materials, along with exploring every
nook and cranny to gather supplies.
Shoot to thrill
The actual shooting in Exodus feels
less clunky and more reliable than it
did in previous Metro games. You can
carry three weapons: two conventional
guns and one ‘unpowered’ weapon,
like the pneumatic gun or a
(surprisingly excellent) crossbow.
But what really makes the
guns great is the game’s brilliant
customisation system. Any gun
dropped by a dead enemy can be
dismantled, reaping not just bullets
but items like stocks, sights, barrels
and the like. You accumulate so many
that it’s possible to really deck your
gun out – making, say, a 16-shot
shotgun with an infrared scope and a
laser pointer, or an assault rifle that
packs a shotgun-like punch.
And you can customise your guns
anywhere. Metro Exodus has an
exemplary crafting system, based on
Artyom’s backpack, which lets you
craft things like health packs and gas
mask filters anywhere. You need a
workbench for ammo and explosives,
but you’ll find plenty of those.
Those determined to characterise
Metro Exodus as a throwback will point
to the fact that it still has single-path
sections. They never get monotonous,
though, since they test different skills,
such as forcing you to fight efficiently
before your gas mask filter runs out.
But Exodus has two and a half large
areas (one starts off single-path) in
which you find yourself in mini-open
worlds, with side-missions to perform
and a wealth of nonessential areas to
explore. Even the single-path areas let
you take alternate routes.
The only aspect of Exodus with
which we had a major issue was
Artyom’s map: it is intentionally basic,
but at times can be misleading. Some
of the boss battles aren’t great, either- you encounter shameless bullet
sponges, some of which recur.
Metro Exodus’s determination to
ignore tropes that threaten to render
modern shooters indistinguishable
means it isn’t fashionable. Yet it
manages to not feel old-fashioned,
has a crafting system that will surely
be copied, tells a great story, provides
a varied gameplay experience and
displays bags of personality.
It won’t go down in history as one
of the all-time great games, but it’s
a mighty fine one, and if you like your
shooters to be memorable and to tell a
decent story, you’ll love it. QAN
EXCELLENT
POST-
APOCALYPSE
Metro Exodus’s
exploration of the
sorts of lives people
would carve out in
such situations
seems much more
personal and
philosophical than
you’d expect, with any
remaining governing
authority exposed as
self-serving and the
new ones that have
sprung up utterly
repulsive. Yet in each
part of Russia you
visit, you find allies
that reaffirm your faith
in humanity. As
post-apocalyptic
games go, Exodus is
perhaps the most
believable one we’ve
encountered.“It’s a great
premise which
makes Metro
Exodus feel
different”
ABOVE No deers
were harmed in
the making of
this review.
Honest! Stop
looking at us
like that.
LEFT The Metro
games have
this excellent,
lived-in feel
to them.OXM VERDICT
A traditional but
beautifully crafted,
memorable shooter
with loads of
personality.8
FAR LEFT Russia’s
known for its
chilly climate,
but this is kind
of taking it to
the extreme.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 079