I feel like I need to explain the reasoning behind why I didn’t review Metro Exodus back in February and shed some light on my journey with this game. After this next section, my review will begin proper and will not factor in any of the shenanigans around the launch. I want it clear that while my disappointment with Koch Media and disdain for Epic cannot be denied, I have the utmost sympathy/respect for the developers at 4A Games who (as far as I can ascertain) had no say in the exclusivity decision and yet still ended up in the firing line of many disgruntled gamers. My only advice to them is getting yourselves a new publisher, one who doesn’t make anti-consumer deals under your feet and in turn alienate your most loyal customers.

An Epic Cluster Fuck

Sometimes things just don’t pan out the way you expect. At the start of 2019, the game that was dead in my sights was Metro Exodus, the third game based on the books by author Dmitry Glukhovsky. I had been invited down to London to attend a press event and even speak to Dmitry himself, an exciting opportunity for a small site like mine. Then in the space of a few weeks, it all went to shit. Firstly a week before the event I got bumped from the list, I suspect a few high profile websites wanted to attend and so the little guys got the boot. In any business, there is always a pecking order and this kind of thing is to be expected. Luckily I’m quite disorganised and hadn’t booked hotels or trains, so I just put it down to experience. Then the news came that really pissed on my chips; Koch Media had made a deal with Epic to release the game exclusively on their store. The backlash was swift because this had clearly been a last-minute grab, evidenced by the ‘Epic Store’ stickers hastily slapped over the Steam Logo on physical copies.

I will be publishing an article on exclusivity in PC gaming in the next few weeks, but if you follow me on Twitter you will know I have been making a stand against this practice everywhere I can. Metro Exodus was the first game that I decided to boycott because of exclusivity and it was a painful decision to make. Not playing or reviewing a big game like this does way more immediate damage to my site than many people understand but also from a personal perspective, this is a series I absolutely adore. However despite knowing my boycott would do little to change the status quo, sometimes you have to follow through on what you believe in. Last month there was some light at the end of the tunnel because my old pals at Microsoft launched Game Pass for PC. Right now this service is fantastic value for money, offering over a hundred games for £3.99 a month. However, the reason why I am so excited for Gamepass is that it is allowing me to bypass the Epic Store and play games like Metro Exodus and The Outer Worlds. With my review schedule cleared for a few days, I (finally) sat down this week to experience the game I’ve been waiting three years to play.

Nuclear Family

I will avoid spoilers for this title but they will be unavoidable for the prior two games, so if you haven’t played them please bear this in mind. At the close of Last Light, the ending would be dictated by how you played the game (merciful or a massacre). This third game assumes you earned the ‘redemption’ ending and takes it from there. Artyom (the series protagonist) has become obsessed with finding life on the irradiated surface above the Metro and during the opening chapter, it becomes clear the people of Moscow have been lied to. With evidence of life continuing around the globe and after acquiring a working steam train, Artyom, Anna and a squad of Spartans head for uncharted territory. To make things a little more interesting Anna’s Dad, who leads the unit, is along for the ride with a degree of scepticism for Artyom’s vision. 

Anna, who is now your wife, is still very much in love with Artyom and this relationship is the main driving force behind his obsession to find a future outside of a life living underground. As you push through the game there are many side stories that involve the crew of the Aurora which help the player form a bond to them, even collecting personal items while out in the field. I will say that the acting quality has never been one of the high points of the series and in Exodus, this does not change. This can be jarring at times, possibly because the game does have extended scenes of dialogue. One scene, in particular, seemed to go on for way too long to the point I thought the game had bugged out and my standing prompt just hadn’t appeared. This downside is mitigated somewhat because while they do seem at times awkward, conversely they also come across very human and likeable. As you launch the game there is some exposition from Artyom as to where you are currently up to in the campaign and I have to say these are well delivered. However, our hero is mute in the actual game and I do think this does make the many conversations feel stilted and a little once sided. 

The Aurora itself is effectively your base of operations for the majority of the campaign but it is also your home. Soon after liberating a passenger carriage the crew retrofit it with everything you need from a workshop to living quarters. Watching the engineer stoke the roaring furnace or going for a smoke out on the gangway are all activities that are optional but add flavour to this already atmospheric game. 4A have always liked adding these additional fragments of routine and while some people might find them an unnecessary, I really like them because they enhance that immersion that the series is known for. As with most of the game's interiors, the level of detail on display in the Aurora is staggering, which is something that has been consistently excellent through all three games. As you branch out into this uncharted world you will see many new things which Artyom records down in his diary, which is exquisitely drawn.

Tunnel Vision

In the category of first-person horror games I consider the Metro series to be unmatched both in atmosphere and just raw quality (maybe SOMA is a close second). This wasn’t always the case however, as when it first released Metro 2033 was rough around the edges and janky as hell. Three years after the first game Metro Last Light was released and it was an all-around better game. The developers then made the brave decision to go back and create Metro Redux, an overhaul of both games with an incredible amount of retrofitting involved. Many systems that improved Last Light were added to Metro 2033 which made the two games feel almost like one continuous experience. While there were some incredibly well-designed areas to work through, there was only ever one overall route to take. This is where Exodus really changes the formula and joins in with the popular ‘open-world’ craze. The question is, does this shift diminish one of Metro’s most compelling qualities?

There is no denying that the game doesn’t feel as claustrophobic as the original two but this was to be expected when spending far more time above ground. Each main chapter of the game is represented by a season, starting with a freezing winter and so on. The Volga is the first properly open area you come across and once you have decided on your goals with the crew, you must set out into the surrounding area to tick off these objectives (and find new ones). This area is a bleak waterlogged swamp with just as many treacherous waterways as makeshift paths. As you wade through the weeds and mud, you can almost feel the icy water seeping into your boots and equipment. 

The game does an incredible job of working new mechanics into the flow of gameplay, whether it be rowing a boat or using binoculars to tag areas of interest. While the actual size of these open-world areas isn’t gigantic, the way they have been designed makes them feel bigger than what they are. For a start, there are many locations that let you delve into the subterranean depths below the surface. While I would have liked a few more of these sections, the ones we get all feel handcrafted and full of surprises. I will say that as the game nears it’s conclusion the freedom to explore starts to get ever more restricted until the closing finale feels more like the tight tunnels in the original games. While the last level does present itself very well it did feel like the team had maybe run out of steam with the last confrontation requiring little more than button press to bring the game to its conclusion. This is also a shame because there are some extremely impressive set pieces that involve some of the bigger creatures you will face. Interestingly the supernatural elements of the previous games do not really come out to play in Exodus, save for the odd situation here and there. I guess this game is more focused on how the many groups of humans you meet on the journey have changed to deal with the adversity of nuclear devastation.

A Long Days Night

Many open-world games feel the need to implement a full day and night cycle but few utilise this feature into actual gameplay ramifications: I am happy to report that Exodus is one of the rare exceptions.  The amount of real-time given to each part of the day is just about perfect and watching the sun fading over the desolate horizon is both stunning and foreboding. This is because at night the mutants become far more aggressive which give the game an almost Dying Light feel. Of course, at night, human camps can be approached far easier under the cover of darkness and many of them will be in a deep slumber awaiting your knife (or boot). In each of the open-world areas there sporadic safe-houses to be found and this offer relative safety, a workbench and somewhere to bed down (so you can cycle from day/night manually). There is also a ‘dynamic weather’ system in the game which can limit visibility and look amazing. While the weather is very impressive (especially the sandstorms in the Caspian Sea) these events seemed to be more linked to bigger quests than being a master onto itself, I guess another play through will let me gauge this better.

The way you move around the environments in Exodus can be both impressive and at times frustrating. Everything from ladders, doors and narrow gaps requires you to hold the E key until the animation starts. It is just like the team at 4A to not skimp on these kind of interactions with a bit of camera trickery, everything is fully animated including your arms and hands. While immersive this can also make the general movement across the game world slow and clunky. You can clamber up and over most objects like in Dishonored, but here it feels rough and fiddly. Overall I like that the animations are there but I wish they didn’t take so long to start and stop. Now we have a more open play area I did sometimes end up in places the game clearly didn’t want me to be and this didn’t look great. While I do like the vehicle you acquire in the desert this also felt a little bare-bones, even though I very much appreciated the ability to mow down mutants and save precious bullets.

One Man Band

Artyom now has a functional backpack which allows him to craft items and tinker with weapons while in the field. Workbenches give you more functional options and thankfully these are not in short supply. You will recognise a number of items from the previous games, such as the lighter for burning spider webs away, dynamo charger for your flashlight and your armband which shows you all kinds of useful information. You can also bring up map which shows you your objectives and points of interest. Like pretty much everything in the game, the production value has not been spared with beautiful animations for each. When you get your map out this happens in the game world as does using your backpack and watch. Your gas mask can also be damaged in combat which you can temporarily patch up until you reach a workbench, Mark Watney would be proud. These are all subtle but effective ways that Exodus keeps you immersed in the experience.

As is standard now you have three weapon slots, two are for main weapons and the third for a speciality weapon. Each base weapon can be modified to ridiculous proportions and this can drastically alter how a gun works. As you find more weapons you can strip them of new components and these then add to your pool of options. I really love the weapon customisation, even tiny details like how putting a new gun in place makes it wobble slightly on the stand. Your arsenal also needs cleaning now as mud and sand will eventually cause them to misfire or jam up (usually just when you're about to become lunch for a mutant).

As is often the case with bigger games, as you progress and gain more items you can start to feel a little too powerful. In Metro Exodus, as you progress from each season your stash of items will be trimmed in various clever ways, forcing you to once again assess your limited options and use what is available. I really like this because it adds to the desperate feeling when you are just about to bleed out and have three bullets left in your last working gun. The more open levels can make this resource conundrum a little problematic. After you have cleared a hive of mutants or a camp of bandits they will eventually respawn (mutants quicker in my experience). If you do scour every corner of the map this could leave you effectively out of ammo, but more of an issue; out of filters for your mask. There are plenty of places where you need to don your gas mask, even in sand storms and if you are not careful this can lead to getting stuck. I do think that with a more open world that invites (and rewards) exploration, resources should respawn along with the enemies.

Is it PC?

This game is stunning in the looks department, both in terms of the overall design and animation quality. Every aspect of the experience shows an attention to detail that you just don’t see from many other developers. As the day and night cycle revolves around, each area can look dramatically different from the early morning mist clinging to marshland to the long shadows cast by the setting sun in the desert. I love watching the desolate world fly past as you hurtle to your next location which is another example of how much work the team at 4A have put into this title.

Weapons effects and item models are also covered in tiny details that make them look homemade and cobbled together. Given I am still running around on a fairly underpowered rig (i7 4GHZ & 980 GTX) I expected to be playing on medium settings but was pleasantly surprised to see I could most on high or Ultra. The only area that really hit my FPS was the Caspian Desert with its long-distance vistas and larger groups of enemies. Having a poke through the various graphical options I was very satisfied with what was on offer and am very much looking forward to playing this game again with our upcoming upgrade.

Conclusion 

I think it is safe to say the shift to a more open play area has been a success (with a few teething problems) and I suspect this format will remain in place for any subsequent games. If this is the case I would like a few longer excursions underground as this is still where the series shines the brightest. With the Redux update being so good the three games still feel like one continuous story and not three separate experiences.

While the Metro books have certainly been a solid basis this series of games, 4A have managed to put their own stamp on things. However, if we now consider that Metro 2035 was the last Metro book it will be interesting to see where the series goes. As we saw with Game of Thrones, once a project reaches beyond the literature is based on the wheels can start to come off. With that said I am not at all concerned because the current books provide such a detailed world, 4A could easily make many more games from within the pages of lore. Either way, when you do see the final scene in this game I’m sure, like me, you will be curious where they go next. Metro Exodus is undoubtedly one of the best looking games on PC today and for that reason alone it is certainly worth a look, especially if you have a rig with enough chops to run it at full whack. More importantly, we have yet another excellent chapter in the adventures of Artyom and I can happily recommend this game.

For those who don’t wish to support the anti-consumer practices of the Epic Store, Metro Exodus will release on Steam on the 14th of February 2020. As I have already mentioned, you can also get access to the game via Microsoft Game Pass for PC. For those who have made it this far, thank you for reading my review.