Metro Exodus Review (Xbox One)

Due to its unique environments, it's nearly impossible to avoid the feelings of claustrophobia when playing the first two Metro games. But Ukrainian studio 4A Games spices it up with a lot of surviving horror action and a great mystery that hypnotically drives you to the end of each of the first two games: 2033 and Last Light.

If you expect to be overwhelmed by the same claustrophobia feelings in the third chapter of the Metro saga, you'll have to look elsewhere. Metro Exodus brings the franchise to the surface and throws players into a semi-open world that feels so much different than the already tamed Moscow subway.

Switching from a corridor shooter to an open-world design is quite dangerous for a major franchise, and in some cases it can prove fatal. But that's not the case with Metro Exodus, even though you'll probably experience some agoraphobia feelings the first time few hours of gameplay. Still, one thing that doesn't change in all three games is the gloomy atmosphere and feelings of anxiety.

What Metro Exodus brings into the series for the first time is hope, a bold concept for a post-apocalyptic world where the only place you can live is the subway. The third Metro game starts two years after the events in Metro: Last Light, but features the same protagonist, Artyom, a member of the Special Forces, and one of the best scouts in the Moscow's subway.

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The moment the Metro series turns into Mad Max

The first few hours of Metro Exodus are heavily scripted, but once you get in the Aurora, the train that will carry you and your team across Russian landscapes, it becomes clear that you are no longer confined to the claustrophobic environments of Moscow's metro. There are a couple of major twists in the beginning of the game, but as you progress into the game you kind of expect these turnarounds, you just don't know when and how they'll happen.

And for the first time ever Artyom must be very cautious how he approaches every mission because he's no longer alone. Anna, Artyom's wife and the daughter of Colonel Miller, leader of the Spartan Rangers, one of the many factions in the metro, is the real symbol of hope. Although she's not the only one that dreams of a life without worries and a house on the beach, Anna is the only one that puts them into words.

The moments you spend with Anna and the crew from the Aurora are some of the best in the game. In-between chapters, on the way to another region in Russia, Artyom gets to explore the lives of those accompanying him and listen to what they have to say about their aspirations and goals. These are exceptionally valuable moments that greatly add to the Metro Exodus story in ways that you'll find as you progress further into the game.

In the third game of the series, developer 4A Games has decided to focus on more mundane aspects of the post-apocalyptic world, so it's much lighter on the fantasy elements like the Dark Ones. But that doesn't take away from the game's mystery at all, it's just that our protagonist is busy solving other types of puzzle, as the enemies remain the same for the most part: humans, demons, watchers and humanimals.

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Of course, each region of Russia that you visit will have their unique enemies, but I won't be spoiling it for you. In the end, all these zones that you'll have to explore have one thing in common: your fiercest enemy will … the man.

There are times in the game when some of the NPCs will make some requests that won't show in your mission log. Some of them have major consequences later on if you manage to fulfill them, so pay attention to those even if they don't seem important at first glance.

Want a different weapon each mission? Welcome to Legoland!

Gameplay-wise, little has changed from the other two games, but those few aspects that you'll now do differently really define Metro Exodus. Although there aren't too many weapons in the game, and you only carry three with you, you'll be able to heavily customize them with parts that you loot from enemies.

With the right add-ons, Metro Exodus enables you to turn even the most rudimentary revolver into a powerful sniper rifle. The same goes for the traditional Kalashnikov and the ever present Tikhar, a weapon that's been part of the Metro series for quite some time.

In Metro Exodus, you backpack is your best friend since it's been turned into a mobile workshop. Although you can't craft ammo for your weapons, you can customize your arsenal on the fly to suit various situations. For example, you could infiltrate an bandit camp using your night goggles and fit some of you weapons with NV (night vision) scopes. You can also add a silencer for those missions that require absolute discretion.

The level of customization is hilariously deep, so you'll definitely find a way to build a weapon that will perfectly fit your playstyle. The only thing you'll have to worry about is the ammo, which you'll sparsely find throughout the world or craft using the materials looted. On higher difficulty levels, ammo becomes a vital resource, exactly as it should be in a post-apocalyptic world.

The post-apocalyptic world looks and feels impressive, but it's quite empty

Now, Metro Exodus is not without flaws, but only after playing several notice you'll start to see the game's downsides. Although Metro Exodus is an open-world game, it doesn't incetify the player to explore the maps at all. The rewards are meaningful and most of the time the so-called side quests aren't even mentioned in your diary and do not affect the story in any way.

Another negative aspect is that the world feels rather empty. Except for these markings on the maps that you're required to investigate to “complete”a region, and the main quest, there's not much to do in Metro Exodus. Of course, you can be ambushed at any time on the way to your destination, but I'm not saying the world is not populated with a few mutants here and there, it's just that there's nothing else to do but kill them and move on.

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From the snow landscapes of Moscow to the deserts of the Caspian and lush forests of the Taiga, everything looks and feels as you're actually there, but such a huge world has few points of interest. The game doesn't reward you at all (or not enough) for taking the time to explore these points of interest, not to mention that what you get in return usually don't cover the resources spent to clear it from enemies (i.e. ammo, medkits), specially on higher levels of difficulty.

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