Absolutely incredible game, the peak of the Meto games. The guns have been improved from Last Light, not as drastically as from 2033 to LL, but still great quality of life improvements. The pool of weapons has been decreased to around five to six guns, each filling in your basic FPS archetypes: semi-autos, shotguns, snipers, and pistols. But to accommodate for this, each of the guns have a frame that the player can customize to their liking; a simple Kalashnikov semi-auto can turn long distance hunting rifle, or the shotgun can be outfitted with two to four barrels for maximum fire power. The audio and visual design for these weapons are great too, the shotgun especially got an upgrade, becoming my most used gun almost solely on how satisfying it is to unload the chamber after firing. As well, Exodus does away with the currency system of the prior entries, and instead uses a new crafting system in order to make ammo, med packs, and mask filters. The system is very simple and can be done at any point during gameplay, though I would not recommend doing so during a fire fight. As long as you have the resources you can craft anything you made need, and said resources can be found all around the new semi open world. For this entry, Artyom leaves the cramped walls of the titular metro and goes with a gang of fellow soldiers to find a safe place to live on the surface. This means the player gets to explore the lands of post nuclear war Russia, but not in the traditional way you think. Each chapter takes you to a different, bite sized map that the player can explore through out that part of the story, and each location has a unique aesthetic and story that makes them standout. None of these maps are to overwhelmingly big, or disappointingly small, they are a great middle ground between the two. The staple morality system also makes its return in Exodus, but this time a little easier to navigate. Instead of being extremely vague like in 2033 and Last Light, the actions you must do to gain the good ending are, almost, told directly to you. Often times it is "don't kill anyone" or "free the slaves", which is very apricated, but there are still some unspoken objectives that the player must find on their own in order to get the good ending. I personally liked this much more because I didn't exactly in control with my choices in the previous entries. Overall, Metro Exodus is a fantastic game that is worth any players time, highly recommend.

Reviewed on Dec 10, 2023


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