One of last week's biggest gaming announcements was the full reveal of Metro 2039, the next mainline entry in the beloved single player story-driven FPS franchise from 4A Games. Set after the events of Metro Exodus but back in Moscow within the metro tunnels that give the series its namesake, it's been said to be "darker than anything you've seen before," with a narrative informed by the developers' experience living through the ongoing invasion of Ukraine (much of 4A is based in Kyiv).
One of the biggest revelations about Metro 2039 that came with its unveiling was the news that we will no longer be playing as franchise protagonist Artyom, and will instead take control of a mysterious new character named The Stranger — a man returning to the metro tunnels after being away for a period of time.
In the game's reveal trailer, The Stranger gets quite vocal as he panics his way through hallucinations and visions of atrocities committed by the new hostile Novoreich faction, which has led many to wonder if he'll be a voiced protagonist rather than a silent one.
This has now been confirmed by none other than Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author of the Metro novels the games are based on and a direct contributor to the narratives of 4A Games' titles. Speaking on social media, he said, "This time, the protagonist of the Metro gets his voice. And he’s got things to say."
This time, the protagonist of the Metro gets his voice. And he’s got things to say.April 21, 2026
It's important to note that while Artyom had voiced monologues during loading screen transitions between levels or end-of-game cutscenes in previous Metro games, he never actually spoke to other characters during gameplay, even when others addressed him directly. The choice to make him silent has always divided fans somewhat, with some appreciating the chance to project their own character interpretations onto him, and others finding his silence jarring.
It sounds like The Stranger, however, will be far more outspoken than Artyom ever was, and will give voice to strong opinions or reactions to events in the narrative. It's unclear if these will come on their own or if they'll be driven by player choices, but either way, expect the new main character to be quite vocal.
Provided The Stranger's dialogue is well written and voice acted, I have no qualms with that direction. I've always been in the camp of feeling that Artyom's lack of speech was rather immersion breaking, and while his silence does make it easy to get lost in Metro's atmosphere, I don't think you'd lose that by having him speak every once in a while.
STALKER 2 is an example of this done well; in that game, protagonist Skif isn't a chatterbox by any means, but he speaks when it makes sense for him to, and gives voice to the player's subtle roleplaying decisions that come throughout the story. It's my hope that Metro 2039 will handle The Stranger's speech in a similar fashion. We'll know for sure when the game comes out on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 this winter.
How do you feel about Metro 2039's protagonist being a fully voiced character, rather than a largely silent one? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to vote in our poll as well.
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