Game Review--Metro 2033 Redux (Switch)

"Even the apocalypse didn't stop us from killing one another over ideology.  I was about to go through the front line between the Nazis and the communists.  I've heard they once fought another war and that the Nazis lost."
--Artyom, Metro 2033 Redux


The Witcher game series is not the only gaming franchise based on novels.  The Metro games are based on a book series of the same name, and Metro 2033 serves as a grim introduction to a world that has been so devastated by the use of nuclear weaponry that Russians are forced to spend almost all of their lives--in some cases, their whole lives--underground.  The game's blend of survival horror, action, and mystery is its best feature.  Rarely do a game's environment and atmosphere have a stronger presence than the characters themselves, but such is the case with Metro 2033.

Production Values

The faces of the character models are often the worst looking part of the game, and, in actuality, much of the environment is covered in a darkness that makes it hard to see almost anything without a flashlight or night vision.  The aboveground portions of the game certainly do not look terrible given that Metro 2033 is a 10 year old game ported to the Switch, but the Switch has certainly seen better graphics.  The voice acting is handled fairly well, even though Artyom only speaks when he is not being controlled by the player.  The visuals and voice acting, however, are far from Metro's best aspects.  The atmosphere is the best part by far.  The environment is used to tell the story beyond mere dialogue, adding to the lore continually.

Gameplay

The core gameplay of Metro 2033 revolves around scavenging ammunition and gas mask filters and fighting off mutants.  Contributing to the horror tone is the fact that you must complete these tasks while submerged in darkness, which can often only be partially abated by a flashlight.  At best, your flashlight only illuminates a small part of your surroundings.  The flashlight even loses brightness over time, so you have to recharge the battery regularly to use it to its greatest effect!  Closer to the end of the game, Artyom can obtain night vision goggles, but it is possible to walk past them.  This piece of equipment makes dark tunnels much easier to traverse.

It also makes combat far easier.  Stealth melee kills are an option for some human foes, but firefights or encounters with the mutants will be triggered at some points.  The mutants vary from dog-like beasts to ape-like humanoids called "librarians" to large, flying "demons" (though this is not an exhaustive list), the latter two being some of the toughest enemies in the game.  Bandits and Nazis are sometimes human obstacles, but they can be far easier to kill than mutants like librarians.  When possible, though, cautious players might want to quietly kill them with a knife instead of alerting others with gunshots.

Story

Mild spoilers are below!

Metro 2033 follows a young man named Artyom who is tasked with delivering a message to the underground city of Polis, one of the last bastions of humanity in Russia following the nuclear war.  A race of creatures called the Dark Ones threatens to eliminate the human presence still left in Artyom's city.  He makes his way through underground and aboveground remnants of human civilization to deliver the message, eventually discovering that the Dark Ones are not what he was told.


Intellectual Content

In one level, Artyom must travel through an area held by Nazis of the Fourth Reich, commenting in the loading screen notes that the apocalypse has not stopped Nazis and communists from killing each other over ideological differences.  While the comment it not necessarily insisting that survival is more valuable than sound philosophy, it needs to be said that ideology matters more than survival, as true ideas can have far more significance than anyone's existence ever could--in fact, it is impossible for human survival to have significance unless it is true that human survival is significant, making truth more foundationally important.  In times of crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, only those who genuinely care about truth for its own sake live this out.


Conclusion

Metro 2033 by no means has the longest single player campaign on the Switch, as it only lasts about 6-9 hours.  There are no additional modes.  There are two reasons why the game may still be worth trying out on the Switch for those who have not played its earlier releases: the physical copy comes with Metro 2033 Redux and its sequel (which, though I have not yet played it, is supposed to have content beyond the main levels), and the atmosphere is among the best of the 2000s.  Most post-apocalyptic stories take place aboveground, while Metro 2033's story goes in a different direction.  The uniqueness of the resulting atmosphere is by far its strongest quality.


Content:
 1.  Violence:  Mutant creatures and hostile humans can be killed with guns, knives, or explosives.  A short burst of blood accompanies gunshots and stabs.
 2.  Profanity:  Occasionally, "shit," "goddamn," and "fuck" are used.