A momentous day is upon us: the 18th June 2021, the release of the acclaimed Metro Exodus game on the next gen consoles, Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5. If you happened to miss Metro Exodus over the past few years since its February 2019 release, you absolutely must try and get a taste of the renewed Metro world. Exodus was in fact such a salient experience for players that it was nominated for both the Best PC Game and the Best Action Game awards at the 2018 Game Critic awards, acting the underdog going to head-to-head with the likes of Battlefield 4, Anthem and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Metro Exodus, similarly to the rest of the Metro series, is inspired by the fictional works of the author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Where the previous phase Metro: Last Light was based off of Glukhovsky’s 2034 title, Exodus is conjured from the final chapter: 2035. Though a sequel to Last Light, 4A Games does a brilliant job of allowing newcomers to the Metro universe a chance to start afresh whilst playing Exodus. It is no coincidence that the cinematic trailer Exodus boasts opens with a solemn quote from the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky stating ‘to live without Hope is to Cease to live’ as we immediately find ourselves hurled into the Russian wilderness from the get-go, unprepared but refusing to surrender, desperate to survive. A disastrous spate of international nuclear conflict generated the desolate post-apocalyptic Metro world, an environment where humans have fallen from grace, where our dominion became conscious enough so that it developed into our self-destructive antagonist. Cities of glass dramatically transformed from a transparent haven into a shrouded maze of rusted iron and unforgiving steel, harbouring a world of horror forcing us to stay agile on our toes ready to run, ready to fight, keeping our hearts racing through our chests for hours at a time. The narrative the new Exodus game adopts is a chilling glimpse into the wasted planted that was for many years during the Cold War a vision feared to come to fruition; a prospect bleak enough to send goosebumps all over.
Metro Exodus is an enthralling open-world first-person shooter completely guilty of stealing hours of our attention within what feels merely like a few minutes – time flies when you are having fun…especially when surviving against irradiated predators and rival human factions. The game continues to follow one of the 50,000 survivors, the well-loved Artyom, the man seemingly unable to be killed, over the span of an eventful year within the Metro universe. Seasons change, the sun reliably sets and rises – life goes on, but not as it was. Alongside the captivating scenery Exodus offers, particularly on the ninth generation of consoles capable of 4K resolution, Ray-Tracing technology and a 60 frame per second rate, we encounter all from Russian dolls, babies donning nuclear masks, brutal, barren deserts, the classic labyrinthine Metro tunnel-claustrophobia, derelict cities crossbows and anabolic mutant bears the size of houses. Despite the devastation, the Metro Exodus game wonderfully exhibits striking surroundings that often take you a little by surprise. Taking a minute to absorb the myriad characteristics whilst embracing the interactive intricacies this world has to offer makes for an entirely compelling gaming experience.
The element making the Metro Exodus world that much more immersive is the fact that every decision you make has the ability to alter how the Exodus chapter draws to a close; whether you opt for the canon or alternate ending is a decision riding off the back of your own decision, it is you the player who moulds Artyom’s destiny during many hours of gameplay well before the reaching Exodus’ conclusion. As you roam the Exodus world, you can scavenge resources, craft survival supplies, covertly weave and sneak through the landscape and wage war on foes in whichever way they come; creature or human. Survival in the Exodus landscape comes down to the basics: ammo, med kits and upgrade kits – too many a game tend to overindulge the player in resource, but like the Fallout series Exodus presents a rousingly realistic scenario where wares run thin, where each and every shot counts. No bulk-purchase of massive ammo packs from merchants this time around; in Metro’s Mother Russia we either loot and forge or we take the plunge.
If you are looking for a horror-survival experience, look no further: Metro Exodus has got your back. You can pre-order the Metro Exodus game through the link here.
Written by Joel Gunner