PC & console game reviews
OUT OF THE DARKNESS.
IT’S BEEN A very long six years since the last entry in 4A Games post-apocalyptic Metro series, but if Exodus is the result, the Ukrainian developer has undeniably used that time wisely. This third entry in the first-person shooter series switches from a largely linear design to a more open-world approach, and continues the story of Artyom, survivor of the nuclear holocaust, who for the last 20 years has managed to eek out the resemblance of a life by sheltering in the network of train tunnels underneath the ruins of Moscow.
With Exodus, 4A Games has successfully taken the gorgeously-gritty environs and strong storytelling that were the hallmarks of the first two games and expanded the playing field, providing players with a series of larger areas that are presented in a similar style to last year’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Riding a train that serves as a mobile home base, Exodus sees you move far beyond the cramped confines of the Moscow Metro to a series of new and expansive locales across Russia – each progresses the story a little further and provides new missions, monsters to kill, optional objectives and breathtaking ruins to explore.
In play, Exodus is a smidge more RPG-like thanks to a slightly expanded crafting and weapon-modding system, but this is still very much a first-person shooter – not that you’ll actually spend a great deal of time shooting. If you’ve played a previous Metro game, you’ll know that both smarts and stealth are required when facing the world’s monstrous mutants, skeezy bandits and religious or political fanatics. As before, you’re armed only with a handful of janky weapons and a constant scarcity of ammo. Battles need to be carefully picked, and avoiding enemies is often just as sound a tactic as engaging them – running in guns blazing is generally a recipe for becoming outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed. This is most definitely not a game for the impatient, or anyone looking for a thrill-a-minute Call of Duty actionfest.
As with its forebears, it’s also still a little janky and buggy – in our play through, we encountered a couple of dozen instances of oddness, such as sleeping enemies floating in mid air a foot from their beds and being picked up by a flying enemy only to be dropped through the ‘floor’ of the world. The game’s English-language voice acting also feels like it could have used tighter direction – while the line delivery is certainly earnest, actors sometimes fail to hit the right emphasis and the result is a decidedly hammy, B-grade experience.
Those shortcomings thankfully don’t detract from Exodus’s core attractions: engrossing first-person sneaking through gritty, lavishlydetailed environments. If that appeals, post-apocalyptic worlds don’t come much better than this.
THIS THIRD ENTRY IN THE FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER SERIES SWITCHES FROM A LARGELY LINEAR DESIGN TO A MORE OPEN-WORLD APPROACH