Metro Redux Review
Recently the trend of rereleasing your old game into a updated, shiny Playstation 4 or Xbox One version has taken over as one of the modus operandi of video game publishers. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, The Last Of Us: Remastered, and Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition, sit alongside titles like Olli Olli, Hotline Miami and Escape Plan as games with new, current generation releases. With Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition and Grand Theft Auto V still to come later in the year, it’s fair to say it’s not just a singular one-off. This time, it’s Deep Silver’s turn to add to this big list of titles. However, and to give Deep Silver some credit, Metro Redux is possibly the best value with the most significant amount of gameplay tweaks.
The Redux package consists of Metro 2033, and it’s sequel, Metro: Last Light. Both games tell the story of Artoym, a 20-year-old survivor of a nuclear winter, as he travels to save the Metro station he calls home. Players take on the role of Artoym as he battles from station to station, through the post-apocalyptic train tunnels, and over the icy, mutated wilderness of Moscow. The atmosphere is entirely oppressive and depressing, and every time you leave the safety of a neutral Metro station, you feel instantly intimidated. The mood, combined with a series of gameplay beats, leads to a first person shooter much different from much of the market. Not only are the story and the shooting solid, but both Metro games add a heavy dash of Sci-fi to the mixture alongside a large dose of bullet scarcity, gas mask management and even a button to wipe enemy blood from your visor. Those little tweaks to the standard formula, not only make it stand out, but add a sense of realism and tenseness to your entire playthrough.
Interestingly enough, Metro Redux offers two differing ways to experience the Artoym’s story. The original 2033 was harsher, slower, whereas Last Light was more accessible, more action orientated. In the Redux double pack, you get the choice of playing either title in “Spartan” mode – much like Last Light – or in “Survivor” mode – akin to 2033. The choice allows a larger variety of players to experience the world the 4a Studios have built, but, at the same time, neither mode takes the dread out of the world or the skill required out of the player.
The choice between “Survivor” and “Spartan” also binds the two games together into one, more cohesive experience. The connected ethos makes the Metro Redux bundle feel like a singular and complete entity, rather than two separate games with two separate ethoses, like they were at the time of their original release.
The improvements in the tech of the both titles also help to make them fit together better. 4a rebuilt both games the new version of their imaginatively named 4a engine. The result of which does not really do much for Last Light, being as it was only released 15 months previous, but Metro 2033, a game which is four years old at this point, looks far, far better. Many of the character models have been redone, as well as much of the lighting and many of the textures. The cutscenes from 2033 also now happen in first person, a change that Last Light brought in. Metro 2033 was a game that looked fantastic in its time, and now looks even better. And Metro: Last Light, well, it looked pretty good anyway.
But – and there is always one – the stability of the game has taken quite a hit with Redux package. Some textures visibly pop, sometimes the sound freaks out, and, on occasion, in-game events don’t happen at all. The biggest fault would be a bug that crashed the game and kicked me straight back to the Playstation 4 menu, multiple times. Whether a patch is scheduled, I do not know, but at the time of this review, the game is basically unplayable unless you are rather patient and lucky.
Errors aside, or preferably errors fixed, both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light are fantastic games that have benefitted greatly from having a fresh coat of paint. Offering both titles together, streamlined and suddenly cohesive, is a staggering value proposition. Older than any other rereleases this year, for much less money, Metro Redux has two great titles sharing the billing, both easily recommendable for players familiar and new to the series.
Metro Redux was reviewed on PS4 with review code supplied by Deep Silver. Read more @ danjohnhobbs.com and Patreon.com/danjohnhobbs
