Chris Kavan's Game Review of Metro 2033

Join the Russian Underground Today
Chris Kavan - wrote on 03/29/20

Metro 2033 is the brainchild of 4A Games ( Oles' Shiskovtsov and Aleksandr Maksimchuk) who left GSC Game World to develop the series based on the novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky. It manages to rise above the standard FPS fare by providing a decent story, great atmosphere and generally strong overall performance. It was good enough that it has spawned two sequels as well as Redux version that updates it and fixes many of the issues present in the original (and is obviously the one that should be played), but since this is the only version I have, I had to make due.

Presentation: The original 2033 looks a bit rough, but, again, for 2010 is probably pretty damn good. The voices are still good, however, and fitting for the Russian setting. While the creature design is good, the setting is what makes this so impressive. While post-apocalyptic games have been done to death, Metro 2033 still manages to make things interesting. First, it has the interesting approach to having you wear a mask when above ground (due to radiation) making for some interesting encounters and even more interesting approach to surviving (your mask can get damaged or run out of air) when above ground. Below ground, in the underground tunnels of Moscow, survival is much different, with factions, mutants and even bureaucracy to deal with. The dank tunnels are filled with various dangers and feels both claustrophobic and intense. The sound and music combine to complete the overall excellent atmosphere of this game that, while not quite horror, certainly gives off creepy vibes throughout. I didn't have any game-breaking bugs - though at one time the auto save placed me directly in front of a group of enemies that I was woefully under-prepared for, but I eventually got out of that pickled - and I think I only had to autoload once after being trapped in an area I couldn't escape from.

Story: The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic Moscow where a vast nuclear war has rendered surface uninhabitable due to nuclear winter and fallout - not to mention the many mutant creatures that have popped up. Survivors have been forced underground where various colonies are connected in the metro tunnels. Yet these small communities are in constant danger - attacks from creatures, as well as competing factions like the Communists and Fourth Reich (not to mention general bandits) threaten what remains of humanity. In this world, Artyom, who resides in a station known as Exhibition, survives an attack by the Dark Ones - a mysterious creatures of unknown design - and is given a mission by Hunter, part of an elite group known as Spartans - to seek help from Polis, the capital city of the Metro. The trip is anything but straight-forward, however, as Artyom meets up with various characters (like the smuggler Bourbon, traveler Khan and young Sasha) as well as coming into contact with the worst the Metro has to offer (Nazis, bandits, Stalanists and, of course, mutants). But Artyom cannot fight the biggest monster of all: indifference, and must go on an even more dangerous mission above ground in hopes of finding a way to save Exhibition. Despite the somewhat shorter-than-expected length, the game offers a nice depth of character and story and is compelling throughout.

Gameplay: There is nothing wrong with Metro 2033 in terms of being a solid FPS game, but there is also not a lot that makes it stand out in this department. Perhaps the most interesting part of the game is outside of battle - as the currency in this world is bullets. Shiny, unused bullets command the best price (while also delivering the most damage in battle) thus you must balance if you are willing to use up any or save them all and buy various upgrades to your weapons and armor. I think I refused to shoot any of them unless I had absolutely no other choice - they were far to valuable to waste in my opinion. The game does have a decent variety of weapons - your typical pistol/shotgun/assault rifle - along with some interesting sniper options (some you have to pump to charge). You can augment weapons with things like silencers and sights to make them much better overall.

The game has somewhat stealth options, but in the end no matter how hard I tried, I usually found myself in a firefight. The game seemed to seesaw between having an abundance of ammo to having nearly none - I know in the library area for sure I was scrambling to survive as I found myself running away more than fighting anything for lack of ammo. The game doesn't push the envelope for FPS-type games, but it doesn't drop the ball, either. It's solid if unremarkable in this aspect.

Replayability: As with typical with and FPS game, difficulty settings can be adjusted along with the various achievements one can get for specific things (killing with certain weapons and the like, etc). While the story is linear, there are two endings available (though only one is considered canonical), based on your actions throughout the game.

Overall: While the first Metro game is a bit short and rough around the edges, it is still an overall good experience and I am very much looking forward to the newer entries.

Presentation: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Replayability: 3/5
Overall (not an average): 3.5/5