Metro’s unique flavor of post-apocalyptic misery is back in Metro 2039 — and I can’t wait to return to the ‘dark heart of the Moscow metro’ where ‘hope is lost' and 'the future looks bleak, if there is one’
- 4A Games has revealed the next game in the Metro series, Metro 2039
- Influenced by real-world events, the developers promise a "much darker tone this time around"
- The game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC "this winter"
As part of an Xbox First Look presentation, we've now seen the next game in the post-apocalyptic shooter series, Metro, in action. In short, it looks bleak as hell — which, personally, I am very here for.
In the showcase stream, we heard some commentary delivered by the developers of the game, and we now know more of what to expect when Metro 2039 releases "this winter" on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.
As Jon Bloch, Executive Producer, says, “Metro 2039 takes you to the dark heart of the Moscow metro where the last survivors of the nuclear apocalypse struggle to exist in the tunnels and ruined subway of the city. Hope is lost, the future looks bleak, if there is one.”
In brief, the gameplay slice shown in the presentation looks wonderfully, bleakly, and distinctly Metro — monsters chasing you in small, claustrophobic tunnels, exceptionally moody lighting to create a tense mood, heavy doors closing to keep them out, and grizzled, miserable survivors pulling the character to safety. Even that small section of the game has me excited to go back into the dark, dangerous, and mysterious tunnels once again.
The devs promise that in Metro 2039, "we will go where the worst of humanity can be on full display". Bleak; I love it.
Going deeper underground
It's clear that this dark tone and bleak outlook have been inspired by real-world events at Ukrainian studio 4A Games, which not only have affected the very real logistics of developing a game in an invaded country, but also gone a long way to inform the content of Metro 2039, as well as its themes, focus, and story.
As Creative Director, Andriy "mLs" Shevchenko says in the showcase, "Now war is our reality, and our message has shifted to be about the circumstance, the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, and the price of freedom."
One quote that stayed with me from the stream was when Bloch said, “Everything we had planned for the next chapter of Metro changed in 2020. And more significantly in 2022.” As a result, the team "changed the story to be even more about choices, actions, consequences, and what you have to pay to have a future."
With a story inspired by the author of the original book series, Dmitry Glukhovsky, and the universe he created, the player will step into the shoes of The Stranger, "a recluse plagued by his violent nightmares, forced to take a harrowing journey back down to the metro, a place he swore to never return."
Expect a brutal mix of survival, combat, stealth, action, and exploration across one of Metro's beautiful but bleak and dangerous worlds.
The Stranger will be fully voiced, too, demonstrating the team's emphasis on immersion with Metro 2039, while we'll also get to experience what happens when a dictatorship unifies all the station communities and metro survivors under one banner, the Novoreich.
Bleak and miserable video games are my particular jam; there's something often so compelling and captivating about the atmospheres they have, the stories they tell, and the tone they take. With Metro 2039 offering "a much darker tone this time around.
A handcrafted, story-driven, single-player campaign where you’ll feel the weight of the rotting world pushing down on you, forcing you deeper into your claustrophobic nightmares”, according to Bloch.
As a result, I can't wait to likely add Metro 2039 to my list of such favorite dark, bleak games when it releases.
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