Review: Metro: Last Light [PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC]

The game was developed by the Ukranian studio, 4A Games – with their own proprietary engine. It was to be published by THQ earlier in the year. However, with development work all but complete, THQ declared itself bankrupt and the project was put up for auction, with THQ’s other properties.

It ended up being bought by a company called Koch Media. They are now serious players in the industry and took the opportunity to add this IP to their portfolio. Thanks to this, development was completed and the game was released, slightly later than planned in mid-May.

Then, right around release time, the story broke about the appalling working conditions that 4A Games had to endure while developing Metro: Last Light. The former president of THQ, Jason Rubin stated that the budget for the game was ten percent of an average game – “…less than some of its competitors spend on cut-scenes”.

The devs worked in cramped conditions, at card tables on folding wedding chairs. High-end PCs, or console development kits had to be smuggled in from the US, lest they be seized by corrupt Ukranian customs officials. Construction generators were sometimes used, to bolster the unreliable power supply. In spite of all this, 4A completed the game and Koch shipped it, under their label – Deep Silver.

And as of this week, the game is at number one in the game sales charts – although the total number of units sold is less then when its prequel, Metro 2033 debuted at number five in 2010…

Metro 2033, now that was a game. It was one of those games that I loved, but I had to admit it wasn’t perfect. It was based on a book of the same name, written by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. It was set in the near future, after a global apocalypse. At the least, a global nuclear war, possibly with chemical war on top.

The book was revolutionary in that it was released for free, on the internet in 2002. The author allowed any would-be authors to submit stories of their own, within the same world. So far 35 other stories have been written, in Russian alone, with many more set in other countries. 2 million people read it before a single paper copy was printed.

Tightly focused around Moscow, Metro 2033’s story revolved around the 40,000 people that took refuge in the Moscow Metro as war broke out – the Metro itself designed by the Soviets to double as the world’s largest fallout shelter. In the years that followed, the 188 stations of the Moscow Metro evolved into societies and city-states of their own, the populations hiding below ground from the radioactive, poisonous atmosphere on the surface – frozen in a nuclear winter.

Most of these survivors tried to co-exist, to merely survive, by salvaging railway equipment from the Metro tunnels, farming mushrooms that thrived in the dark, carving out settlements in every station and developing their own weapons. However a few groups still look to try to dominate and suppress – some stations align themselves as Nazis, hoping to ensure genetic purity for the remaining humans. Some stations are hard-line communists, hoping to enforce their own brand of fascism and order on all. Some are merely traders and a neutral band of would-be soldiers attempt to protect as many as they can – these are the Rangers.

Amongst other threats, the Rangers attempt to protect the surviving population from the nightmarish, mutated creatures that dwell on the surface above. These include a mysterious race of psychic creatures known as Dark Ones. These cause fear, hallucination, pain and madness to any human who approaches them and they were the central enemy in Metro 2033.

The hero of that and the new game, Metro: Last Light, is a young man called Artyom. He was the only human known to be immune to the effects of the Dark Ones, as well as the only human they tried to communicate with. The ending of Metro 2033 led Artyom to the hidden Soviet missile base known as D-6, where he launched a final nuclear strike against the Dark Ones’ nest (assuming you didn’t choose the “good ending”).

So, Metro: Last Light starts here – with the Rangers now encamped at the D-6 missile base, with young Artyom now recruited and respected as one of them. A year since the events of Metro 2033, the Rangers are shocked to find one remaining Dark One on the surface. As the Ranger with most experience with these beings, Artyom is sent up to investigate.

And immediately some of the familiar game mechanics are back. Whenever you dare venture to the surface, you must equip your gas mask and fit a filter. These only last for a certain amount of time, so Artyom sets his watch at each filter change. The tension this provides, knowing you only have that many minutes and seconds to breathe, while trying to complete your objectives is palpable. Be careful not to engage too many enemies either, while up above – your gas mask will slowly start to crack – game over if it breaks.

The surface, then, is full of terror. In one particularly harrowing scene, Artyom is sent up to the surface of Moscow again – part of this journey involves passing through a crashed jumbo jet fuselage. While passing through, he experiences hallucinations of the final moments of the crew – the pilots feeling an EMP blast, then their sight of the first mushroom clouds spreading on the ground below, followed by the rocket trails of the Russian ICBM arsenal launching into the air en masse… Then the dead plane just falls. This is real horror – the game is full of it.

Most of the game is set in the darkness below – and it’s no more friendly. The darkness is your friend – learn to get along with it. Stealth plays a vital role here and it’s possible to choose to take a stealth and/or non-lethal approach in many situations. Take time, when you enter a room to unscrew all the light bulbs, or shoot them out with a silenced weapon. Try to find the breaker switches to turn off all of the lights. Then attack any nearby enemies.

The exploration and combat is very enjoyable. The graphics here are even better than their predecessor –some beautiful lighting effects are in the game, implying there must be some serious maths under the hood. The wrecked, dark tunnels of the Metro look ominous and detailed – what is most surprising is how… feasible and convincing this world is. It looks plausible, as if humans really could build up a little civilization down there.

An original part of the gameplay is that the game’s main currency is bullets. Military-grade bullets to be precise, manufactured before the war. These are far more valuable than the smoky, weak ammunition made in the Metro, so think twice before loading them into your gun. But they can be found on corpses and in stashes from time to time and then traded at stores in the little station-states you encounter. Through this you can buy weapons, upgrades and supplies – all necessary. However, if you find yourself in a desperate situation and you need more stopping power – load up.

And so the game and its story unfold over the course of about 10 hours. Like Metro 2033, there is an extremely tough battle near the end. In 2033, it was “The Librarian” in Last Light, it’s “Big Momma”. The difficulty spikes by about as much and near the same point as its prequel.

Replay-wise, there is a “Ranger” difficulty mode that is well worth replaying the game with. It is more difficult, supplies are more scarce and there is no HUD displayed – you have to guess or remember how much ammo you have, unless it is visible on the gun (as some of them are). This is a great challenge that forces the stealth approach on you – however, it is only included with the Limited Edition of the game – but to be fair, that’s the only version of the game that I’ve seen on sale. For used copies, the Ranger Mode is paid downloadable content.

There is some more DLC coming soon, too – there are two more extensions to the campaign to follow. But it’s sad to see that there is no co-op mode in this – it’s one of my favourite extras in a game these days. Multiplayer was considered, but dropped early in the process – maybe not such a bad thing, I can’t see how it would have been that enjoyable. Also, GAME are selling this with a free DVD full of content about the world of the Metro, as well as a free download code for Metro 2033 on PC (via Steam).

Downsides? The AI isn’t that great – the human enemies you face don’t exactly have sharp senses. You can sneak up almost in front of them if you are hidden in shadow. Then their behaviour isn’t exactly like an Elite from Halo – they just sort of run at you, firing. Also, there has been some criticism that Ranger Mode could be paid DLC at all – although it doesn’t affect the Limited Edition on sale now.

But, the upsides are that this is a gripping, immersive, dystopian epic that completely transports me – I love what it is trying to achieve, even if it has a few rough edges – just like its prequel. The story will stay with you for long after playing through this game and both this and it’s prequel are worth checking out -  many tasks and plotlines that were started in the prequel are wrapped up in this game.

Check it out, I dare you. But prepare for a harrowing journey, through the dark tunnels of the Metro…

8.5/10

Metro: Last Light is out now for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Xbox 360 version tested.