017The Big
STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
QMetro Exodus is a shooter, but it puts
anemphasis on characters and story.QDmitry Glukhovsky was just 18 years
oldwhen he began writing Metro.approach to NPCs: that they train us
to see them as objects, instruments
or goals, that they are purely
functional in a gameplay sense.
“My mission in the second game
was to make the gamer forget that
they were gaming. Games have a
much longer outreach than my
books, and I wanted to use that as
a tool of my eternal quest to make
gamers and readers think critically.
I am not ashamed of using critical
messages in gaming. I was always
taught that good science fiction
should be a metaphor to discuss
something crucial: it makes quite
boring things (equal response to
totalitarian regimes, reaction to
propaganda, reluctance to accept
truths) easier to communicate.”
That philosophy is clear in Exodus.
The newest game focuses on the
world above ground, on the factions
vying with each other over political
(and seemingly religious) beliefs.
Exodus moves from the corridor-
based layout of the previous games
to a more zonal, semi-open world
setup, and that’s given Glukovsky
and 4A room to let to the player
experience the NPCs and their lives
in their own way, as agents in a tale,
rather than seeing the world on rails
through Arytom’s eyes.
“A lot of movies romanticise
armed conflict, and a lot of games
oversimplify it. I want to make games
that tell compelling personal stories
and we, at the team of Metro, are
the only ones that do that right now,
I think. We understand the beauty of
storytelling and how that can be
used to incredible effect in games
like The Last Of Us or BioShock, and
as this focus on storytelling gets
picked up in the industry, I’m
incredibly proud we were one of the
first to approach it in the way we
did... especially when it comes to
first-person shooters.”
Playing Exodus, you can see what
Glukhovsky and 4A are reaching for:
the thought-provoking narrative, the
focus on the human element of
in-game characters, and the humane
message that ties it all together.Turn to page 76 to see our in-depth
review of Artyom’s latest adventure.info patches
update your brain
BACK FROM THE DEAD
Bring Arts is at it again with its highly detailed
figures – this time Cloud Strife’s Kingdom
Hearts form receives the posable plastic
treatment. Buster sword in tow, this figure
comes with plenty of hand and claw poses to
boot, appropriate for whatever scene you’ll
create, and will set you back US $80.99.GEAR UP, GUILT OUT
The year’s 1998 and you’re hearing about
Guilty Gear on PS1 for the first time. A rockin’
fighter in its own right, the team will go on to
make Dragon Ball FighterZ and Guilty Gear
Xrd. Well, good news! That PS1 game is being
re-released on PS4 so you can shift gears
back into this ’90s fighting game masterpiece.ZERO HOUR
Avalanche has had a lot on its plate recently,
but its new IP, Generation Zero, has had our
interest for some time. The game, set in
‘80s Sweden, is now due to launch 26 March.
Bizarre machines have invaded a rural town,
and you’ll need to team up with others to repel
them and work out what’s going on.CHARACTER PIECE
Artyom is the protagonist
of the Metro franchise, and
this newest game looks
to examine the cost of his
constant, unending quest for
enlightenment and survival.