Metro Exodus review - one of the most atmospheric shooters about Russia

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Despite the transition to the open world, the third part of the series has retained almost all the features of "Metro". Both good and bad.

Previous Metro games were linear shooters that took place almost entirely in the Moscow metro. A chic atmosphere, unusual mechanics like wiping a mask and charging a flashlight, an eventful plot - this is how 2033 and Last Light earned high marks and introduced hundreds of thousands of players to the Metro universe.

In Metro Exodus, Artyom and Anya discover proof of the existence of life outside of Moscow. As a result of a clash with the Hansa fighters, they, together with Melnik and other Sparta members, hijack a steam locomotive and set off in search of the country's military command. Their path lies through the banks of the Volga, the Ural mountains, the Caspian desert and taiga.

The idea of 4A Games to devote the third game to the wanderings of Artyom and his associates across Russia seemed strange. Even more surprising was the decision to add an open world to the shooter: how can you maintain a claustrophobic atmosphere in spacious locations?

The developers had a difficult task - to make the new Metro for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 radically different from the rest of the parts, while maintaining the spirit of the franchise. And, with the exception of some moments, they did it.

Atmosphere

The first thing you pay attention to when you go through an almost hour-long introduction and find yourself in the open world is the atmosphere. Claustrophobia, for obvious reasons, no longer exists, but the feeling of ominous mystery remains. And the longer you play, the stronger it is.

Especially creepy at night. Somewhere bandits are quarreling, giant crayfish clawing near the water, capable of killing Artyom with a couple of blows, in the distance the howl of mutant people suddenly heard, caught in the zone of action of an electrical anomaly. Every sound can mean a threat, and the flashlight battery can fail at any time. In this, Exodus differs little from previous games: it is full of dangers, and the player is not always ready for them.

The smart graphics also work for the atmosphere. A sun-drenched desert, dilapidated village houses in the morning fog, a Soviet train compartment with classic curtains and cup holders - the Exodus looks great. Especially if you turn on ray tracing - it adds realistic reflections and lighting.

Anya in Metro Last Light

Anya in Metro Exodus

One of the main visual differences between Exodus and the previous installments is the realistic character models. And Anya, and "Spartans", and accidentally met NPCs now really look like people. Even the kids who used to look like a cross between Monsters, Inc. Boo and Stewie Griffin.

Facial animation has become more realistic, but does not reach the level of AAA projects of 2019: it loses a lot, for example, the recent Resident Evil 2 or last year's Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

But Artyom is perfectly animated. It is especially surprising that the developers did not skimp on the elaboration of "one-time" actions - for example, when a hero takes a key to a warehouse with loot from one of the rescued NPCs.

Realism

Another important feature of the game is realism. Together with the atmosphere, it creates an immersive effect that is not inferior to that in the previous parts. Partly due to the materiality of the equipment. The flashlight and airguns must still be charged by frequent pressing of the mouse button or the trigger of the gamepad, and the gas mask must be wiped off.

When the player wants to look into the inventory, Artyom takes off his backpack, puts it on the ground and opens it with a sharp movement - this is a great move that brings the player and character closer together.

But realism is most influenced by the combat system. Artyom is slow and overweight, and this is logical, because tens of kilograms of equipment are hanging on him. He cannot dash to the side in order to dodge attacks of dexterous mutants. In a pack, they will easily defeat the hero.

Therefore, you have to use tactics: wait for the animals to pass by, shoot them from afar, look for workarounds. It is likely that in similar conditions people would have to act the same way.

Exodus almost never asks the player to explore the world - except that it sometimes puts a couple of question marks at stake. But I want to do it. Partly due to the context of the game: unlike the Moscow metro, these are completely new regions about which nothing is known. Partly due to the design of the locations: every five minutes of the game you see another gorgeous view, and your hand reaches out to take a screenshot.

At the same time, the study of the location creates the need for further research, because resources are almost always scarce. There is no money in this part of Metro, the hero either finds ammunition or collects it at the workbench.

No matter how careful the player is, consumables are still spent on exploring the world - at least filters for a gas mask, without which you cannot walk through the contaminated area.

If you move only along the plot, then resources at some point may not be enough. And this is also realistic: the "Spartans" hit the road spontaneously, without having time to prepare anything. It is logical that they will have to look for loot on the ground.

The Caspian desert is the least desirable to explore: apart from identical ships and a couple of houses, there is almost nothing in it. Because of this, the dynamics of the game "sags" a little, but the problem is leveled by the presence of binoculars and a car. The first allows you to mark all interesting places from afar, and the second allows you to quickly get to them.

The only thing that gets in the way of realism and immersion is bugs. Enemies sometimes get stunned, and they begin to back away, aiming at the floor. The hero is periodically noticed through the walls. But these problems are not so common, and some of them will definitely be fixed with a patch from the first day.

Characters (edit)

If in 2033 and Last Light the emphasis was on the plot, in which something unexpected happened every few minutes, then in Exodus the focus was shifted to the characters. Anya, the "Spartans" and other passengers of the Aurora steam locomotive are the basis of the hero's motivation. Artyom does everything for them. Someone needs to be rescued from captivity, someone needs to find a guitar in the Russian open spaces. Anya just wants to find a suitable place to settle down and start a family.

The developers managed to make the player empathize with the characters along with Artyom. When you communicate with your team during quiet moments, you get to know the character of each of them better. When you see how, after 20 years of military service in a dilapidated metro, they have hope for a better life, it is difficult not to feel sympathy for them and not want to help.

Quiet moments on the train play a big role in this. During them, you can have a drink with the "Spartans" and listen to their tales, chat with Anya (or rather, let her talk, because Artyom is always silent), find out from Melnik how things are with "Aurora" and where the detachment is going next. After several hours in hostile territory, where almost every living creature is trying to kill you, such episodes take on special value.

Confused only by the fact that the "Spartans" do not react in any way to those attacks of Artyom, which are not connected with the plot. During missions, characters comment on almost every action of the hero. But if you go to study the open world, then even after a few days no one will contact him to ask where he disappears and whether he is alive at all.

This interferes with immersion. Here are just the characters behaved like real people, but they do not react to the fact that a friend walks in an extremely dangerous zone for several days - the lines of code are not spelled out.

In this case, the game marks the actions of the player, simply in other ways. For example, if at the first location you do not kill people, save NPCs from captivity and do not poke a gun in the face of everyone you meet, then Artyom will be treated well and give hints about the location of useful loot, and before the departure of the Aurora, they will also remind him of his exploits through dialogues of characters.

Outcome

It's hard to imagine what else Metro Exodus could have turned out. The series obviously needed to get out of the Moscow metro: it was getting crowded there, and in the same Last Light half of the game was already taking place on the surface. But again, walking between the high-rise buildings of destroyed Moscow would hardly be interesting. Putting the heroes on a train and sending them on a journey through Russia seems like a logical way to develop the ideas of the series.

The attempt to move the franchise to the open world was a success. True, the same dynamic plot as in the previous parts is not worth expecting from Exodus.

Here history moves forward only with the steam locomotive. Basically, the player creates tasks and problems for himself: he attacks the camps of bandits at night, remains without ammunition in the battle with mutants, drives around the desert in a car, trying not to attract the attention of huge flying "demons".

Whether or not you enjoy Exodus depends on what you love the Metro series for. If for the atmosphere of post-apocalyptic Russia and the feeling of a dangerous mysterious world, then this is enough in the game.

If for a story, then be prepared for the fact that several hours of real time will pass between plot events.

In general, Exodus is no better or worse than the previous parts (as indicated by Metro Exodus and its rating on Metacritic). It's a little different, but it's still Metro.

Metro Exodus system requirements

System requirements for 1080p and 30fps

• Windows 7, 8, 10.
• Intel Core i5-4440.
• 8 GB of RAM.
• GTX 670 / GTX 1050 / Radeon HD 7870.
• 2 GB of video memory.

System requirements for 1080p and 60fps

• Windows 10.
• Intel Core i7-4770k.
• 8 GB of RAM.
• GTX 1070 / RTX 2060 / AMD RX Vega 56.
• 8 GB of video memory.

System requirements for 1440p and 60fps

• Windows 10.
• Intel Core i7-8700k.
• 16 GB of RAM.
• GTX 1080 Ti / RTX 2070 / AMD RX Vega 64.
• 8 GB of video memory.

System requirements for 4K resolution and 60fps

• Windows 10.
• Intel Core i9-9900k.
• 16 GB of RAM.
• RTX 2080 Ti.
• 11 GB of video memory.

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