Also available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, Linux, OSX, and Windows Metro: Last Light is a direct sequel to Metro: 2033 and picks up after the end of that game. In its original release, Last Light took on a much more action-oriented approach compared to 2033’s more horror-focused gameplay, but the Redux remaster of the two allows you freely choose between the more ammo and more action focus of Last Light and the less ammo and more horror focus of 2033 for both games. I, of course, being a violence and carnage loving American, chose the former in both games. The story picks up one year after the end of 2033. After Artyom defeats the Dark Ones and destroys their nest, he goes off doing badass Spartan Ranger stuff until he hears a rumor about a single surviving Dark One. Miller, commander of the Spartan Rangers, sends Artyom out to kill this last Dark One with his daughter, Anna, tagging along for sniper support. Khan, Artyom’s cryptic mystic friend from the first game, urges Artyom not to kill the Dark One and encourages him to try to communicate with it instead. While conflicted, Artyom sets out to accomplish the mission assigned to him by Miller, opting to take a “cross that bridge when I come to it” approach on whether or not to kill the Dark One. Obviously, things don’t go exactly to plan (there wouldn’t be much of a game otherwise), so Artyom is once again trekking across the Metro and leaving mountains of mutant, Nazi, and communist corpses in his wake. As far as the overall feel of the game, Last Light feels a lot more fast-paced than 2033 if you’re playing the original releases, but the Redux remasters do a good job of keeping it feeling pretty on-par with 2033 if you play through them in the same gameplay style (Spartan for more action, Survival for more horror). Last Light does, however, have some much larger environments than 2033 for some awesome firefights. Visually, the game is identical to 2033 if playing the remasters and only a little more polished looking if playing the original releases, but they’re definitely nice-looking games. The stealth mechanics are extremely well done, balancing visibility in light and the effect sound has on enemy alertness. You’re also, fortunately, not required to use stealth unless you want to minimize kills and go for the good ending, so you can just kill everything if that’s more your style (something I learned the hard way - the good ending is canon, so if you go on a genocidal rampage like I did and get the bad ending, the start of Exodus will leave you confused and googling to figure out wtf is going on). All in all, Metro: Last Light is an excellent follow-up to 2033, but it is worth noting that this isn’t just Russian Fallout; the game is still linear, and there’s a decent bit of supernatural shit going on, and unlike 2033, the supernatural shit is more out-in-front in Last Light. For me personally, that was a bit of a turn-off, but it’s by no means bad. It’s not explained very fully, but that’s part of the game’s MO - the mystery shrouding the effects of the nuclear bombs. If you enjoyed 2033, you’ll love Last Light. Personally, I found it fairly standard, but it was definitely on the upper end of average, and I have no problem recommending it. I played around with it a bit on Switch, too, and while there are some obvious graphical downgrades, it runs really well (loading times aside) and is a definite jewel of the slew of Switch ports we’ve seen. My Rating - B |
I'm a teacher.And I like to play video games. I like to collect video games. I like to talk about video games, and I like to write about video games. During the day, I teach high school history; during the night, I spend my spare time gaming. Then I write about it. Archives
April 2024
|