Metro 2033 Redux

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game, as well as its sequel, Metro Last Light Redux, is also available in the Metro Redux compilation, only available together in physical form. If you want to get these games in digital form, your only option currently is to get them separately.)

Metro 2033 is a First-Person Shooter originally released for Xbox 360 and PC back in 2010, with the Redux release of the game having improved graphics and expanded features. For those unfamiliar with these games, the Metro series is focused on its story-heavy campaign set in a post-nuclear holocaust Russia where there remnants of humanity survive in “metro” subway tunnels and fight to survive under an onslaught of mutant creatures, with the new threat of the mysterious mind-altering “Dark Ones” threatening to be the final straw that ends them all for good.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been the biggest fan of post-apocalyptic settings. Maybe it’s the complete lack of color that most of them tend to have, the interminable dour attitude, the way everything is grimy and disgusting… none of these are a knock on games that have this stuff, by the way, just a personal preference.

Having said that, the Metro games to their credit manage to draw in even holdouts like me with their rich Russian-accented atmosphere and strong story, particularly the intriguing and enigmatic Dark Ones, whose mind-altering affects make for some interesting in-game sequences that not only break up the monotony of the action, but also break up the monotony of the usual post-apocalyptic setting.

Graphically, Metro 2033 Redux looks very good, with detailed environments and a 1080p resolution (720p in handheld mode) with a consistent 30fps that puts the game ahead of the Xbox 360 original, although not quite up to par with the versions of Metro 2033 Redux released to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Still, having said that, one of my bigger problems with this game, especially in its earliest sections, is that the game is dark – not just in tone, but visually, it’s difficult to see anything (both on my TV and in handheld mode), and unfortunately the game doesn’t offer any video settings whatsoever.

The other issue with this game on a technical front is that the game has frequent, and very long, loading screens. I felt like every ten minutes in the game I hit a loading screen long enough for me to set down the controller and go do something else for a bit. I get that it’s an impressive technical achievement to get this game running so well on the Switch, but these loading screens are a huge pain that makes it feel like something of a trade-off.

As for the gameplay, what you get here is a pretty solid campaign-based First-Person Shooter that was clearly inspired by games like the Half-Life series, though I would say it doesn’t quite reach those games’ level of brilliance and gameplay variety. It’s also a bit frustrating that mutant enemies seem to be bullet sponges in a world where bullets are so very hard to come by, even in the game’s newly-added “Spartan” gameplay mode that makes the gameplay lean away from its survival horror-esque roots and more towards action-focused gameplay.

Oh, one more thing I should note here, because I know how important it is for FPS games on the Switch – this game does offer gyroscopic motion controls, although they are off by default and need to be turned on in the game’s menus.

Overall, Metro 2033 Redux is a solid First-Person Shooter with an engaging story that runs very well on the Switch, although the quality visuals come at the cost of frequent long load screens. While there are also some issues I have with the game’s presentation and gameplay, overall this is an excellent entry in the genre on the Switch.

tl;dr – Metro 2033 is a story-focused First-Person Shooter originally released in 2010, and this version of the game adds improved graphics over the original and extra options. The game’s story about post-apocalyptic humanity fighting off mutant creatures in underground tunnels is still engaging, but the game’s limited ammo and bullet sponge enemies are frustrating, and the improved graphics are too dark and come with frequent long loading screens. On the whole, this is still a solid addition to the genre on the Switch, but not without its drawbacks.

Grade: B

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