Going into Metro 2033, I wasn’t entirely convinced that we needed another post-apocalyptic shooter following a single man who becomes the savior of earth, but I was pleasantly surprised as I reached the jarring conclusion of Metro. Metro 2033 follows the travels of Artyom, a citizen of the underground complex of Metro tunnels after the surface of Moscow has frozen over. The atmosphere and setting of the game are what really deserve attention as 4A Games have crafted a very startling and unforgiving adaptation of the book that Metro is based off of by Dmitry Glukovsky. Despair and darkness rule the metro as well as the remaining survivors taking shelter in the various metro stations. Artyom has gained the ability to resist the mental attacks of the mutants crawling through the metro tunnels known as the “Dark Ones” so it falls on him to find a way to bring humanity back to the surface and eliminate the mutant threat that endangers the continuity of his species. Metro keeps your attention through this linear journey with cinematic events that astound, but leave you wishing that more existed throughout the game.
The gameplay is hit and miss throughout most of the game presenting some stellar equipment that feels underused. Artyom’s equipment consists of a gas mask and timer for trips to the toxic surface, torch for the consistently dark environments, battery charger for your torch, and a clipboard displaying objectives complete with an objective compass. These items really bring out a unique experience in Metro since there is a lack of a hud but I really wish that each piece felt more important. I hardly needed to look at the objectives on my clipboard and mainly stuck with the objective compass if I needed it, but the game is so linear that it is tough to get lost when the path is so obvious. I only had to charge my headlamp a handful of times, and I never felt like I was going to run out of filters for my gas mask. The equipment stands out, but only for a brief period as each feel as if they could have been fine tuned a little more. Another feature that could have used some work is the use of ammo as currency. You find shiny and rare military grade ammo that can be used to purchase ammo and new weapons, but in a game that teaches you to scavenge it’s hard to part with the treasures you have found. I found myself with an excess of military grade ammo at the end of the game and since the ammo is 3 times as powerful as a normal round I breezed through the final chapter hardly taking a scratch. The weapon selection is fairly limited, with different attachments for each such as a bayonet or a silencer.
I never felt the need to purchase an upgraded weapon, as each felt only a little different than the last, but I did pick up new guns from time to time off a dead soviet whenever I found one. Sadly, combat is where Metro really shows it weaknesses with enemies that require a large amount of lead to topple, as well as poor hit detection. Most of the time it didn’t feel like it made a difference if I shot a mutant in the face or the foot, it would die from the same amount of ammo either way. Lack of ammo was a concern I had in my preview, but luckily 4A heard the cry of journalists everywhere and placed more ammo in the game which made the game a tad bit easier but still challenging nonetheless. I never found myself struggling to survive a shootout especially with my invincible AI partners, but I did find that enemies were a little too tough to kill. However, the challenging nature of the game can definitely be viewed as a positive. Overall, the gunfare feels sloppy and generic, which is too bad because improved combat mechanics would have made Metro stand out quite a bit more. Metro also lacks any sort of multiplayer, which is unfortunate but luckily 4A avoided tacking on a last minute and generic multiplayer.
Visually, the game has its moments especially due to the decay of the tunnels and the surface being so well detailed. However, the most impactful environments tend to be the stations turned into villages, where you truly see and feel the loss of the surface. 4A did a great job of detailing these stations and it’s always where the game feels the darkest and most intriguing, even though they are the most well lit areas of the game. It would have been nice to have traversed a few more locations that were well lit and varying, but it is a horror game, so I accept the fact that most of it is seen through the beam of a torch. I also encountered a few technical issues and bugs that annoyed but they never ruined the experience or made me want to take a break from the game. At the end of the day Metro 2033 is a great game brought down by some minor issues with the gameplay, that keep it from being highly-memorable. The highs in Metro 2033 are high; with some gripping moments and set pieces that pull you in and leave you wanting more, but throughout the course of Artyom’s quest you can’t help but feel that the game could have been so much more. With all the other warfare shooters out there right now make sure to give Metro 2033 a chance, as it is something different even if it’s not something perfect.
