Metro is one game series whose continued success I’ve always found a little surprising. When you think of popular video game franchises, the concept of a post-nuclear Moscow subway system probably wasn't the first thing you’d expect to spawn a series of best-selling games.
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In a world of reboots, sequels and remixes, it’s always delightful to come across an original concept — even if it was originally adapted from a book. But we won’t hold that against Metro Exodus, since it’s (mostly) an original story that breaks out of the claustrophobic tunnels of the Moscow Metro and into the (almost) open world beyond.
I picked up Metro 2033 back in 2010, and got hooked on the series — to the point where I purchased Last Light and Metro Exodus on launch day. But after starting the threequel back in 2019 I never actually got to the end. Sadly, I managed to blow myself up somewhere in the Caspian Sea level and lost almost all the progress I’d made thus far.
Neglected like so many games before it
I can’t remember if the auto save feature broke, or if that explosion messed up the series’ notoriously-strict morality system. But whatever actually happened I ended up back at the start of the level, losing the will to continue. That was 5 years ago, and Metro Exodus ended up gathering dust with all the other unfinished games in my collection.
But funnily enough the Fallout TV show led to me picking the game back up again. The show inspired me to head back to the Mojave Wasteland of New Vegas, which in turn made me wonder whether I should head back to Fallout 4. It just so happens that my copy of Fallout 4 was right next to Metro Exodus, and I figured “why the heck not?”.
I had loaded up my old save file, took one look at my surroundings and realized I’d forgotten what all the controls are. The basics are there, but the Metro Exodus interface has a bunch of different sublayers, letting you access all different kinds of equipment and I just couldn’t figure out where to go. Too much button mashing could easily lead to me blowing myself up again, and combined with the fact I only remembered a few scraps of plot and the choice was simple. It was time to start afresh.
And good thing too, because I’ve discovered that there are a lot of things about this game that have been wiped from my mind. Had I continued I probably wouldn’t have known what was going on most of the time.
Plus starting afresh meant I got to experience the whole game with the next-gen remaster switched on. Something I wasn't able to do back in early 2019, since the PS5 and Xbox Series X had yet to be announced — let alone released.
Back to where I left off
Right now I’ve just got back to the Caspian Sea level, and have started working my way through the early levels. I even found the spot where I blew myself up last time, and avoided repeating that same mistake again. Though I did have to restart the level early on, after wandering off into the desert and somehow skipping the entire first level.
And good thing too, otherwise I would have been at risk of all kinds of dangerous encounters from people and mutants alike. I won’t say more than that, though, otherwise I may spoil a cool surprise.
It’s really hitting home how much Metro Exodus isn’t your average shooter — though it is a lot more traditional than its predecessors. They could be pretty brutal at times, plunging you into darkness at every available opportunity, and being really stingy with the resources. Ammo in particular.
While Exodus makes it a lot easier to source and even create your own supplies and ammunition, you still have to go out and find the necessary supplies. How successful you’ll be all depends on how good you are at the game. Especially given how stingy your supply of healing items is for huge portions of the game. I can upgrade just about every other piece of equipment, so why not increase the number of med packs I can carry?
Similarly the game’s morality system isn’t quite as dastardly in the third installment. The way it works is that completing a certain number of tasks, or playing the game a certain (usually non-lethal) way gives you a different ending. Play the game as a moral person, you get the good ending. Play it like a gun-toting psychopath and you get the bad one.
In past games this could be absurdly difficult. Not only would the Metro 2033 and Last Light morality system rely on you doing mundane tasks, like playing music and listening to conversations, you also had to play the game without killing a single person. Knocking them unconscious or drugging them was fine, but killing was a big no-no. Worst of all, unlike Fallout’s karma system, everything was hidden.
Fortunately Metro Exodus is a little simpler. Killing is fine, as long as you’re only killing the right groups of enemies. And once you know how the morality system affects how the game progresses, you have a pretty strong indication of how well you're doing. Better still the whole thing resets with each major level. For the first time ever, I think I may be able to finish a Metro game without a super-bleak and nihilistic ending.
There’s never a better time to buy Metro Exodus
The good thing about picking up a game from five years ago is that you can often get it for a hefty discount. In fact all the Metro games are on sale right now on both PS5 and Xbox. PS5 owners can pick up Metro Exodus for just $4.49, the Expansion Pass for $3 or the Gold Edition that bundles both for $6.
Xbox owners buy the two separately without paying full price, but the Metro Exodus Gold Edition is on sale for the same $6 price tag. Both the PlayStation and Xbox stores have also discounted the Metro Saga bundle, which gets you the Metro Exodus Gold Edition and remastered versions of Metro 2033 and Last Light for just $9. If you haven’t played a Metro game yet, that’s definitely a deal you should take advantage of.
