Republished on Wednesday, 10th August, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows.
4A Games is one of the most talented teams in the industry, but the PS4 version of Metro: Exodus – as noted in our original review – severely outpaced the technology of its time, even on the more powerful PS4 Pro. This next-gen version – available as a free PS4 to PS5 upgrade – feels like the experience that was intended in 2019. Running at 4K with a silky smooth 60 frames-per-second, Exodus also delivers 3D audio and ray tracing, which are all welcome improvements. The leap forward in performance is quite striking, similar in many ways to Remedy’s Control – another massively improved PS5 upgrade.
Minute-to-minute gameplay is obviously identical, although the added responsiveness offered by the DualSense is welcome. In a run-down, apocalyptic world, it makes a great deal of sense to have fluctuating trigger tension, and the nuance provided by the controller feels immaculate. Meanwhile, the gameplay and mechanics remain as they were: brilliant. The same goes for the level design and pacing, which are both unique and exquisite during protagonist Artyom’s 20-plus hour adventure.
All that said, the title’s most impressive accomplishment remains the writing. Exodus takes Artyom and Anna’s satirically under-developed “relationship” from Last Light and transforms it into not just something meaningful, but the most compelling facet of the entire game. Their relationship serves as the driving force for much of the title, and feels authentic in a way that exceedingly few games can pull off. The cast surrounding these two are no slouches either, providing a motley assortment of soldiers, mechanics, and refugees that live and grow alongside one another, across the title’s year-long journey.
The end result is a vastly improved version of what is by far the best title set in Dmitry Glukhovsky’s apocalyptic Russia – even if the voice work, in English at least, is uneven to put it kindly.
Comments 60
Finally, justice for Metro Exodus! Now it has the same score as checks notes Metal Gear Survive!
Do I need/should I play the previous Metro games to enjoy this one?
@MattyHammo ish. The story isn't one of the strengths in the first two, but it informs most of the dialogue in this one. It's less important for the actual story. The characters in this were present in past entries, but weren't super well developed until this one actually haha. I'd say Exodus is pretty welcoming to newcomers so long as you have an understanding of the world you're being dropped into!
I'd still play the other 2 though given the choice. The "Redux" remasters on PS4 are great! Last Light is a decent game, but I LOVE 2033! One of my all-time favs!
@nessisonett they're practically the same game when you think about it! They're both...uh...games.
Have to say, this game looks ridiculously good on PS5. 4K, 60fps, with ray tracing and all of detail... Obscenely pretty.
I just can't play this game anymore, gameplay is still unbelievably frustrating and the AI is STILL busted. Btw @ShogunRok what is the manual mask wiping positive? We could already do that in Last Light?
@MattyHammo do you need to? No. Should you? Hell mfkn yes! Metro 2033 and Metro last light are killer games in their own right so do yourself a favour and get yourself a copy of Metro Redux (it’s got both games but they’re an improved version of the originals) on Ps4! Seriously do it!
Great. Hopefully the bugs are ironed out too. I got to a point where I literally couldn’t proceed and gave up. The gunplay sucked with how bad the frame rate was and it looked awful so I’m going to give this a try again.
At least better than that 6/10 review. On base PS4 even, it looks crazy with satisfying gameplay. Don't care about no launch bugs, any score less than an 8 for this game is insulting.
I wanna play this but I want to play the first 2 beforehand and I swear I've tried to start 2033 like 9-10 times over the years but keep forgetting about it
Currently playing through it again (this time in complete Russian voice+Text). I absolutely love the global illumination and the small DualSense usages. They help a lot with immersion
Game really shines at 60fps. It also somehow feels slightly better and quicker besides the fps increase. Less sluggish. I can't explain it.
Frankly as a game Exodus isnt as good as Metro 2033 or Metro last light. Stories not as good and going open world really wasnt needed
Metro 2033 8/10
Metro last light 8/10
Metro exodus 6/10
@trev666 I could be persuaded on 2033, but Last Light ehhh, gameplay-wise it was a huge leap forwards from 2033, but it's far and away the one I'd be least interested in going back to. Already beaten Exodus more times I think haha
@Nepp67 Less that it's new and more just reiteration. One of my favorite "little details" in gaming!
@zimbogamer My thinking is that's tied to the frame rate too. I think they might have tweaked aiming acceleration so you can aim side to side/top to bottom more smoothly now cuz they didn't want it to look out of place while the game was running at 30FPS (well sub 30 in the case of the PS4 version haha)
@gbanas92 I've just never understood the addition of mask wiping since the debris that gets on your mask runs off faster than you have time press L1. I even gave them feedback of having the dirt being on your face lasting longer.
What a short review..more of a overview really..i understand that its being revisited but wow..does sound good and i may take a look later down the line..
Odd that there's no mention of the ray tracing here, it's not used for reflections but is used for the entire global illumination implementation and makes a huge difference in making every scene look more natural then any other console game out there. That coupled with 60fps makes for a great experience, I'm a few hours in and absolutely loving it so far
@ShogunRok strange that the ray tracing isn't mentioned in the review, I know people like to associate it with reflections but the way its used here is just as impressive and hopefully we'll see more games take this approach
I picked up Metro Exodus day one on PS4 but just never got around to playing it, and there wasn't the same level of buzz around Exodus and there was Last Light, which is what got me into the series, I still want to play it, but I'm contemplating going back and playing the first two games before I tackle Metro Exodus.
The tension on R2 when you have to pump your gun and battery… it’s like astrobot, prefect moments to pass the dualsense and show off the console
@TheArt @nessisonett There’s no need to dump on my original review. I still don’t think this game is very good. ☺️
My first metro game and I'm loving it. Really unique experience. It's just the right amount of open, the UI and sign posting etc is really immersive and integrated into the world, and the shooting is difficult and slow but fits well in the setting. There aren't enough of these single player FPS games anymore, I'll be day 1 for any future releases.
I’m absolutely loving this game. It’s really very fun. There are some frustrating elements already mentioned; busted AI, poor jumping mechanics, and most infuriating for me is a bug on Caspian Sea where I can’t proceed any further because Damir just stands there idle doing nothing when he should be boosting my arse up into a cave. But all that aside I’m having a blast
Thanks for the review, just got the gold edition with a 70% ps plus discount, will try that soon!
@TheArt yes I still have digs about that 'review' on a regular basis. Now I'll stop.
I don't trust the review.
Never played any of these. I need to jump in. Does anyone else have a crazy long catalogue of games that they just can’t get round to playing?
@spotanjo3
Trust me then, this game is dope, and looks prettier than ever on ps5. If you can find it cheap, give this or its prequels a try. (although I think all of them are worth full-*****-price)
@LiamCroft Most games are 8s or 9s these days on many popular sites because yea, game development has come a long way and most games are actually pretty good. I get it you guys want to make full use of the 1-10 scale but that confuses and drags things down over at MC with numbers like 6. No wonder Eurogamer dropped the scores cause they realised it was getting harder and harder to assign numbers to all these great games, but it made the site quite boring tbh. Maybe y'all could switch to the 5 star system I dunno.
@Dan_ozzzy189 😆😆 I played the game and became really angry at that review.
@jcvandan I mean MW2 back on the PS3 was my last COD when I realized the focus was now all online. And now we have games like Metro focusing on SP and extending campaign length past your typical 6hr COD campaigns, and we aren't praising them enough.
Didnt love it as previous two but without that horrific long loading and with more responsive movement,i now wish to replay all.
Apart from the loading times it ran pretty good on the Pro. Fantastic game in my opinion
A not bad game in it's own right, but my least favourite Metro by far.
Good game. Exodus and Control should be played on the best hardware possible.
Also not open world. It is like before - just not all the stops have the same world structure. You also play story elements that are linear.
@MattyHammo You sort of need the back story to appreciate why what they are doing is a big deal and why she is that important to him. There is also a scene at the base that has no impact if you do not know the back story.
Minimum read a story recap (or recap 1 and play 2) but the games are worth playing.
@gbanas92 That is debatable.
Stoked to play this. Grabbed it on sale the other week when I saw this upgrade was coming.
I cant get into this game even with the ps5 upgrades. The silent protagonist thing is not it for me and the enemy AI is pretty bad. Its a shame cus i want to get into it.
had fun with this game on the ps4 cause it was unplayable on 7th gen because the frames were so damn bad. ill admit some 7th gen games do need a remaster just for the frames alone
The selling point for the game is even after everything is gone, humans are still the worst monsters.
@Abdessgal Lemme know what you think when you start! It's so good!
@Ward_ting Oof that sounds extremely annoying! I was actually shocked to not run into any bugs this time. Encountered a lotttttt when I was playing it on PS4!
@JustPlainLoco If it's a series you already like, definitely worth it! I did that before the PS4 version of Exodus came out actually!
@Alpine021 I bought Ghost of Tsushima day 1, and haven't even booted it up once!
@Nepp67 I think it's just a purely artistic choice, because mechanically I agree it doesn't really help much, but that tactile feeling and knowledge that you the player are the one catalyzing it...warm feelings all over!
@carlos82 It's one of the small reviews, and there were just other areas I was more interested in talking about. Buttttt, I do agree with you! Very impressive!
@Samba3 The loads are muchhhhhh better. Still pretty long in spots, but definitely better!
@orson Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. Absolutely debatable! That's part of the fun of it though, no? Look at just the comments on this review alone! Some pretty divergent opinions!
@gbanas92 the bug I experienced was frustrating but I loaded a save from an hour before and it didn’t happen second time, thank god! Because I’m enjoying it so much I didn’t really mind replaying the same bit again beforehand
Liam said he still thinks 'the game isn't very good', but I can't find his post now but he said that yet still gave it a 6.
What kind of reviewer gives a decent game 6/10 then goes on to say they think it's not a very good game?
Highly bizarre if you ask me.
If I download the PS5 version and have the season pass, is the DLC optimised for PS5?
I really don’t know 😵💫
Sure, it looks better than the PS4 version, which it should, but I personally seen a good bit of visual buggery in areas that comes off as looking strange when you're close up. Don't know what's causing the weird effect on many walls and some objects. It's actually hard to describe the effect in words. The only thing that really helps the new version is the smooth 60 FPS frame rate. Let's face it, Metro Exodus sucks @30 FPS minus. It's definitely IMO worth a new playthrough since it's a free upgrade from the original.
Do yourself a favour and turn on Russian VoiceOver. It does add to world authenticity.
@Spoonman-2 Yep yep! The DLC is upgraded as well. The PS5 only one they released just comes with all the Season Pass stuff by default in fact! I think they call it the complete version?
@viktorcode Absolutely! Much better!
@gbanas92
Many thanks, still finding the game rather bland 😳
@Spoonman-2 Awww bland? Like the environments? The gameplay? The writing?
@gbanas92
Maybe the story telling, just seems a funnelling expedition with clunky voice acting… shame
@Spoonman-2 Awww I love that "forward momentum" of the story! No looking back! And the actual environments (the open-world style areas you end up in especially) are great!
A couple of other folks have mentioned it as well, but depending on your opinion of subtitles, the Russian voice work is quite a bit better!
@MattyHammo nope, this was the first one I played and beat as well. what a amazing experience i thought for sure this game was going to get GOTY but sadly it didn't. Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice won it that year and while a decent game IMO Exodus was much greater.
@LordOfTurnips why do people hate this game soo much? i'm reading through the thread, and honestly don't understand why they don't like the game?? it was visually stunning, even on my PS4. I thought the story and environments were unique, gun play was good. Maybe people just want this full on "triple A" experience from start to finish...
@MakersMark I think it was kinda buggy at launch? but I honestly dont know, this game is great. Maybe is the COD crowd playing it and thinking its too slow
@carlos82 agreed!! There was one moment where I was in a dark cave and a beastie came upon me and I lit him on fire, and then took a shot with the rifle. The way the screen lit up and the flames peaked through the gun smoke was just an immaculate visual moment for me.
I currently play the game and the AI bugs are very annoying..in yamantau enemies refuse to die with any gun except the one with the steel balls..tried to replay the level with no luck..i guess i need to start over the entire game.
@LiamCroft out of curiosity, if you could delete the base ps4 game from memory, would you still rate the ps5 version a 6?
If you are tired of political correctness and alertness, this game will definitely heal you. It's been a while since I ate raw meat.
Since the novel is the original, the fun is doubled if you listen to the lines patiently and read the text carefully.
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