Metro Exodus

PC, PS4, Xbox One

Dmitry Glukhovsky’s Metro novels imagine an alternative to a failing system of governance: starting civilisation again from scratch. Although the central concept doesn’t feel too far removed from Fallout’s as you experience it in-game, Glukhovsky’s writing goes out into the irradiated weeds, exploring what the gloomy documentarian Adam Curtis dubbed ‘hypernormalisation’ in his 2016 film of the same name. Given enough time, even a system that’s failing to the point of absurdity, as in the latter days of the iron curtain, feels normal when we experience it day-to-day. And this makes it nearly impossible to imagine an alternative to that system – until the bombs drop, hitting society’s big red reset button.

To that end, Metro Exodus’ apocalypse is altogether more optimistic than the glut of brown wastelands we’ve been treated to over the last decade. This isn’t humanity surviving for the sake of it in a world with almost nothing left to offer, but instead building itself up again, liberated from the shackles of a crumbling regime. It’s cheerier – just slightly – than prior Metro games, too, both thematically and visually. Returning protagonist Artyom now has a much broader colour palette in front of his gas mask, a world alive with environmental variation and the faintest glimpses of hope in among the derelict high-rises.

After it transpires that the effects of the nuclear holocaust at the centre of Metro’s lore were slightly exaggerated, Artyom and his subterranean-dwelling community embark on an overground train ride in search of humanity, or at least a better offer than living in underground tunnels beneath Moscow. Conceptually that’s quite a draw. Shooting giant rats in dark corridors was explored to the full extent of its potential in prior Metro games, and this new train ride conceit allows 4A Games to introduce broader overground areas – not quite an open world, but a game of substantial hubworlds which each allow for more player freedom and visual variation than anything prior in the series. Whatever trepidation players might have had over Metro – a self-proclaimed hardcore shooter that places atmosphere and immersion above all else – wandering clear of linear FPS design, they needn’t have worried. First, Exodus’ environments are as vivid and detailed as anything 2033 or Last Light produced. Second, it’s still a deeply linear shooter. Each hub world, from the icy banks of the Volga to desert tundra and thick forest, features a handful of secondary objectives, coaxing you off the beaten track, but the path between primary objectives still feels curated. Rowing a boat into the riverside church of a fanatical cult; pulling off a train carriage heist from a wrecked railyard and speeding away to safety; fighting off a pack of zombies at the entrance to a dusty desert tomb at sunset – all choreographed set-pieces that appear emergent. You’re wandering the path the developer intended, but you feel like you’re doing it out of choice, and that’s no mean trick. There are frequent problems with pathfinding in Exodus’ environments, however, which too often leave you looking for an obscured lever, valve or gap in a wall only passable via QTE. These moments blemish what’s otherwise one of the strongest aspects of the game.

4A’s own engine articulates this world beautifully, as 4A’s games always have, but it’s a beauty that works best when you’re standing still. Its array of bleeding-edge lighting effects, HBAO and Nvidia’s new RTX raytracing tech on PC makes for wonderful screenshots, and some truly memorable walks through Glukhovsky’s apocalypse. However, it’s beleaguered by PC performance issues and bizarre glitches. Not only is a stable 60fps unreachable with an RTX 2080 TI at 4K and max settings, it even proves elusive at 1080p and the high preset. Character models often judder on the spot as if being reset by a console command, while corpses tend to vibrate furiously in whatever position they fell. The AI exhibits some odd behaviour, too. Bandits get stuck on the scenery, allies shoot the floor for minutes on end, and on one occasion an aquatic monster rises up from the ground – the ground – to instakill our hero.

Most frustrating of Exodus’ technical shortcomings, though, is its hit detection. Too regularly, accurate hits don’t register at all. Metro, you’ll remember, is a shooter about just scraping by, and every bullet counts because ammo is so scarce. All these performance issues remind you, in neon capital letters, that you are playing a game – and so evaporate that precious immersion. And wasting ammo through no fault of your own feels like a failure to deliver on Metro’s most fundamental concept.

All that can, and presumably will, be patched – but the pacing may be beyond saving. For all its extended NPC dialogues, cutscenes and non-interactive setpieces, Metro Exodus doesn’t have much to say. It takes four hours to establish that there may be life somewhere other than Moscow, and during that time the ratio of active player-led to non-interactive content feels close to 1:1. You’re given far more control after that point, and the hub worlds invite you to explore at your own pace, but Exodus persists in its erroneous belief that five-minute conversations during which NPCs exchange phrases only ever heard in videogame cutscenes are worth your attention.

Metro Exodus is a mood piece, and it hits that mark brilliantly by building detailed environments and laying set-pieces within them for you to find, as if by chance. However, in its efforts to emphasise that it’s a long-form experience, its storytelling comes across as plodding, and every time a glitch or framedrop appears you’re pulled out of 4A’s rare, and beautiful, post-apocalyptic vision.

For all its extended NPC dialogues, cutscenes and non-interactive set-pieces, it doesn’t have much to say

HUD RIDDANCE The Metro series’ commitment to immersion is exemplified in its efforts to minimise menus and HUD elements. As such, much of the vital info in Exodus is worn by Artyom: a timer on his wrist indicating how long your air filter will last, a radiation levels readout next to that, a physical map and compass he checks manually to find his way. More complex information, such as weapon modifications and their effects, are relegated to menus, but they’re tucked away in the periphery while the weapon itself sits on a workbench, keeping you tethered to the environment. Ranger Hardcore difficulty removes all HUD elements altogether, including ammo readouts and the crosshair. Finding a laser sight becomes a real priority.

RIGHT Colonel Miller loves order, discipline, a well-pressed beret and the sound of his own voice. He’s often at the centre of the game’s many protracted conversations, normally to voice reluctance.MAIN On the banks of the Volga, your train hits a roadblock set up by technophobic zealots. The inevitable confrontation with their charismatic, spittle-flecking leader is teased out over several hours.BOTTOM This is as dignified as death gets in Metro’s world. Behind these graves, petrified corpses hang suspended over a flooded warehouse on ropes, a photograph of them attached to the fibres

ABOVE Each seasonal and environmental change in Exodus is a revelation, showcasing 4A Engine’s visual heft and reinvigorating the player’s desire to wander a dead world. Beware the vicious mutant bears, however