Metro 2033 feels extremely outdated. Artyom, the main character, doesn’t speak, yet NPCs act as if he does, constantly guessing his responses, which feels unnatural and lazy. Inventory management is clunky, and strict ammo limits are more frustrating than immersive. Resource management is nearly pointless, as upgrading weapons feels like a waste, you’ll just find a better one in the next level anyway.
The worldbuilding also falls apart when you realize that, despite the Metro supposedly having only 40,000–50,000 survivors, Artyom alone can wipe out over 2% of the population in a single playthrough, making the post-apocalyptic setting feel completely absurd. The story ultimately doesn’t matter since the gameplay boils down to mindlessly shooting everything in sight. There’s no real replayability or meaningful choices, and once you finish, there’s little reason to return.
Fallout 3 does almost everything better.