Despite its numerous flaws and shortcomings, Metro 2033 is a game that resonated deeply with me. Its rich atmosphere and convincing, lived-in environment pulled me into the experience like nothing else has. The tunnels teeming with giant mutated rats, the cobbled together equipment, and the air of a community stricken by hopelessness lent it a real identity few games manage to fully grasp. Metro: Last Light manages to recapture every ounce of personality that its predecessor had, and then some. This time, however, it is surrounded by a much better game.
Last Light picks up about a year after the events of 2033, in a post-apocalyptic Russia, in which the player character, Artyom, destroys the nest of the mysterious, supposedly alien race known only as the Dark Ones (there is another, happier ending to 2033, but this is the canonical conclusion). A surviving Dark One has been discovered on the surface, and you, as Artyom once again, are tasked with tracking and killing it. Artyom, though, feels a deep connection between himself and these beings, and realizes that destroying the last remaining Dark One may not be the right solution. What ensues is an often intense and sometimes terrifying journey to find the answers you're looking for.
One of the things that set 2033 apart from the plethora of other first-person shooters were it's survival elements. Having to scavenge for ammo, health kits, and those oh-so-precious air filters made it more intimate and exhilarating than many of its peers. You'll still be doing plenty of that in Last Light, but like 2033 , if you look enough, you should be reasonably well-stocked on everything for the duration of the game. At one point, I had over 40 minutes worth of air filters saved up, which is more than one should ever need. This can kind of diminish the sense of desperation that the game tries to instill, but it only made the few moments where I actually did run out of ammo or health even more surprising.
The other most noteworthy aspect of the Metro series is its in-game economy. There are two core types of ammunition, pristine military grade rounds and 'dirty' rounds. This being the post-apocalypse and all, the former are much harder to come by than the latter, but they pack a harder punch. They also double as the currency residents of the metro have agreed upon. Similar to 2033, in Last Light, you will be scrounging for this rare bullet-money to exchange for goods (i.e. other weapons and ammo) when you happen upon one of the metro's makeshift 'towns'. The economy is improved from the last game, in that it seems more balanced. You will still most likely end up with a lot of military rounds, but there are a greater number of more expensive things to buy this time around, including accessories for specific guns. You can outfit your weapons with various scopes, barrels, silencers, stocks, and laser sights, all of which have practical and useful effects in combat. I had found enough military rounds to experiment with several combinations of weapons and parts, not to mention that weapons can also be found lying around in the world if you look hard enough. One of my personal favorite moments was finding a quadruple-barreled shotgun that decimated anything it came up against.
It's no secret that 2033 had it's fair share of problems. While the experience it offered was one-of-a-kind, actually playing it proved to be a bug-riddled chore. With Last Light, it seems like 4A had a checklist of every problem that 2033 had and made a conscious effort to amend those issues. The most common complaint with 2033 was that the combat wasn't responsive enough. The combat in Last Light, however, is much improved. It's snappier and more fluid, feeling like any modern shooter ought to. All of the weapons sound and feel fantastic. Blasting an enemy up close with a shotgun will send them flying with an extremely gratifying ragdoll effect, while the throwing knives are actually useful and fun to use, acting as a quick, cheap way to take down most human enemies. Even the interface elements are better. All of the mechanics from 2033 remain intact, but are streamlined in a way that makes sense (especially with the use of a controller) rather than watered down. The only major aspect not improved is the human AI, which can be astoundingly stupid, particularly during the game's many stealth sequences, where you can be standing a few feet in front of an enemy without him seeing you. Other times they appear to spot you from across a room in total darkness. Even still, I can say with confidence that I had a great time playing Metro: Last Light from beginning to end.
It should be noted that this is an exceptionally good looking game, too. While obviously not the visual feast and graphical powerhouse the PC version is, the Xbox version is still quite sharp and clearly pushing the console to its limits. The textures can look muddy up close, but it's a small price to pay for keeping the framerate consistently smooth. Last Light also boasts some absolutely superb sound design. From the loud crack of a sniper rifle, to the haunting howls of the patrolling mutant nosalises, to even a handful of moving music pieces that perfectly fit the desolate tone the game strives to achieve. The English voice acting can be a little cheesy, but the Russian voice acting with English subtitles gives the complete experience. From a technical standpoint, Last Light is pure bliss almost top to bottom.
Where the game falters, though, is in its storytelling. The early chapters are slow-moving, with only a few action scenes to be found. This isn't inherently a bad thing but they are kind of poorly paced with some agonizingly long exposition sequences, made up for by containing some gripping set-up for what is about to come. The metro's internal politics and factions, including their own brand of Nazis and Communists, makes for some fascinating background story and gives more weight and meaning to the action. I found the story in final act to be somewhat silly compared to what had come before it, sadly. The game throws a few too many combat scenarios that felt needlessly frustrating, and the ending feels extremely abrupt in a way that it makes it seem like the game only needed to be about 20 minutes longer. The middle act of Last Light is incredible, though, featuring some brilliant set-pieces and story moments. The surface missions are some of the most tense and bone-chilling I've experienced in awhile, while the few boss fights were unexpectedly good. The game never gets downright bad, not even close, but there is a noticeable spike in quality and pacing in the middle of the game, and the story lacks the same level of vagueness and mystery the first had.
In an age where linear, single player first-person shooters are all but played out, the Metro series continues to have enough odd hooks to elevate it above its competitors. It takes the best aspects of something like Half-Life and crafts its own atmospheric experience with a profound sense of adventure. The design quirks and little details make Last Light very much a product of its place of origin. Even through all of its problems, 2033 was one of my favorite games of the generation, and simply by virtue of being a superior version of it, Last Light is already one of the best games of the year. Turn out the lights, put on some good headphones, and you may find yourself not wanting to leave this nightmarish underground.