Review - Metro: ReduxReview by; Steve Smith
Format reviewed on PS4 |
Publisher: Deep Silver
Developer: 4A-Games Formats; XboxOne, PC and PS4 |
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When a guy in a black sheet and stretched ghost facemask asks if I like scary movies, I shout “Errrrr not really…oh okay, but can we keep the light on?!”
So why review a survival horror game? Well, I do like a good movie, whatever the genre. Over the years I've watched horror movies like John Carpenter's: The Thing, Saw, The Blair Witch Project, Chernobyl Diaries and Drag Me to Hell and loved every one…….okay, so the last one was watched over the top of a cushion, at two o'clock in the afternoon, with the curtains wide open and now I have a fear of buttons, so what! Anyhow all of them are great movies whether you're a horror fan or not. |
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Both these games, for me, are all those movies wrapped in a nice bow of Russian creepily lit and textured entrails. Based on the novel of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro 2033 was originally released in 2010 and its equal brother Last Light in 2013 following on from the previous story.
It's 20 years after the bombs have fallen and you play Artyom, a male survivor of a ravaged nuclear war-torn Russia, where the survivors are now scraping an existence in the underground metro tunnels, fighting off the locals, be they mutant beastie or human. Artyom, through no fault of his own, gets involved in life threatening shenanigans in which only the biggest gun can get him out of, as per every other FPS. But this is where the clichéd similarities end as this superbly written plot has hidden depths for you to explore in your environment, your weapons and the friends and foes you encounter. |
The walk you take before your first real mission is through the underground decaying ruins you call home. I'm reminded of the future scenes from the Terminator movies and a book called Soviet Ghosts by photographer Rebecca Litchfield, which quite literally shows the decaying abandoned buildings of the former Soviet Union. This ‘walk’ is pulling you into the Metro world and getting you ready to be spat out again when the ‘dark ones’ are finished with you.
The claustrophobic nature of the metro tunnels are perfect for these games as they provide such an immersive environment with beautiful lighting and sound effects, add to that the outside environments used and this rivals any horror blockbuster.
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The tunnels are also a realistic reason for the trapped nature of this game, you have to be there as anywhere else, including the surface, is either just as bad, if not worse. This is no B-movie where you run upstairs to create false tension to get away from the monster, when everyone else knows you should have gone out the front door to freedom. This cabin in the woods has nowhere to run to safety with mutants, soldiers and the dark ones all out to rip you a new one. This is where it gets interesting as there are two initial choices to be made in both games; SURVIVAL is the intended way for you to play the game as it’s a complete horror survival package with the emphasis on resource management and tense combat. Then there is SPARTAN with a more faster paced combat action where bullets and filters for your gas masks are plentiful. |
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Then comes the real challenge; do you choose NORMAL – where the bullets (your main source of death dealing and pocket money) and filter supplies need to be watched closely? HARDCORE where every encounter could be life or death? RANGER where your enemies do more damage? On the flipside so do you, but supplies are scarce so every bullet counts. Then we have the crème de la crème for the realism worshipper, the HARDCORE RANGER mode in which there is no HUD, no UI and all hints are disabled…oh and the difficulty level is ramped up…good luck!
It’s clear to see the improvements made to 2033 not only graphically but also with a smooth solid 60fps and 1080p resolution for both games along with shorter loading times, new menus and collectables. Even if you've played this before it’ll feel brand new. Last light, however, didn’t need such a polish, being a lot younger, but it is longer than the original and includes all the DLC. |
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Wrap Up
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The red pill:
It’s a post-apocalyptic horror survival dream (if there is one), love the choice of game modes along with the spruced up 2033 graphics and Last Light DLC extras. |
The blue pill:
Melee attack sometimes feels a little feeble and disconnected and some level design can fail to impress after you have been spoiled with the rest of the game. |
The Rabbit Hole:
The niggles I have are only minor, in what is a must buy for the PS4 or Xbox One whether you’ve played them both before or not. This time it’s ‘Better red than dead’
The niggles I have are only minor, in what is a must buy for the PS4 or Xbox One whether you’ve played them both before or not. This time it’s ‘Better red than dead’
Score - 5/5
Images courtesy of Koch Media
Game - courtesy of publisher
Game - courtesy of publisher
