In an era where most first-person shooters appear to be determined to consistently elevate the tempo, Metro Exodus Torrent is rejuvenating in its insistence that you invest your time. This is not a dash-and-shoot encounter; it’s a crouch-and-move-slowly traverse through some of the most atmospheric and meticulously detailed environments I’ve ever encountered in a narrative-driven shooter.
With a plotline that avoids the supernatural motifs of its forerunners in favor of concentrating on a more poignant human experience and a level design that grants you considerably more autonomy without affording you too much space to unwind, Metro Exodus seems like the complete realization of this series’ potential.
Continuing two years after the occurrences of Metro: Last Light, the mostly self-contained tale of Metro Exodus follows the predicament of main protagonist Artyom, his wife Ana, and a group of surviving Spartan Rangers led by Colonel Miller as they embark from nuclear-war-ravaged Moscow in search of secure refuge aboard the train Aurora.
That mobility introduces a stunning array of settings we’ve never witnessed in a Metro game: their year-long, cross-continental journey introduces a seasonal transition as you reach each stop, transporting you from snow-covered expanses of urban deterioration to sand-covered deserts and luxuriant forest landscapes, each incredibly well-realized and inhabited by a diverse assortment of lethal mutants and pockets of humanity both amiable and antagonistic.
Metro Exodus Torrent Magnet showcases incredibly intricate environments and remarkably eerie sound design, but its rigorous reduction of intrusive menus and on-screen indicators is of equal importance in successfully immersing you in its world. Your next objective isn’t explicitly laid out for you by a flashy waypoint marker hovering on the horizon but by the subtle swing in the direction of the compass needle on Artyom’s wrist.
Metro Exodus Torrent discards the ammunition-based currency system and weapons vendors from its forerunners in favor of workbenches that can be found in a handful of locations across each level and a backpack that can be utilized to craft certain items on the fly.
Since the backpack can only be employed to craft stealth-focused projectiles such as crossbow bolts and throwing knives, and bullets and shotgun shells can only ever be produced at workbenches or scavenged from fallen adversaries one handful at a time, this system is still very much centered around conserving ammunition and making each shot fired a carefully measured one.
Considering that a significant portion of your time in Metro Exodus Torrent is spent on tense and solitary expeditions away from the Aurora, the playable vignettes aboard the traveling train that frame the main levels provide you with an opportunity to unwind and form connections with the rest of the characters. Whether it was exchanging a smoke with Colonel Miller or spending quiet moments with Ana in the seclusion of your shared cabin, I cherished the chance to acquaint myself with the crew a little more as the journey progressed, and I became more engrossed in their individual predicaments as a result – despite the irregular quality of the voice acting.
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Metro Exodus PC/System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7/8/10/11
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4440
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 670
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 59 GB available space
