I've been going through a bit of dry spell while waiting around for Dark Souls 3, so I decided to do a little browsing to see if I could find something cheap to fill some time with. There were a few good options out there -- almost pulled the trigger on Alien Isolation -- but Amazon had Metro Redux for < $17 so I decided to go that route instead. Two complete games for $8-ish each; should be easy to get my money's worth.
I was a PS3- only guy last gen and I'm currently a PS4-only guy. No PC, no Xbox. As a result, I was really only peripherally aware of this franchise. Never bothered with Last Light since I missed 2033, and didn't bother with Redux on PS3 because there were so many other games to play. Also, I am not a big fan of the FPS genre. Not that I hate it or anything. I've sunk hundreds of hours into BF:BC2 and BF4, but 99.99% of that time is multiplayer. Never finished the BC2 campaign and never even touched the BF4 campaign. Dedicated single-player FPS titles have almost always fallen into the so-so range for me: e.g. Wolfenstein, Far Cry, etc. I'd have to go all the way back to Doom for the last one I really sank my teeth into. That said, I knew that both Metro titles were well-received and had a solid following, so I figured why not.
What a great decision. I've played through 2033 twice for the platinum, and I'm currently nearing the end of my first run through Last Light, and these have both been sensational games. The world of the metro is just dripping with atmosphere. I've lost track of the number of spots where I've just stopped and looked around to admire the lighting and water effects. The sheer look and feel of this world makes it hard for me to believe that these are remasters of last-gen games. Great eye candy.
The gameplay though has been the biggest surprise for me. Obviously there are lots of spots that demand combat, but it's almost never "walk down this corridor and shoot those guys over there." You're given lots of options for how to approach most areas. Stealth in particular is often the best option. On Ranger mode, I found that quite a few areas really demanded stealth as I don't have enough health or skill to expect to win a straight-up gunfight. While I was expecting something more like a conventional shooter, what Metro actually is is something kind of like Dishonored, only without the magic. Lots of decent-sized "rooms" that you can approach as you see fit.
One fixture that I want to particularly call out is the "filter" mechanic. I expected to hate this, and to explain why, I need to reference one of my all-time least favorite missions in a game, at least in recent memory: the Himalayas mission in Far Cry 4. In that mission, you get sent to a high-altitude mountain. To survive, you have to constantly race to oxygen tanks, or plunder oxygen from downed enemies. You're a very tight timer, so the whole thing feels like a race against time. I hate this sort of thing for two reasons. First, I like taking my time, exploring, and scoping things out before engaging enemies. That's largely what Far Cry is all about. So when I get thrown into a mission where I have to move frantically, that's not the game I signed on for. Second, that mechanic makes no narrative sense at all. If I'm travelling to the Himalayas, why the hell didn't I bring oxygen in the first place? This whole thing smacks of gaminess and changing up the gameplay just 'cause.
There are lots of places in Metro -- the surface, low-lying areas in the metro with toxic gas -- where you have to wear a gas mask to survive, and you frequently need to scavenge for replacement filters to survive. However, Metro implements this so much better than Far Cry did. Obviously, this mechanic completely fits the narrative of the game. It makes total sense that you would need a mask to survive in certain environments in a nuclear wasteland, and it makes sense that filters would be scarce. Also, while the "filter timer" moves you along and gives you a mild sense of urgency, players like me who like to look around and explore every nook and cranny can acquire so many excess filers that I never felt unduly pressured when I had to venture to the surface of Moscow. Basically, whereas Far Cry punished me for wanting to take my time, I felt that Metro rewarded me for having been a good scavenger early on. Which is as it should be in this game world. The developers did a fantastic job implementing this "on a timer" system in a manner that added just the right change of pace without being overly intrusive.
There are some minor things to complain about here. The opaque control scheme, the way mutants annoyingly dodge shotgun blasts and hit me 2-3 times before I can re-target them (probably user error), and a few annoying bullet-sponge enemies in Last Light. But overall I'm really glad I picked this bundle up. It's been a pleasant surprise.
I was a PS3- only guy last gen and I'm currently a PS4-only guy. No PC, no Xbox. As a result, I was really only peripherally aware of this franchise. Never bothered with Last Light since I missed 2033, and didn't bother with Redux on PS3 because there were so many other games to play. Also, I am not a big fan of the FPS genre. Not that I hate it or anything. I've sunk hundreds of hours into BF:BC2 and BF4, but 99.99% of that time is multiplayer. Never finished the BC2 campaign and never even touched the BF4 campaign. Dedicated single-player FPS titles have almost always fallen into the so-so range for me: e.g. Wolfenstein, Far Cry, etc. I'd have to go all the way back to Doom for the last one I really sank my teeth into. That said, I knew that both Metro titles were well-received and had a solid following, so I figured why not.
What a great decision. I've played through 2033 twice for the platinum, and I'm currently nearing the end of my first run through Last Light, and these have both been sensational games. The world of the metro is just dripping with atmosphere. I've lost track of the number of spots where I've just stopped and looked around to admire the lighting and water effects. The sheer look and feel of this world makes it hard for me to believe that these are remasters of last-gen games. Great eye candy.
The gameplay though has been the biggest surprise for me. Obviously there are lots of spots that demand combat, but it's almost never "walk down this corridor and shoot those guys over there." You're given lots of options for how to approach most areas. Stealth in particular is often the best option. On Ranger mode, I found that quite a few areas really demanded stealth as I don't have enough health or skill to expect to win a straight-up gunfight. While I was expecting something more like a conventional shooter, what Metro actually is is something kind of like Dishonored, only without the magic. Lots of decent-sized "rooms" that you can approach as you see fit.
One fixture that I want to particularly call out is the "filter" mechanic. I expected to hate this, and to explain why, I need to reference one of my all-time least favorite missions in a game, at least in recent memory: the Himalayas mission in Far Cry 4. In that mission, you get sent to a high-altitude mountain. To survive, you have to constantly race to oxygen tanks, or plunder oxygen from downed enemies. You're a very tight timer, so the whole thing feels like a race against time. I hate this sort of thing for two reasons. First, I like taking my time, exploring, and scoping things out before engaging enemies. That's largely what Far Cry is all about. So when I get thrown into a mission where I have to move frantically, that's not the game I signed on for. Second, that mechanic makes no narrative sense at all. If I'm travelling to the Himalayas, why the hell didn't I bring oxygen in the first place? This whole thing smacks of gaminess and changing up the gameplay just 'cause.
There are lots of places in Metro -- the surface, low-lying areas in the metro with toxic gas -- where you have to wear a gas mask to survive, and you frequently need to scavenge for replacement filters to survive. However, Metro implements this so much better than Far Cry did. Obviously, this mechanic completely fits the narrative of the game. It makes total sense that you would need a mask to survive in certain environments in a nuclear wasteland, and it makes sense that filters would be scarce. Also, while the "filter timer" moves you along and gives you a mild sense of urgency, players like me who like to look around and explore every nook and cranny can acquire so many excess filers that I never felt unduly pressured when I had to venture to the surface of Moscow. Basically, whereas Far Cry punished me for wanting to take my time, I felt that Metro rewarded me for having been a good scavenger early on. Which is as it should be in this game world. The developers did a fantastic job implementing this "on a timer" system in a manner that added just the right change of pace without being overly intrusive.
There are some minor things to complain about here. The opaque control scheme, the way mutants annoyingly dodge shotgun blasts and hit me 2-3 times before I can re-target them (probably user error), and a few annoying bullet-sponge enemies in Last Light. But overall I'm really glad I picked this bundle up. It's been a pleasant surprise.
