Metro Exodus

A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED, YET SOMEWHAT TRADITIONAL, RIDE OUT OF THE METRO

The Metro franchise has steadily built up a cult following since 2010’s Metro 2033, thanks to its judicious mix of shooter, stealth and horror elements, along with its distinctively Russian flavour and technical prowess. Metro Exodus builds on those elements – but it does also mark a change-up for the franchise designed to help it infiltrate the mainstream.

At first glance you’d be tempted to classify it as a tad old-fashioned. Bucking just about every modern trend, it is single-player-only, has a number of single-path sequences and concentrates on relating a convoluted, but carefully paced, storyline. We can safely assert that it won’t suddenly acquire a battle royale mode.

If it sounds traditional on paper, it certainly doesn’t feel that way: it looks magnificent, running smoothly in 4K on an Xbox One X and boasting plenty of the realistic snow effects that are the franchise’s trademark – along with some convincing desert sandstorms and lashings of beautifully textured rusty, steampunk-style metal.

Back in the USSR