Metro: Last Light Redux

Still a great shooter to play, gun play and story are really enjoyable as is the environment of basically every level. Ran into no bugs at all. One big downside that their is no fov slider, although you can adjust this in the game files which I had to do. Having the game DRM free is a great positive too.

The sequel to Metro 2033, Last Light is a mixed bag. It's got great athmosphere in the claustrophobic tunnels, the vast and hostile surface, and the desperate stations. While the plot and writing is nothing special compared to pieces like Planescape Torment, Disco Elysium, or Arcanum, it's perfectly adequate. The weapon attachment system is vastly improved here. A silenced and a scoped AK are no longer two distinct objects but variants of the same gun. Add or remove them at weapons shops as needed. Now for the ugly. The old Ranger mode lost all its merits with enemies still taking the same amount of hits than before with the player's max health and ammo drops decreased. It also takes the third weapon slot. The checkpoint system is a horrible match for this kind of game where you might want to re-think your tactical and plot decisions. So your stealthily thrown knife missed your target's head, struck the wall, and now everyone's after your ass? Tough luck, back to the start of the current section. The English voice acting is awful, even worse than STALKER's, which is particularly bad here since this game has a lot more lines. Don't switch to Russian, because you might miss a lot of background conversation which have no subtitles BUT listening to which gives you a positive karma point. Or just give you extra info. The former is necessary to achieve a good ending, the latter to survive to the end. Some of the characters were twisted to caricatures of themselves. Miller from a pragmatic soldier to a genocidal maniac, Khan from a tunnel hippy to a complete crank raving about phenomena... Achievements don't work. There's a good game under all this, but expect heaps of frustration.

I hold a similar opinion of this game as its predecessor: can't be bothered by the story, poor shooting & there is nothing new about the gameplay overall. Though this game made a better impression on me and I at least managed to finish it, which is nice! There was more action in this chapter and the shooting improved just by a bit - it was a more enjoyable experience. However, I still stand by the opinion that there are better shooters out there. So, unless you're really deep into Metro's lore, or want to play some Russian game, then, this is the game for you!

Metro: Last Light follows the same premise as its predecessor. Again you play as Artyon, this time even more determined to find life beyond Moscow. The story is as good as the previous one, but with even more plot twists! Including a romance. It follows the idea of ​​being linear with no decision making with NPCs, just exploration to find achievements and/or items. The game further explores the feud that exists between the surviving factions. You end up discovering that there are other survivors outside the city of Moscow and, as Artyon is curious/stubborn, you will explore this. The mechanics remain fluid, simple and excellent. Sound effects and music at the same level as the predecessor: great! The graphical part has subtle improvements, it remains impressive to this day! The creation of a post-apocalyptic world, something that was already exceptional in the first game, here is even better. New extremely detailed and well-constructed backdrops will make you jaw-dropping along with the various creatures deformed by radiation. The difficulty is slightly higher here, that's because some new beings are introduced that you, at first, will not know how to kill and defend yourself. Also, there will be many dark and claustrophobic places. Prepare to die a few times! The combats are the same as the predecessor. You can go crazy or use stealth. If you liked the first game you must play the continuation of this magnificent franchise!

The Good: + Updated graphics + At times very atmospheric + Semi-realistic shooting mechanics + Sneak or shoot your way through the game + New weapons to play with + Pay girls for a lapdance + Collect diary pages + Bigger maps + Secrets + DLC The Bad: - Less interesting story than Metro 2033 - Morality system forces you to listen to minutes long conversations - Too many QTE's and cutscenes - Too much hand holding - Annoying boss fights - Forced combat sections - Unlikable love interest - Stealth is still way too easy - Human enemies behave like idiots - Artyom's still a silent protagonist in-game - Still the same 5 people doing all the English voices - Overstays its welcome (the end drags) The Ugly: - Random crashes that weren't present in the Steam version