Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition Review (OverProYT)
Main Campaign:
One of the best narrative driven shooters I've ever played. Exodus is a bit of a diversion from 2033 and Last Light as it introduces almost Far Cry levels of freedom in huge sand box stages, but you never feel lost and there's always a clear goal. The storyline running through the game and the cast of characters is really quite impressive overall. Initially you feel quite helpless but as time goes on and you master the tools supplied and learn how to adapt weapons for situations and how to know when all out gunfights or stealth is key. Looks great on 4K but I'm looking forward to the next gen update too. Special mention must also go the the AI who talk to each other and know where you are if you let yourself be seen...! Varied missions, lots of modifications to be made weapons and gear, lots of exploring, a brilliant story, superb voice cast and great pacing. Literally one of the best games I've ever played.
MainCampaign : 10/10
DLC:1 : Sams Story : Sam's story seems amazing...if it's the first of a series of episodes featuring Sam's journey from Vladivostock to Los Angeles.
The setting is very akin to Volga and Taiga, to which the first is not my favourite level and the second, whilst very interesting, was very linear by comparison. The swamp/flooded parts of the map are the worst experience, luckily the motorboat makes driving around a breeze than rowing clumsily around.
Main questline feels very cheesy, and speaking of which seems to entirely dominate the game experience, whereas in the base game, the larger maps and open-world nature allowed you to scout out areas for goodies and upgrades. This would have been possible had the travelling part of the map was either water based (which in practicality limited the open world concept) and the few ground travelling was entire linear, and often scripted as well!
I really wish 4A games makes some more DLC campaigns for Sam, he can travel north to find an ice crossing, bringing back an open-world winter/snow map that follows a story where he obtains passage to an ice crossing in Kamchatka; there he can cross the frozen sea and make stops at the islands for some side missions. A third chapter has him traversing down Alaska and Canada, where American, Canadian and others (including Russians) survivors can be encountered as enemies or friends. And of course mutated Alaskan wildlife battling non-mutated animals.
Anyways enough rambling; Sam's Story is so-so, I just wish it was the beginning of a series of DLC chapters featuring Sam.
DLC ;1 Sams Story : 9/10
DLC: 2: The Two Colonels : A short, contained, classic Metro experience. Around 2 hours at it was all over. Some technical improvements were made to the already impressive ray tracing effects on PC. To showcase their prowess, the developers made the primary weapon of the player character, Colonel Khlebnikov, a flamethrower. And by primary weapon, I mean only weapon.
Despite its condensed length, I found the combat felt pretty one note and repetitive by the end. Jump scare, spray flames until room clears, a few quiet tense, rusty corridors, repeat. The hammy English VO does contain some occasionally clumsy lines, but I did find the story to be entertaining. It's almost like a vignette, with the entire emotional arc of the main game but taking place over a much shorter time span. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but the parallel timelines of the two lead characters intersect cleverly, and I found the characterization and portrayal of fatherhood to be endearing, if a little overwrought at times.
Without spoilers, the last few sections of the game lean heavily into the horror aspect of the survival horror experience found in the Metro series. The excellent sound design and clever gameplay balance choices made with the inclusion of the flamethrower create some genuinely tense sections. Your flashlight is removed, instead replaced by the flickering yellow flame of your weapons pilot light. The reduced visibility and arsenal, coupled with the slower aiming and reload times force a more cautious pace, even compared to the full games already contemplative speed.
DLC ;2: The Two Colonels 10/10