great FPS with a very good narrative compared to most of the genre, largely because it's inspired by a novel of the same name which I bought and read instantly after finishing the game fascinated by the plot and the world, and a very well implemented horror atmosphere. A big part of these atmosphere, besides the graphics that look very good even at this day, is the sound. It's the most surprising thing for me about these game. It completly immersed me all the time in the plot and, above all, in the most dangerous situations. 4A Games shows very well the harrowing moment that live the survivors from the war in the book through the wasted Moscow and its crowded Metro stations. The pace of the plot is perfectly measured and it doesn't get boring at any time and it combines with a smooth gameplay with plenty of variated weapons that can be improved and modified. All the time the game rewards the exploration and the research of resources from the player, every bullet counts. In addition, the player will have to make choices about being violent or not. Based on these choices, the ending would change. The game makes its best to hide this. It adds replayability and more variability which is appreciated. But not everything is good. The biggest flaw of the game for me: Artyom has not voice. There where moments when it seems like the developers planned to make Artyom's dialogues but they couldn't, probably due to lack of budget. It would have been a massive enhancement and could have made the conversations much more insteresting. Anyway, this game is worth every penny what it costs and I'm looking forward to play the next game in the series, Metro: Last Light.

The whole Metro franchise is seriously not talked about enough as I firmly believe it is one of the best survival horrors if not one of the best fps's out there. I highly recommend this game and franchise to anyone who likes horror, survival, or apocalyptic atmospheres and stories.

I've played this game on and off for many years since it's release and I could never get into it. I would play the first two or three chapters and never touch the game again, until now. I'm angry that It took me nearly 11 years to finally give this game a full chance and now, having done so, I am happily amazed. I was smiling ear to ear when that last cutscene played as credits rolled over it. The gunplay is unique, the weapons are unique and believable, and the scenery combined with the horrifying beasts actually set you up for some severe scares. This game is post-apocalyptic done right; this game is near perfect.

Great Storyline, fantastic atmosphere.