The wait is finally over, and Metro is back. Fully revealed today, Metro 2039 is the latest sequel in the hardcore, post-apocalyptic FPS franchise that explores a desolate world and the horrors that nuclear fallout can create.
During an early access event to get an advance look at Metro 2039 before today's Xbox First Look, the devs at 4A Games revealed that it takes place within the Moscow Metro, where "hope is lost and the future looks bleak." The underground communities there have been united in tension under a new ruler, and they are "flooded with propaganda, misinformation, and fear." So, it's not quite a happy tale.
Most importantly, though, it's been over seven years since Metro Exodus released, and there's a reason for that wait: Russia's invasion of Ukraine greatly impacted 2039's development, according to those at the studio, which has one office based in the country.
While the franchise has always been about "preventing war," creative director Andriy Shevchenko said that it's now about the fact that "war is our reality, and our message has shifted to be about the consequences: the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, and the price of freedom."
The game's "much darker tone" is teased to great effect in the disturbing reveal trailer with some unsettling imagery, but it's no less scary than the kinds of events that those who've actually been affected by war have gone through in real life.
"Everything we had planned for the next chapter of Metro changed in 2020, and more significantly in 2022," said executive producer Jon Bloch. It's clear that the development of the new game hasn't been easy, and that's made this project especially personal for those who've worked on it, carried by Ukrainian pride.
"Reality forced us to take a different approach, told from a uniquely Ukrainian perspective, but this is still a Metro story in the Metro universe," Shevchenko said. The devs highlighted that they sometimes had to get electricity from generators or batteries and dealt with power outages from rocket or drone attacks during the conflict while making the game. I find it hard not to root for a title that somehow was created under circumstances like this.
The voiced main character in Metro 2039 is known as The Stranger, "a recluse plagued by his violent nightmares, forced to undertake a harrowing journey back down to the Metro, a place he swore to never return," said co-creative director Pavel Ulmer.
At the end of the presentation, 4A Games gave a short look at a mix of gameplay and cinematics, and it looks stunningly gorgeous and eerily realistic. In the presentation, devs touted 4A's own engine that's been used to create previous titles, and this is just the latest iteration of that, helping to create what looks like a must-play FPS.
Metro 2039 is due to launch this winter on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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