The series Metro has always been strong on a utopian imaginary in which the Earth and humanity are definitively on their knees due to a nuclear war. Survivors will have to contend with threats that have evolved, such as animals that, due to radiation, have mutated and become particularly aggressive. In Metro Exodus things do not change, since this third chapter was also influenced by the short stories of Dmitry Glukhovsky. You will find yourself in Russia again, more precisely in its capital, Moscow. The universe on which the videogame rests is solid, not at all forced and above all coherent in all its aspects. Precisely for this reason wandering among the remains of civilization will not be easy at all, also because nothing is left of real civilization. Survivors, raiders, religious fanatics and animals - everyone in the game could easily kill you without you noticing.
From Russia with love
In a world now devastated and in ruins, the only safe outpost seems to be the Moscow metro, which has become a real city capable of giving new hope to the now destitute population. Inside these tunnels however there is a kind of local police called the Order which takes care of keeping everything under control, defending - in their own way - citizens and fighting in case of danger. Among these soldiers there is a group that stands out above the others, or the Spartans, or a small handful of soldiers led by Colonel Miller. In this team, however, two other figures also stand out: the first is Artyom, protagonist of the adventure, the second is Anna, his wife and daughter of Miller. The hero does not want to believe that everything is over outside Moscow, so reckless of the dangers, putting the safety of his partner at risk, he goes to the outside world waiting for a signal from the radio.
The monotony of everyday life, as if risking one's life every day would be monotonous, is interrupted by a much greater discovery. To prevent connections with the outside world would be the Order and Miller was aware of everything. However, some events will precipitate the situation, forcing the flight of the entire group, including the colonel. The reason? Miller had decided to side with Anna and Artyom who wanted to escape from Moscow, becoming in effect a traitor. But once the leader of this team changes his mind, it becomes clear to the remaining members which side to take sides as well. The means of escape in question is an old subway car, your mobile home that will accompany you throughout the adventure in all corners of this cold and brutal Russia. The locations will in fact be ruthless, they will never give you the feeling of being calm, with dangers of all kinds that could hit you from all sides. A leisurely boat ride could be the occasion for a hefty meal for some mutant whale, abandoned buildings could turn out to be nests of starving humanoids; these are just two small examples, but they represent only a small part of the variety of situations that Metro Exodus has to offer. Certainly do not expect every area of the map to be "inhabited", but from a content point of view the development house has undertaken to fill the various areas, giving players in exchange prizes such as special objects, a rich number of materials and much more. . Nothing can repay as much as the surprising glance in seeing some particular locations, among breathtaking ruins and snow-covered wastelands, the power of man now devastated by nature. Everything fits together consistently.
In all this there is a negative note, however, although the developers did a commendable job of writing, the content of the dialogues appeared slightly subdued, with characters who in some cases are very robotic in reasoning or too cold and apathetic. Some scenes seemed almost obvious, devoid of form. This is a great pity since Metro, after all, it takes its cue from a literary work and as a whole it is able to give a deep and thick playful experience, a final product that knows how to entertain until its conclusion, with moments really full of adrenaline. Unfortunately, however, this narrative sector does not stand up to comparison with the other aspects of the game. The journey of the Spartans will last about a year, you will experience it through 12 chapters that will take you to go through all four seasons, making you admire Dmitry Glukhovsky's Russia in all its infernal splendor.
To survive
If you think that Metro Exodus is a common FPS is not exactly like that, or at least in part. The basics of the gameplay are certainly these, but the approach is what you should have in a classic open world. Despite a tiered structure, the vast sceneries will offer you considerable freedom of movement, even if in some cases the design of the chapters is a narrative corridor. Don't be scared, however, as when this happens there will be sudden accelerations that will positively change the pace of the adventure. Basically the game is divided into two very large macro areas, with as many linear paths. The feeling you will have in large locations is that of restlessness, since you will have no idea what will come your way. The danger is in every corner and your orientation will not be the best. The map and the other makeshift objects that you will need for moving are very rudimentary, not particularly comfortable to use. This only increases immersion, since everything conforms to a situation on the verge of survival. The first thing you will notice is that there are no real characters that will provide you with side missions, but one of the strengths of the game is just that: in such a catastrophic setting, finding survivors or anything else around the desolate streets would have been inconsistent. with all. Metro will make you live the classic formula that will see you go from point A to point B, ma at the same time you will have many areas to explore that will allow you to get a hefty reward. Obviously, to move around the maps you will almost always be on foot, but nothing too traumatic. You can reach the various places without excessive problems and, above all, avoiding wasting precious time: the areas in fact, however vast they are all more than usable, you will not be required to walk for an indefinite time, since on the way you can also dedicate yourself to exploration.
The scenery itself will attract your attention, thanks to particular architectural elements such as hidden ruins, remains of shelters and much more. The mission for the team was to find the right balance between the proposed play activities, the desolation of the game and the actual gameplay. The goal has been successfully achieved, since inside Metro you can neither be distracted nor bored. In these secondary areas a rich loot awaits you, however this does not diminish the survival effect, since the danger will always be more than constant. You'll have to make your way through bunkers, sewers and more. Although these areas are relatively medium in size and characterized by a linear progression, however, it is an excellent starting point for variation and slowing down of the rhythms, so as to allow yourself a sort of break from primary activities. These elements that should simply surround the experience, have been inserted in the videogame in a masterly way, becoming in all respects playful elements that enrich the game offer proposed by the team. Anything that may catch your attention then deserves to be explored, not doing it means getting on with the main adventure and not enjoying the journey, a mistake that would not make you fully appreciate what is proposed by 4A Games.
To improve and upgrade your gear and paraphernalia, rummaging through the litter is a central aspect of gameplay. Metro Exodus is devoid of economics, whatever you can get you will recover it yourself or you will build it yourself. Taking care of your items such as weapons will be essential, as well as implementing special pieces that can change their strength or, in some cases, even their nature. To repair damaged objects or build more complex items you will need a workbench, always present in the base camp or, sometimes, in the various makeshift homes that turn out to be real shelters. Putting together the various materials, stocks, creating ammunition will be central, as well as preparing properly for a single shipment. The way in which this happens is natural and intuitive, the real driving force of the gameplay and which, inevitably, marks the rhythms of the adventure step by step. The general game system has fully convinced for its versatility, even if the stealth component is strongly recommended by the characters themselves. Ammo is always limited, wasting precious resources on a single fight means getting impoverished to the next one, evaluate your actions with common sense since you will have to respond to the consequences. We want to dedicate the last parenthesis of this paragraph to gunplay, a very popular element that will inevitably be your faithful friend. The guns will jam if they are not cleaned, so their care is essential. The aiming system is effective and light, responds very well to player input and is able to give back strong sensations so as to clearly feel the power of each single blow.
A cold beauty
In addition to a little variety of enemies, the intelligence of these does not shine particularly. Indeed, in some ways it is quite elementary, and to make the various clashes complex are the meager equipment combined with the lack of ammunition. There are some very resistant enemies, so you will have to learn to hit them in the head or in certain weak points. As said previously, the game itself encourages stealth, if you benefit from the experience in the highest modalities this strategy will be decisive for the achievement of any objective. The AI of the opponents is the only sore point of a decidedly optimal technical sector. Starting from the graphics we can say with certainty that the image is clear, clean and free of large smudges. We felt some slight drop in frame rates, especially in some specific cases such as monster nests, but nothing that could compromise the adventure in general or that would harm its enjoyment. The settings are varied and very realistic, with particle effects that give the mists or falling snow some truly realistic tones. However, even in this case there are small painful notes, such as certain characters or some points of the vegetation, but in the end nothing too ruinous.
Between a move and a shooting you will be accompanied by the soundtrack, light and perfect background that accurately marks the rhythms of a journey that, otherwise, would not be such without this. Dubbing in other languages is discreet, although for some characters the voice is completely out of place with their appearance. Artyom is traditionally mute, this causes real gaffes when it comes to being consulted for certain issues or topics. Having a protagonist directly involved in the dialogues would have been the icing on the cake, but we still respect this authorial choice by 4A Games, especially given that some scenes are totally flat and that the silence of our hero in those cases seemed to us the smartest thing.
In conclusion we can say with certainty that 4A Games has created a third chapter of Metro to match its predecessors, bringing many innovations that have done nothing but qualitatively enrich an already run-in and working formula. The only real flaw is a dull narrative sector, full of dialogues and interesting ideas, but all devoid of bite and obscured by an excessive lack of real prominent personalities. You will hardly remember the various characters who will accompany you on this long and beautiful journey. For the rest, however, if you are looking for hours and hours of fun combined with a rich and fascinating gaming experience, Metro Exodus is right for you. The videogame will be able to entertain and intrigue you, it will leave you the desire to discover the game world and, in some cases, even forget your real mission. Metro Exodus is an elegant game, which lets itself be revealed without haste and which breaks through the user thanks to its freedom in discovery. The playful structure, in fact, mixes the so-called free roaming with more linear and narrative sections, creating a sort of hybrid that fits well within today's videogame landscape. Experience does justice to previous adventures, in the end you too will grow fond of Artyom and this fantastic journey aboard the Aurora.
