AlthoughSTALKERended up winning the radioactive popularity contest, the geniuses behindShadow of Chernobyljumped ship to work on theMetroseries.
TheMetrofranchise has compelling characters, fleshed-out stories, and the darkest atmosphere in anypost-apocalyptic seriesreleased in recent years.
Yes, the series had a headstart thanks to the brilliant writing of author Dmitry Glukhovsky, but 4A Games showed that it is perfectly capable of going off-script after the first game.
This is the pinnacle of survival shooters, so while the apocalypse sucks, sit down by the station bar, and go underground to explore the ranking of the best Metro games.
6Metro Last Light
Too Much, Too Soon
Metro: Last Light
Three years after the release ofMetro 2033in 2010, the creators ofMetrodecided to fill in for Valve after it became clear thatHalf-Life 3was nothing but a pipe dream.
Last Light took the grim world of nuclear Moscow but added a little spice to it, giving Artyom a bit of a Rambo factor.
The premise ofMetro Last Lightis good, and the game goes further into the world-building of the underground, butthere are just too many moments where you can see that 4A Games got too ahead of itself.
Many stealth sections are punishing beyond reason, whilethe survival aspectsfeel severely watered down compared to the first title.
5Metro 2033 Redux
Newer Does Not Equal Better
Metro 2033 Redux
When theMetro Reduxupgrade came out, it completely turned around the fate ofMetro Last Light. Unfortunately, the remaster ofMetro 2033was a different story.
As much as I hate to say it, whileMetro Last Light Reduxwas a brilliant remaster,Metro 2033 Reduxfelt like little more than a port.
You can see that 4A Games put in the effort here, but the results were underwhelming.
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High-stakes Hide and Seek
The main problem withMetro 2033 Reduxis that the entire world does not work well with the upgraded version of the 4A Engine.
The atmosphere comes apart when most of the underground looks either too dark or washed out.
4Metro Awakening
Up Close And Personal
Metro Awakening
VR gaming is a hot topic of debate, and it is easy to see why. Hearing that your favorite franchise put out a goggles-on title can mean anything from “the laziest tech demo garbage” to “an experience so immersive I need three months of focused therapy visits”.
Fortunately, the 2024 releaseMetro Awakeningputs it closer to the latter end of the spectrum, even if its execution is not flawless.
Metro Awakeningleverages the immersive nature of virtual reality to put you up close and personal with the things that already gave you the heebie-jeebies in previousMetroreleases, but it does not limit itself to being a fear machine.
The developers made sure that every iconic action fromMetrogot a physical recreation here, and if you think it was immersive before, wait until you do it in VR.
Slapping on your gas mask, charging your flashlight battery, waving your lighter around, slapping that Promedol shot from the medkit into your chest, it’s all there, and it feels so damn real.
Once you’re past the technical marveling,Metro Awakeninggives you a compelling story that is beautifully paced, keeping you engaged and willing to push pastthe spooky bits.
3Metro Last Light Redux
A Star Is Reborn
Metro: Last Light Redux
TheReduxrelease ofMetro Last Lightis branded as a simple remaster, but it does not get nearly enough credit for how much it adds to the game.
Metro Last Light Reduxhas the same compelling story andimmersive worldas its original counterpart, but with an added layer of polish that took the game from a “what could have been” to a gem.
The best feature that setsMetro Last Light Reduxapart is the ability to play the game in Spartan or Survival mode. This kind of customization is rare and helps reach a much wider audience.
If Spartan is the original gung-ho gameplay ofLast Light, Survival brings the doom and gloom that madeMetro 2033so good to its sequel.
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The art of infiltration is responsible for some of the best levels in the history of video games.
This isa bottomless pit of misery in the best meaning of the expression, making you resent every encounter, and feel like you are living through the end of the world.
Occasionally, you can notice a sequence or two that was not properly balanced for Survival mode, but none of that matters when you are so into the story.
2Metro 2033
Darkness Incarnate
Metro 2033
This is where it all started, but its high ranking is not a product of nostalgia.Metro 2033was revolutionary when it came out, and that feeling remains today when you play it.
You play an insignificant man from an insignificant station, living beneath a mass grave after nuclear Armageddon brought humanity’s tenure on Earth to an end.
The original edition ofMetro 2033drives that point home in painfully relatable ways, making you experience scarcity and fear in ways few games can.
Yes, there is a thick layer of jank there, and certain sections of the game feel hopelessly dated, butthe combination of the atmosphere, gameplay, and story makeMetro 2033a journey every survival gamer needs to experienceat least once.
There are not enough words in the English language to describe the terror you feel as you try to survive your encounter with the Librarians, and the appropriate ones in Russian are unfit for publication here.
1Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus
Life has a funny way of going in circles, and Metro Exodus lives that to the extreme.
InMetro Exodus, Artyom and a group of Spartans leave Moscow in search of peaceful corners, but their visit fundamentally changes each settlement they come across in what remains of Russia and Kazakhstan.
The Strugatsky brothers published the novelRoadside Picnicin 1972, and its title refers to how mundane traces of one’s visit can have extraordinary meaning and consequences for those left behind.
The book inspired the Tarkovsky filmStalker, which in turn led toSTALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, theMetrobooks, and finally theMetrogames.
Metro Exodusis an incredible jump in technology that allowed 4A Games to style the games and tell Artyom’s story in a way that its predecessors could not.
The game looks breathtaking (especially if you play the free Enhanced Edition with ray tracing),the combat is the best it’s ever been, and the characters have a depth that was sometimes missing in previous titles.
If that was not enough, the two DLC stories are heartbreaking and beautiful, adding even more substance to what was already thebest survival shooteraround.
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Try some of the best of what the Survival genre has to offer through Xbox Game Pass
