‘Metro Exodus’ Review: The Long Road Ahead | Electric Bento

The biggest reason I’ve always respected the Metro franchise is how it isn’t afraid to break away from the norms of first person shooters. Instead of a bullet filled race from the beginning of a level to the end, players must take their time, take in the world, and scavenge in an attempt to survive. Inspired by the novels from Dimitry Glukhovsky, Metro Exodus takes place two years after the events of Metro: Last Light. Series protagonist Artyom dreams of a better life for his people after a nuclear war ravaged above ground and decimated the world. Stuck in the underground Metro, Artyom yearns to find a better home for his wife and friends, and begins a year-long journey that will take him through the wilderness on that search.

The opening act of Metro Exodus is a bit of a chore. Players are being introduced (or reintroduced for returning players) to game mechanics, and ammo and supplies are scarce. Artyom discovers that the government has been lying to the people of the Metro, and safe zones and survivors exist in the outside world. Him and his wife Anna decide now is the time to finally journey outward, and with a train heist and crew, they are on their way.

Metro 2033 debuted back in 2010. The original title and Metro: Last Light were both great games, but the follow up didn’t deviate very much from the first outing. Metro Exodus remedies this. There are about ten chapters for players to navigate in Exodus, which took me about 12 hours to get through. Two of those chapters took about half of my playtime though. Instead of relegating players to linear, enclosed areas, the journey in Exodus allows for some major exploration during those two chapters.

The open world segments don’t feel shoehorned in, either. Going in to the first few hours of Metro Exodus, I was worried that they wouldn’t fit in with the tone of the franchise. Luckily, turning these open world chapters into a story driven part of the narrative really works in its favor, giving Artyom an opportunity to explore and loot, all while helping to build the world. Early in the journey, Artyom gets a new pair of binoculars that he can use to scout points of interest and mark them on the map. Additionally, crew members on the Aurora (the official name for their train) will send Artyom optional missions that he can undertake as well. After rescuing a young girl and her mother from a group of fanatics, one crew member mentions he heard a guitar on the radio, and the young girl is missing her teddy bear. None of the extra objectives are required, but can yield extra supplies if done carefully.

Going to the points of interest around the world feels like a risk/reward option though. Most of the time, these areas are infested with mutants or bandits, which can deplete resources very quickly. The linear sections are pretty long, and after a few of them it became very apparent that these open-world areas are meant to be explored as a preparation for what’s to come. Most of the exploration segments aren’t very interesting though, which is unfortunate. There’s a lot of repetition in enemy types throughout the entirety of Metro Exodus, but Artyom’s journey is at its best when it does introduce new enemy types. One segment had me avoiding a giant mutated catfish, while another area had me fearing an irradiated giant bear called “Mother” every time I heard its roar. The atmosphere in Metro Exodus is top notch, and is something I’ve always thought highly of from developer 4A Games.

Part of reason that the atmosphere in Metro Exodus is so excellent is because of the incredible sound design. There’s two parts to the sound design though, and the second part isn’t on par with the first part. The first part of the sound design is the ambient noise and music that plays while exploring. The rolling thunderstorms in Volga all the way to the intermittent sandstorms in Caspian are brought to life through the sound. On the other hand, wearing a headset while playing Metro Exodus can be a mixed bag. Despite the great sound effects, the dialogue was muddied. This is especially apparent when in an enclosed area, because even when looking directly at a character who is speaking, the dialogue would only come through one side of the headset. A patch released after playing through a few sections like this seemed to help a little bit. However, more than anything it just seemed like characters voices got turned up a little. I had tweaked a few audio settings in the Metro Exodus menu, but I’m not sure what increased the fidelity of it.

One thing the Metro franchise has always struggled with are facial features and character gestures, and Metro Exodus is no exception. Facial movements don’t convey much emotion here, but often, developer 4A Games has gotten the features right, even if the movements don’t quite fit. The rest of Exodus is a beauty to look at. Even when the beautiful forests and lush vegetation turn to snow, ice, and deserts, the different aesthetics of each distinct area fit, and it’s really beautiful. The frame rate suffers a little bit for it, but not enough to really ever take me out of the experience. An early build had an incredibly amount of motion blur that honestly hampered the experience more than the framerate did, but a patch drastically reduced that. Anyone with an internet connection won’t experience that, but those without will probably want to take their console to a friend’s house to update.

I mentioned it previously in regard to sound design, but the weather effects in Metro Exodus are a sight to behold. There’s a day and night cycle, in addition to the weather effects that seem to randomly pop up, which alter the experience, but we’ll get to that soon. Sandstorms can change Artyom’s visibility, while the torrential downpour of rain is highlighted by the moonlight in the swampy Volga. Level design is incredible during Artyom’s adventures, which could have been a bane for 4A Game’s first Metro open world areas.

Something that makes the Metro franchise so special in the age of first person shooters is that it doesn’t try to be like any of the others. Scavenging for supplies to craft more ammo in the middle of a firefight can be very tense. Other times, being chased by a legion of mutant spiders after Artyom’s flashlight gets extinguished from radiation can cause a panic. Guns jam if they aren’t cleaned regularly, and Artyom’s gasmask can be damaged during enemy encounters. Every facet of Metro Exodus comes together during so many encounters that create some extremely memorable moments of gameplay, moments that set it apart from its contemporary counterparts.

While most ammo and supplies comes pretty steadily during the linear sections, I never felt like I could be prepared enough. Making sure I had cleaned all my weapons, repaired my mask, and crafted enough ammo and med kits became second nature between outings. Cleaning guns and repairing the mask can only occur at workbenches, which is why making sure not to forget was so important. Some of the basic ammo types can be crafted on the fly, like steel balls and crossbow arrows. Similarly, mask filters and medkits can be crafted on the go, which is all utilized through Artyom’s backpack. Other than the bosses, none of the enemies presented much of a threat, but limited resources make each encounter important and consequential. Defeating enemies results in gaining new weapon modifications as well, which can also be equipped on the fly to adjust for encounter variations. Gunplay was hit or miss, but playing on console allowed for some aim assist help in this department. Controller sensitivity adjustments can be made to help alleviate this a bit, but input was a little touchy during long distance engagements. As an aside, 4A Games has also introduced use of the Xbox Adaptive Controller for Xbox One players. I’m not sure the level of adoption from devs on Microsoft’s unique controller, but I think it’s a really great move from the developers for the sake of inclusivity.

I’m excited for the future of the franchise. There are a couple of different endings to get, but the “proper” ending leaves some great room for growth in the series. Artyom’s journey of survival and rebuilding is far from over, and while Metro Exodus doesn’t make the best first impression, once things start moving, it sure does leave a lasting one by the time the credits roll.

Metro Exodus launches February 15th for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. This review is based on an Xbox One copy provided by the publisher. Preorders are available here.