Metro 2033 is one of the more depressing games I’ve ever played. Although it had been a very long time since the release of that game and its sequel, Metro Last Light, I’ve finally played through the second of the three Metro games. Overall: it’s still as depressing.
EX-PILE OF SHAME #6: METRO LAST LIGHT REDUX
What I Played: The campaign
Difficulty: Normal
Playtime: 10 hours
Synopsis: It is the year 2034. Beneath the ruins of post-apocalyptic Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro, the remnants of mankind are besieged by deadly threats from outside – and within. Mutants stalk the catacombs beneath the desolate surface, and hunt amidst the poisoned skies above.
Metro Last Light is set in a post-apocalyptic Russia. The bombs dropped when our protagonist, Artyom was a child, but he also dropped his own bombs on the mutants called ‘The Dark Ones’ at the end of the first game. A year later, it’s still the end of the world, there’s still Nazi’s out there, and big mutant creatures still roam above and underground. On top of all this Artyom is haunted by the decision he made to bomb the Dark One’s every day as he questions his own decisions.
At the start of the journey, you’re sent to track down a Dark One that was spotted. “Finish the job you started,” Artyom is told as he heads out and above to the radiated surface. When you find the dark one, it’s a child. Unlucky for the child and Artyom you’re both captured by Nazis. Of course, you escape with help and set out on a journey that explores more of Metro’s world and deals with the fallout of Artyom’s decision in the previous game and what he’ll choose to do with this child should he be able to make contact once again.
Это весело!
To say I had ‘fun’ playing Metro Last Light would be an odd phrasing. I enjoyed the experience, but the world is dark and full of terrors. And for a game that came out in 2013, it portrays those terrors in well-detailed fashion and atmospheric lighting. The underground sections in the Metro areas, as they were in the first game, are spook. The sections built like a survival horror game work well and stealth is a must in several sections. I cannot imagine how tedious it would playing on harder difficulties. Similarly, supplies can run low, though not nearly as bad as they did in 2033. Only in two levels did I die because I ran out of air filters on the surface. I did run out of ammo at one stage but that was quickly fixed by stealthing the next human encounter.
I enjoy the larger narrative in play with Metro Last Light and the world-building is where the game does its best narrative work, however, Artyom is left feeling oddly flat just like the first game. He speaks to you in loading screens as he scribbles in a journal about past and present events, but not having him interact with characters in the moment-to-moment game felt off. As far as I’m aware that’s an issue I’ll continue to have into Metro Exodus.
Some characters like Anna feel cheap as well. She’s introduced as this leader and quickly turned into a damsel/love-interest very fast and then disappears for the remainder of the game.
There is DLC that’s included with the Redux version I was playing, but I’m simply not going to have time to explore that and would rather move onto Metro Exodus, the third game in the franchise that released early in 2019.
темный и страшный
For the most part, I really enjoyed Metro Last Light. It’s toned down some of the more hardcore sim mechanics from the first game, but I feel it’s hit a nice medium that is more attractive to most gamers, and I think this shows with the games sales and the popularity of Metro Exodus (Epic Game Store exclusivity drama aside.)
I achieved the non-canon ending leading into Exodus. I know this because my Artyom actually died at the end of the game, but fear not as I did look up the ‘good’ ending that leads into Metro Exodus. I’m excited to play that next and hopefully sometime this year.
We’re about to hit some bigger 2020 game releases so there will probably be some time before my next Ex-Pile Of Shame cross-off, but I feel like I’ve got a decent pile of games sitting here so far as we hit just over halfway through 2020.
Let me know your thoughts on Metro Last Light in the comments section below.
