By Dan D.
The Metro series, in many people’s opinions is one of the more underrated franchises around today. They are a series of survival focused first person shooters based off the bestselling novels written by Dmitry Glukhovsy. Metro Exodus is the third entry in the game series and it builds upon the foundations set by its predecessors to become the best entry in the series yet.
Gameplay
The premise of the series is a familiar one; the planet has been ravaged by an apocalyptic event, in this case a nuclear war and what is left of humanity spend every day fighting for their survival. The games up until this point have mostly taken place in Moscow’s underground subway network and sewers due to the surface being irradiated but Metro Exodus changes that. Exodus sees the series’ protagonist Artyom and a small group of companions abandoning the Moscow underground in favour of a journey across Russia to try and find a habitable place on the surface to settle.
The change in setting brings with it a host of changes relating to both the game’s core mechanics and its aesthetic, chief among these changes is the change in pacing. The previous entries taking place predominantly underground in tunnels meant that they were more classically linear games following a set path dotted with the occasional extra room to scavenge supplies, Exodus, however deviates from this by swapping tunnels for a selection of chapter-based biomes to explore. The game at its heart is still a linear experience but it offers the player more freedom in how they approach their objectives with multiple entrances to some areas and multiple outcomes upon completion depending on player choices. With a couple of exceptions each of the chapters provides players with an open area to explore; these biomes are nowhere near the size of the spaces found in a truly open world game but, they are substantial and provide plenty of structures to explore.
There are downsides to this more open environment however; firstly, the movement options available to the player have not been updated to reflect the larger traversable areas so players aiming to thoroughly explore may find travelling from point to point tedious due to how slow the character moves and the lack of an unlimited sprint or a regular vehicle. Movement can also be hampered by the environmental clutter littering the floor in many of the manmade areas, I found myself getting stuck on objects or steps often which can make for awkward situations when enemies are around.
Regular companions are another change Exodus brings to the franchise, the player will spend a significant amount of their playtime on a train surrounded by NPCs with their own personalities and story arcs. Despite the game’s over-reliance on cut-scenes that wrench control away from the player these characters are one of the most engaging parts of Exodus. Each of the characters go about their lives on the train and their own story-lines unfold around you, these can change depending on the choices made by the player during their journey. These changes are linked directly to the easily missed morality system that is hidden in the game so if the player is not careful whom they kill or what items they collect the game may take a darker turn.
The combat in Exodus has also not changed much from previous entries, the player will find themselves facing off against a variety of human and mutant enemies. The shooting itself is pretty solid but it is not as fine tuned or as satisfying as that found in dedicated shooters. Thankfully the enemies in Exodus are far more killable than the bullet sponges found in its predecessors, this makes for a more enjoyable combat experience overall.
Weapons and some equipment now degrade with use, so players must scavenge a variety of salvage in order to clean and repair their gear at the workbenches which can be found at safe locations spread throughout each of the levels. These benches can also be used to craft ammo and modify weapons as there are no longer stores to purchase those kinds of items in the game.
Graphics
Aesthetically Exodus benefits greatly from its new, more open setting. The player gets the opportunity to explore a variety of seasonal biomes from a snowy dead city to swamplands, desert or woodlands there is a wealth of things both pretty and desolate to see, the familiar tunnels even look in a dark, eerie way.
There were some quite noticeable frame drops at times on the PS4 version of the title but otherwise the game was solid.
Audio
The audio for the game is probably what lets it down the most, the voice acting for the most part is fine but conversations with the game’s characters become a point of frustration at times due to Artyom being yet another silent protagonist. The silent protagonist problem is made worse by the fact that since the first game Artyom has always narrated the level introductions meaning that he has a voice actor and spoken lines. Many of the conversations that occur could have had much more depth or impact if Artyom was able to participate so it just feels like a missed opportunity.
Replay value
Exodus at its core is a linear experience but a dedicated enough player could squeeze extra hours out of the game by looking for all the points of interest in the open maps and collecting all the gear and weapon mods. There are side objectives that the player can complete to contribute to their morality and crew’s attitudes, but these are usually short fetch quests and will not take more than a few extra minutes. Players who receive a bad ending that they are not happy with may also wish to replay the game and attempt to get the better one.
Conclusion
Despite some minor traversal issues and an unfortunate silent protagonist Metro Exodus is overall a very enjoyable game. Its shooting might not be the tightest, but it is still well worth the time of anyone who enjoys story-based shooters and survival games.
Score
82/100
+ Open Environments to explore
+ Good Characters and engaging story
+ Variety of environments to keep players interested
– Limited spring and sluggish movement make travel slow
– Silent protagonist hurts interactions with other characters
– Too many cut-scenes that wrench control away from player in favor of one-sided dialogue
Do you agree with the thoughts expressed in this review? Let us know in the comments.
The Gaming TechLits 