Played Metro Exodus (Enhanced Edition) and I liked it.

I’m catching up on my backlog of games. One of the games that was sitting idle in my library for years is Metro Exodus. Unlike it’s predecessors we get to see a lot more of the outside of the post apocalyptic world of the Metro saga. I rather enjoyed this change of the scenery not having to crawl around in dark tunnels all the time and learning more about this fictional world several years after the world was destroyed by atomic bombs.

It really paid off that I managed to avoid any spoilers until now so I could dive into this rather unique experience and the game’s atmosphere without knowing beforehand what would hit me. I’ll also try to keep this as spoiler free as possible but some may exist.

Like in it’s predecessors we get to play as Artyom from the ego perspective and just as before our actions matter towards the story. It’s entirely up to the player to go in all guns blazing, go for the stealthy approach and/or knock out opponents without killing. Funny enough there is even an achievement for not killing a single enemy in the last level, that I wasn’t even aware of. The opponent looked so mighty to me that I didn’t even try xD

Back to the beginning though. Circumstances cause Artyom to end up with most of the Spartans on a train with a destination unknown vibe going. From here the story literally rolls on rails (sorry) and we get to explore vastly different biomes in search of parts, fuel and other necessaries to keep going. The maps/levels are large and for the most part non linear allowing us to roam around freely. Here we encounter many people, some outright hostile, some just trying to survive, and learn how they adapted to their new environment. We also learn about some individual fates, usually sad and gloomy, as it fits a post apocalyptic world where everyone struggles to survive.

There is also light though. Exodus is the story of a tight knitted group against the horrors of a world that is mostly uninhabitable to mankind and no longer doing it’s bidding. Everyone struggles to find hope and sense in anything and good deeds never go unnoticed. Each companion has it’s own backstory and some may even find what they’re looking for.

The journey sends the player not just through dangerous tunnels and the icy surface of a nuclear winter but also through scorching deserts (Mad Max vibes included), lush forests and swamps. Not all have to be explored by foot too. Beside trains and various boats we also get to drive around by cars or slide down ropes and mud slides.

There are times where the group is just travelling while the story unfolds and we get to explore the ever moving train where the player has time to change and fix equipment or simply enjoy bonding activities with the comrades. There is also a radio to tune in where we can pick up transmissions and learn even more about the world. Some chatter on the radio is the direct result of our previous actions, adding to the immersion.

The immersion is top notch again. Be it rain (or other fluid) drops on the glasses, weapons getting dirty until they jam (cleaning is a game mechanic) or filters running low. We’ve to watch out for radiation hot spots as well and sometimes caves require the use of the gas mask. Some wildlife is sensitive to light, some to noise. New is a day and night cycle, which changes the behaviour of e.g. animals or bandits. Sneaking around is after all easier at night. A bed or fireplace helps to pass time quickly. Here we often find workstations, where equipment can be fixed, replaced or crafted so that the player can adjust on the fly to the situation. Sometimes there is simply no other option than to bring out the big guns.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the game mechanics, just like with the previous parts. The last levels felt a litte tedious and forced focusing mostly on horror and supernatural aspects that I could do without. The supernatural experiences kinda irk me in such games and I think they could do perfectly without. It’s however what’s to be expected from a Metro game by now since this always played a part in the story.

The rest has a good pace and never felt tedious to me. There was always something new or different, like finding out what’s going on in the first place or working together as a team on some task. The cinematic cut-scenes felt a little dated – but still fine for a game that released 7 years ago.

On the technical side I couldn’t be more than happy. The game runs absolutely flawless via Proton on Linux PC on my ultra-wide with a resolution of 5120×2160 and an AMD RX9070XT. Granted it has been a few years since release, so my hardware had some time to catch up, but I still appreciate it when something like this just works. I also experienced not a single crash. Sadly we didn’t get a native Linux PC version this time, which may be one of the reasons it was sitting idle in my library for a while.

I got “the good” ending btw (Metro games usually have two possible endings), which left me yearning for more. This may be a good time to check out the books again, too. There are apparently also 2 DLCs, that I didn’t get [yet].