Metro Redux Review - Explore post-apocalyptic Russia how you want with this definitive collection

Written by Brandon Hofer  on August 26, 2014

Reviews: The Metro Redux collection lets you relive and revisit post-apocalyptic Russia and humanity’s last hope for survival.

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Metro Redux is the latest game in the trend of “remasters” and 4A Games has done a pretty remarkable job bringing it to the PS4. Not just a simple port to the current generation of consoles, both Metro 2033 Redux and Metro Last Light Redux were worked on to try and fix some of the problems gamers had with the original versions of the game, while keeping the original vision for both titles intact. With Metro Redux you now have the choice of how you want to experience these games.

When Metro 2033 originally launched there was really only one way to play the game. Both Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light are based off of the Metro 2033 novel by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. The series is set in post-apocalyptic Russia and has a sci-fi horror feeling to it. Every day is a struggle for survival and the ammo in your gun is also used as currency in the different “markets” that you will come across. This idea continually makes you think and strategize about how you are approaching combat scenarios. Do you fire your gun at an enemy and potentially waste bullets or do you try and avoid combat altogether so that you can trade in some bullets later on for that med pack you need or a new filter for your mask? Due to the post-apocalyptic scenario and being forced to live underground in the metros ammo is always scarce so you really have to decide what is important to you. There are different types of ammo such as ammo that was used back in the day before everything happened as well as “homemade” ammo that might be a little more plentiful but is probably less effective.

If you don’t really want to deal with any of that then Metro 2033 Redux introduces a new Spartan mode. This new mode turns Metro 2033 into more of an action oriented shooter where ammo is more plentiful and you don’t have to worry about resource management as much. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying though, ammo is still scarce and you don’t want to waste any of it. With that said though it is more plentiful than it is in Survival mode and by paying attention to everything there weren’t too many instances where I was completely out of ammunition. Combat is also a little more forgiving in Spartan mode along with the stealth elements but Metro 2033 can still be a tough game to get through if you don’t know what you are doing.



Metro Last Light Redux started off as more of an action oriented shooter and I think is probably the more popular of the two titles. Due to that they didn’t have to do as much work on it like they had to do with Metro 2033 but you can definitely tell this was a labor of love as they worked to make both games shine on the PS4. Last Light Redux will offer you the choice though of which play style you want to use when going through the game so you can play however you want.

Other changes are evident in both game as well. The graphical fidelity is very nice on both games and makes a great addition to the PS4 library. It doesn’t look as good as if these games were built from the ground up for the PS4 but the environments and the ambiance all bring you you in and really immerse you in the Metro experience. As you progress through the games you get a sense of the hopelessness that some feel and the last sliver of hope that others are clinging onto. You will get a better sense of the despair if you are playing these games on the harder difficulties but you still get an up close and personal view of it on the normal difficulty as well. The AI in the games also seems to be improved over the original versions but it still isn’t quite where it needs to be. Still, with that said, there were times when the enemy would try and flank me and pin me down somewhere while reinforcements arrived and I had to adapt my strategy on the fly. There were other times too though where I could be a couple of feet from a guy and he wouldn’t see me until it was too late. This definitely helped me out in a few instances from a gameplay perspective but it would momentarily break the immersion with the game.



Though Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light are obviously within the same franchise, both offer varied experiences that gamers should enjoy. Metro 2033 is a bit more claustrophobic taking place underground, utilizing dark and dangerous tunnels to get to your destination with the occasional excursion to the surface. Metro Last Light offers more exploration overall as well as giving you some moral decisions that you will need to make, some boss fights and more. You get to see a bit more of Moscow as opposed to the underground tunnels of Metro 2033 and both games come together in a really nice package that offers similar yet different experiences so you don’t get bored. If you have gone through the original iterations of Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light you will notice some changes here and there but the core experience remains largely the same. The Metro Redux collection also gives you all previous DLC that was released for Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light giving you additional value and making Metro Redux the definitive way to experience this franchise. Whether you are new to the series or an experienced veteran, Metro Redux is a great package that everyone should enjoy playing.