Metro Exodus

- Gameplay: 10
- Story: 10
- Characters: 10
- Sounds: 8
- Graphics: 10
- Level Design: 8
- My Opinion: 10
- Device Played On: PC

What a great masterpiece

Metro Exodus is an impressive evolution of a previously highly contained and linear series that achieves nearly everything 4A Games strived to achieve since the series inception.

Exodus is a huge jump in quality for Metro in nearly every aspect, but especially in visuals and world design. Visually, it's a proper next-generation transition; everything from the character and weaponry models to the environment now looks stunning and highly detailed, especially with the PS5/Series patch providing constant ray tracing and 60fps performance. Environment, due to the premise of the game, is now a lot more varied, from snow-covered Moscow to the dry desert Caspian Sea, making the adventure feel much more grander in scale.

The story this time around does a big shakeup, leaving in a handful of older characters and most of the cast being newcomers that are all given plenty of time to develop and end up exceeding some of the abandoned characters of the past entries. The premise is that you are leaving the Moscow Metro, the primary setting of 2033 and Last Light, to go on an across-Russia adventure to find a new place to live in. It's a wild new direction that I believe is warranted for the series, especially since it doesn't completely abandon underground metro locations. Overall the story is great; new factions and characters are compelling, set pieces are still present, and story pacing is consistent enough. What I am annoyed about is Artyom still being a mute for no good reason, which does hurt some of the emotional moments.

Gameplay is surprisingly the highlight of Exodus, now focusing on big open levels that are used as open-world-like levels that are fun to explore and brimmed with hidden details and equipment to find, which feels quite fresh compared to cookie-cutter Ubisoft open-world design. Every weapon can now be modified on the fly, which finally allows for some personalization. Crafting got added with only two main materials being used for everything, which I find to be a better option since it avoids grinding for specific unique material. Areas of interest are not marked on your map at all times, but you are required to climb to higher ground and scope the environment on your own and get them marked on your map; it just feels much more refreshing and authentic for it to be this way, especially when some unique equipment can be completely missed on your first playthrough. Linear chapters are still also present, with the first few hours and the last chapter still having that classic Metro feel, making the pacing flow more naturally by switching up linear and open world sections. Gameplay at times still has some of the jank present, though Artyom feels like a tank to move at times, and I don't know why, but some sound effects are low-quality stock effects carried over from previous entries. I haven't decided if it's a charming or odd decision. The morale system at times is not consistent; it forces you to be more of a pacifist and at times completely restricts you from hurting enemies if you wish to get the best canon ending.

To sum up, Metro Exodus is a great new direction for the series that I rather enjoy. It's 4A Games first attempt at making an open-world-like experience, and surprisingly they managed to make it more authentic than what Ubisoft is throwing out every year.

Never felt so loved by a fictional character until I played this game

I love the idea of a Metro game with huge, semi-open world levels in concept, but in practice it meant that I spent hours scavenging for scraps instead of progressing the story. I played on Hardcore difficulty too which meant that my resources were always scarce no matter how much time I spent looting (I can't decide whether that is a bad thing or not). While I appreciated the innovation, my favourite parts of the campaign, ironically, were the linear sections that were similar to the previous games.

Also, I ordered a preowned copy online for $30 and the next day it went on sale on the Xbox and Playstation store for $5. My order had already been dispatched so I couldn't cancel it. I wasn't happy. Did this have an impact on my overall feelings towards the game? Most likely.

Masterpiece