Plot, gameplay, visuals of the game explained and reviewed:
Metro: Last Light is a First-Person Shooter (FPS) survival horror game developed by the game studio ‘4A Games’ and published by ‘Deep Silver’. It was released in 2013 for the world. A direct sequel to the game ‘Metro 2033’, it follows the story of a ranger named Artyom in a post-apocalyptic city of Moscow, Russia after a nuclear war takes place. Set in the year 2034, one year after the happenings of the previous game, it follows the bad ending of the game which is canon (original ending as per the book it is based on). The book is written by Dmitry Glukhovsky.
I suggest you to play the game ‘Metro 2033’ before reading the Plot content if you would like to avoid spoilers.
PLOT
After Artyom destroys the Dark Ones’ home by missile strikes, the rangers are now at the D6 military bunker they found in the mission. Artyom, now a ranger himself, is informed by an old friend Khan that a young Dark One has survived the strike and hope that he can help humanity. He wants to communicate with the Dark One while the Rangers’ leader, Colonel Miller thinks it is a threat and should be eliminated. Miller sends his daughter, Anna and Artyom to the surface to find and kill the Dark One.
Artyom finds the Dark One at the start but are both captured by the Nazi Fourth Reich, an enemy faction in the game. Artyom now has to escape and find the Dark One while fighting the human enemy factions in the game- Soviet Red Line and Nazi Fourth Reich as well as mutant monsters.
GAMEPLAY
The player plays as Artyom as he journeys through the surface and metro tunnels to find the Dark One. The player can access a variety of weapons like shotguns, rifles, pistols, smgs, etc. The weapons can be customized/upgraded to suit the player gameplay style. Suppressors, scopes, extended magazines, etc can be attached to the guns. The player can also fight by throwing knifes, incendiary grenades and hand grenades. He can approach enemies using stealth or aggressive play. Darkness can be used in your favor to hide from enemies and approach stealthily. The human enemies can be knocked out or killed.
The player is also equipped with a lighter, journal, flashlight and a mask. The mask is used to traverse through irradiated zones both above and below the surface. The filter can get depleted by time so the player has to collect extra filters and change them as they get depleted. The currency in the game is the ‘military grade rounds’ which can be used to buy upgrades, ammunition, weapons, etc. It can otherwise be used in guns which deal extra damage to enemies, but it is scarce so has to be used carefully. This title also features a rail-car to travel in the tunnels.
The game has two ending which is decided based on the player’s actions throughout the game. Karma is the main factor in this decision. Good karma can be collected by helping citizens, rescuing them from enemies, listening to their conversations, sparing enemies, etc.
VISUALS
The game does an excellent job in creating a post-apocalyptic environment. The dark, scary visuals really enhance the player experience. There are certain instances of shadows/silhouettes, hallucinations, hearing voices, etc which adds to the scary elements. The surface shows ruined city overgrown with trees and stormy weather.
The HUD is kept minimal to provide the player with an immersive experience. Only necessary information is shown like bullets that also for only a short amount of time after changing weapons.
The next sequel of the title is 'Metro Exodus' released in the year 2019. It is quite different than the previous parts in exploration and gameplay.
You can also check out my article on 'Metro 2033' published previously on Gamehag.
I like the sequence of the events. It would be better if you explained the types of factions. Who are the Dark ones, Artyom... etc? Thank you for the article.
The article seemed very interesting, so I went to look at some trailers, and wow, this game looks awesome! Didn't read the entirety of the article to avoid spoilers, but definitely well-written .
The whole trilogy is awesome. Books, too. I can only recommend it to everyone.
Very good article. It is clear that it took a lot of time to write .
Deep Silver has really put out some iconic games, this is for sure one of my absolute favorites.
recently got for free in epic games store. can't wait to try it
If you are living in post soviet country and love post-apocaliptic games
this is for you. For me it's a Legendary game series along with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The game is all about atmosphere and imersion. Highly recommend to play!
Another good looking FPS game. Saving the world is a big hope too. I like the mask mechanic too. Nice article !
love the storyline of the game coupled with amazing graphics.cant wait for the next sequel... i recommended playing this game before reading the plot if you ate into spoilers
Guess it's an honest attempt, but there's a flaw: some details are identical to the official perk descriptions, making this appear copied.
Also, besides the character-specific perks, doesn't really contain any unique information. If this were to be accepted, I for one, would want more