Metro Exodus | Xbox One | Review

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Desolation. While winter in the UK has its moments, it pales in comparison to Russia at the best of times. In the bleak future of the Metro series, after the Last War reduced the world to rubble, this oppressive landscape begets a bleak outlook, but, just beneath the surface, there is hope.

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by James
Michael
Parry

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@James_Parry

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Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Platforms: Xbox One,
PlayStation 4, PC
Players: 1

Artyom, returning protagonist from the previous two games, has left the subterranean tunnels of the Moscow metro system to explore the city’s irradiated surface in search of life outside the 50,000 known underground survivors. He remains optimistic, despite everyone else telling him he's delusional.

Almost everyone, that is; Anna, his wife, believes in Artyom and serves as your guide throughout the game's prologue section. Soon her faith is rewarded, as the pair happen across a working train, the very locomotive that's destined to be your passage through the game.

While this third instalment in the series is a departure in terms of its more varied settings, which we told you a bit about in our preview, the gameplay will feel familiar to existing Metro fans.

Exodus’ ruined locales are awash with radiation and toxins, meaning you'll need to manually don a gas mask at times to stay alive, occasionally swapping out filters (and the mask itself, should it become overly damaged) in order to keep breathing easy.

​Out in the snow early on, when you're first introduced to the apparatus, it's immediately clear how naturally these practical systems fit into gameplay, far eclipsing an equivalent survival meter that just needs to be kept topped up. As the blizzard worsens, you'll even need to keep wiping your mask to be able to see the way ahead, scoring further points for tactility and immersion early on.

Metro newcomers will find similarities to the likes of Dishonored - in terms of strong environmental storytelling and freedom of approach to combat, be that stealthy or direct - as well as Gears of War, owing to a few larger-than-life characters and a story which allows Exodus to be compellingly ‘videogame-y’ without sacrificing narrative engagement.

Tense and claustrophobic underground sections keep your hair standing on end, while bright open-air encounters allow for flexing your action muscles.

The game definitely feels like an epic, despite hanging onto a mostly linear structure. Even larger open areas, which have vignettes of things to explore tucked away here and there - like a makeshift enemy stronghold or an abandoned cabin - flow from one event to the next before transporting you on to another area, which will have its own feel and weather as the in-game seasons pass.

Shootouts are a mixture of musical stings and often frantic ducking for cover, as you toe the line between risk and reward by going loud. More often than not the throwing knife is your best friend in human encounters, far more effective at taking down enemies instantly and not disturbing others nearby.

Out in the open there are more monstrous creatures to tackle, transformed by the surface radiation, who you'll want to have a loaded shotgun ready for. Fortunately, there's a fairly in-depth attachments system in place to let you piece a weapon set together that suits your play style. Don't become too reliant on your equipment though, as things can break and require the odd spot of maintenance, be that pumping up a pneumatic weapon or charging your torch.

​Previously, you could only tinker with your loadout at a select few vendor locations, but now these storefronts are a thing of the past. This makes way for on-the-fly resource crafting, via scavenged components, whilst also nixing the intriguing dilemma of choosing whether to utilise bullets for currency or self-preservation seen in the past games. That might seem like a loss, but it quite quickly became arbitrary as you almost inevitably amassed more ammunition than you knew what to do with.

Whether the game holds onto enough of the haunting, thriller gameplay which made the tunnels of Metro 2033 and Last Light so compelling for some is up for debate. Coming in fresh, the balance and variety of gameplay feels on point here, with tense and claustrophobic tunnel sections keeping your hair standing on end, while bright open-air encounters allow for flexing your action muscles.

Visual details go a long way in bringing everything together, particularly as weather effects play with the lighting to make you feel as isolated or on edge as Artyom does. In native 4K on Xbox One X, some of the details are stunning.

Taken as a whole, the experience is a testament to the minute care and attention lavished on every element of Metro Exodus, leaving few drawbacks to speak of. Some characters feel a bit cartoonist at times, but the core interactions between Artyom and his wife alone will be enough to get you caring about the fate of this character and his community.

Pros

• All-around refinement and expansion of a well-established franchise
• Reminds you why you're scared of the dark, without being smothering
• Visually stunning, tactile and thoroughly engaging world

Cons

• Character work won't sell everyone
• There are a good few environmental pitfalls if you explore thoroughly enough
• ‘Humanimals’ is not an acceptable name for an enemy type...

10/10