Metro Exodus

Personally a big Fan of the original Metro, a bit meh on Metro Last Light, not a fan of this. While like the idea of the open world, it does not work as the ressources you spend exploring are bigger than the gaisn you possibly can have. Gun mechanics have been dumbed down, you cannot straife left or right, enemies will spray you for minutes with bullets but only rewards like 4 if at all when looted. Also, apparenlty enemies are all elite sharp shooters who can full auto hit you on great distance while you try to carfully hit them back. Add to that the terrain that is immensly detailed (which is good) but which also means you will get stuck on everything. Also, while not a big issue in the main game, the DLCs (especially Sams Story) is plastered with invisiable walls further punishing exploration. Last but not least, the karma system is redicilous. I have no idea who thought its a good idea to punish you for shooting at people who unprovoked opened fire at you while you approached with a holstered gun. Add some randoms stuff that you need to know in advance from guides which you have to do or else BAD ENDING! Yeah, no, was not worth the buy for me.

Let's cut it short Pros: - Great atmosphere - good graphics - great sound design - interesting setting and story Contras: - no own savegames, you can quicksave, but in the end you have only four slots which you can't really control. If you made a mistake (like I did) and want to turn the situation around, chances are you are screwed for good. - silent protagonist. If your comrades panic over radio and ask if you are ok, but you just don't talk to them, it feels like I'm playing an asshole. Or in other conversations, I feel like I'm the dumbest person on earth because I can't even answer the simplest questions. And my wife talks to me and talks and talks and I just don't say anything to her. And she is still head over heels for me. This finally kills the mood the game sets up. - no FOV slider. I'm not playing this on console, so why do I have to edit an .ini-file? Seriously? - no change of difficulty ingame. If you discover after two hours that this mode isn't for you, you can start all over, with all the ingame cutscenes that take forever in Moscow. Not fun. There is so much potential, but even simple things were screwed up. Still, it gets tree stars because if you can ignore these errors and can live with the occasional frustration, there is a very atmospheric world to explore.

The story in this game is absolutely stunning. Make sure to listen in to NPC conversations and read diary entires. There is some great lore bits hidden around. Even if you don't like horror/FPS games, play this. Put it on easiest difficulty and enjoy. It's much less scary than the previous games. Metro 2033 made me shiver - a hardcore horror. Exodus on the other hand focuses more on human element rather than mutants. You get plenty of those and there are scary sections in the game, but it's more approachable by those who don't like horrors very much - me included. Shooting is satisfying. There is plenty of variety in weapons, so everyone can find something for themselves. AI is often stupid and makes sneaking rather easy. If you want to be a good guy and avoid killing, be preapared for a waiting game. Luckily the game doesn't force you to be stealthy and you can go guns blazing. Your companions will take notice of your actions though. Weapons get dirty far too often and you have to clean them all the time. Fortunatelly there are plenty of workbenches around maps to do that. Levels look stunning, but often lack a good game designer touch. I can't count how many times I got lost and had to look up for answers in the internet. Everything is basically the same colour and it's difficult to find that one lever or switch to pull. Negatives aside, I still recommend to buy the game. Make sure to get the DLCs as well - they are great.

Do Not Buy: On the 2nd main mission of the game I encountered an extremely common game breaking bug that means you have to restart the level to be able to progress. If you explore the map, this can leave up to 6 hours of gameplay you have to redo. The game has been out for years and still not fixed, and worse this bug is caused by you EXPLORING and trying to find gear, which is required to play on the higher difficulties. A gameplay is amazing, but ruined by not having a good save system which allows for preventing of bugs of these types, I would not recommend taking the risk on this game, as if you are like me, having your experience ruined by game breaking bugs is not worth the time investment

Experience the open wastelands of Russia as Artyom and his band of merry companions battle both man and beast just for a chance at living a life worth fighting for.