I'm gonna share a short but sad story if you all will entertain me. Anyways I was playing the original (non Redux) version of this on the 360. I loved the atmosphere, weapons, story, etc. Apparently so did my mom. Our TV was in the living room and she had become very ill from various diabetic complications. Had to have her whole right leg amputated. So she was bed (rather couch) ridden and watched me play this game non stop. Asked questions, learned the characters, asked me if I could find an English copy of the book at the library for her to read. It truly became a bonding game despite it being single player. Sadly, she didn't survive to see me play the sequels. Thanks for listening if even a brief second and as always I love the content Jared.
@@hosybosy1119 thanks man, I appreciate that. She was. Both my parents loved video games and grew up in the arcades (I was born in 1985). So when I developed an interest in games, first system was a NES in '89, they definitely encouraged it. Since at the end my mom couldn't move much by herself, I did get her a DS to play on the couch. Despite her hardships, she did like the small things like that.
It's the beginning of the Metro Retro, Let's Go! The first game actually is the reason I ended up playing the Stalker games. Glad to see some love for both from one of my favorite Content Creators.
@YTcràp.bookmarks wait I think I get you now your saying that because stalker is this 'realistic hardcore' and being an old game full of bugs people seen it not being a good game for them to play but found the games edgyness and the feel and look of it interesting. Finally the metro games came out and it was the closes to it, then they just choose that because there was the closes to it?
So immersive and atmospheric, what an experience these games were. At the same time, they were enough of a chore, that these will remain a single playthrough, but what a single playthrough they were.
Interesting fact, in the books, hunter blackmailed arytom into going to polis, cuase as a child he went to a station and went to the surface, but when he ran home after running into some mutants, he wasn’t able to close the gate, leaving a way for the mutant to get into the metro Note: know I skimmed a couple bits but rather not give away everything
The book world of 2033 is way more hardcore. Stalkers only leave at night with tinted goggles, there are way less mutants and the librarians take a few shots to kill (they are akin to regular nosalises), and don't get me started on Bourbon haha
@@AvalancheReviews I don't want to agree with that because I love Fallout's 50's Retrofuture style so much, but I do. They don't use gameplay mechanics to hammer home the atmosphere like STALKER or Metro does.
@@AvalancheReviews Tell me how Eastern Europe has done Fallout better than say, Obsidian's Fallout New Vegas. Tell me what comes to mind when you think of what makes Fallout well, Fallout.
@@Valkod23 Atmosphere of complete despair and hopelessness. I really like fallout. But I played the Fallout series after playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro, and honestly Fallout felt like a post-nuclear apocalypse kids show.
@@nikolaivanov1278 Fallout was always about what rose from the ashes of nuclear armageddon. Even the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series are set inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and nowhere else, with the rest of the world functioning just fine. Even the Metro series (the books anyway) has the surface being mostly habitable with the people stuck in the metros because the leaders in charge are maintaining a horrible status quo to remain in power. You want a good FPS that shows the hopelessness and despair of the setting even though it ends on a hopeful note (because the first two films ended on hopeful notes)? There's also Terminator: Resistance. That game is set entirely in the future war segment of the first two Terminator movies and my god is that a hopeless and despair-filled setting. Now, Bethesda's Fallout games, yes I absolutely agree with your take on those ones being a kid's show basically.
I remember my first exposure to metro 2033. I was probably around 15-16, home alone at night, in a dark room with a thunderstorm going on outside in the distance. The atmosphere was intense to say the least.
I absolutely love Metro 2033 and the trilogy as a whole. The atmosphere is unmatched and the amount of attention to detail makes the games so immersive. Can't wait for your videos on the sequels.
One of my favorite subtle touches Metro has is that you can hear Artyom's heartbeat whenever you look down a scope and the scope wavers with his heartbeat too.
A lot of the complaints you have with the difficulty mode comes from how they changed difficulty scaling from the original 2033 to the original Last Light, which they then carried over into the Redux for both games. In the original 2033, raising the difficulty raised the amount of flat damage that both enemies and the players do to the point where, on Ranger or Ranger Hardcore, everything short of a Librarian or Demon will go down to a single shotgun shell, a couple of rifle rounds to the body, or a headshot with anything. And while ammo was still hard to find, there was no maximum ammo cap so you would never run the risk of being unable to pick up ammo, or buy more at stations.. Last Light, and by extension Redux, changes this so that while the enemies still get an increase in flat damage dealt, the player only gets an increase to their headshot damage. Combine this with restricting the player to only two weapons instead of three and heavily restricts the player's spare ammo to only 180 rifle rounds, 60 shotgun rounds, and 45 revolver rounds (An increase from the original Last Light to be sure where you could only carry half that on Ranger modes). I personally really still prefer the original game because of this, even though its not as visually impressive and doesn't have the level extensions that Redux adds to flesh out some of the shorter sections of the game. TL;DR in the OG version of 2033 you got a flat damage buff and no max ammo. In Redux only NPCs get a flat damage buff, you only get a headshot damage buff and your max ammo is heavily restricted. OG is arguably harder, but it's fairer.
This 3 games and the stalker series is i dont know why, is just so freakin special for me, and i cant even describe why. The atmoshpere is just so freakin on another level, thats why i think i played these games like 3-4 times each. And i really cant wait for STALKER 2, i have so much hope for that game, and if its gonna be a let down, i will be broken.
I was disappointed to hear that Stalker 2 was gonna use those baloney NFTs. But the backlash from the fans must've been big because the devs announced that Stalker 2 won't have them now. I really Stalker 2 is great and not another massive disappointment or broken mess like most AAA games now.
Making me wanna re-download the game, played both versions, game's a hidden gem - just throw it on one night and didn't put it down, to find out, there where to more whole freaking games! Safe to say, it was a good weekend. And an even better re-visit.
haven't seen this elsewhere but the classic version of metro 2033 is still available in steam, and from time to time they give out free copies for keeping. That's how I got into the series.
I love how when you have the lighter out, the flame will point towards the direction you’re supposed to go. Such a cool detail that came in handy a lot.
When i was facing the horrors in the Metro i wanted to desperately head to the surface........and when i was on the surface i wanted to desperately get back into the Metro! Not many games have done that to me. Thank you for the video Avalanche.
Ranger mode is a fun challenge except the part (at least on the PS4) where you have to do QTE and the button prompts don’t show up on the screen. That part is rough unless you know the buttons to push or just hit everything till it works
D6 is real. I wathed a doc on it a few years back. It was built parallel to the civil metro. The whole country can be run out of it in the event of nuclear annihilation. There's even been RUclipsrs black bagged doin those urban exploration vids in abandoned parts of the metro.
Played the first game, loved it. But I gotta clear some of my backlog before I jump back into the series. Anyways, loving this series of videos; keep up the good work!
I love the Metro series. Exodus has one of the best narrative and character driven story ever and I am not ashamed to admit it's good ending made me misty eyed.
I wasn't totally sure if I had the good ending or not so at the very end, I was like "Ok, oh god oh god..he just said XYZ, that means I got the good ending right?" Hoping that the worst didn't happen hahaha, PHEW, I made it though
Finally! So few creators cover this series. Very strange. It's fairly linear, tight and up the front, with full English language support etc. Don't know why it's not as commonly covered as new Fallouts. Love the series. Main reason for upgrading my gfx card is playing RT Exodus, 2K 60 without DLSS or any other tricks and scaling.
My favorite FPS, not only does it succeed in what it wants to be as an experience but goes beyond, having tight design and a narrative with an actual message, something usually missing from the FPS genre, and a unique one in fiction at that
This game kicks my ass. I don't feel like it gives me enough tools to alleviate my suffering as Stalker does, but I think that's part of it's charm. I can't wait for your Stalker 2 review man.
Holy shit I never realized there was a redux of metro 2033, in fact when I play metro 2033 I have the OG one and I still fucking love it. Still get caught off guard by millers voice character from 2033 being the same as Pavels voice actor from last light.
This is a wonderful game series enthralled me from the word go seeing those grimy Soviet Metro tunnels with the grit the Slime and the mushrooms And the impenetrable blackness Still to this day I have played anything quite like the Metro series
Honestly man, I was randomly recommended your full stalker retrospective the other day, and I didn’t think I would love your videos as much as I do. I’ve gone through the dead space, RE, and stalker retrospective. Keep up the AMAZING work man, your stuff hits the perfect niche I have for RUclips videos.
So weird I've never played any games like metro or stalker before, but I've been eyeballing them recently and it seems like they're in the wind for a lot of new players right now, huh
Both are easy series to miss honestly. They're a little niche, even though they're both first person shooters. I hope you're right. It'd be nice if these 2 franchises got a few more fans.
If you can get stalker to work (a challenge in modern pcs) it it's an amazing (yet somewhat buggy) experience, you can get some mods to make it harder or make it way better and inmersive, good luck in the zone
I saw this video, stopped it, used your link to buy all three games, played them, and now I am back. What a journey... Absolutely loved the series and can't believe I didn't play them when they were new.
It is really hard for me to choose between Stalker and Metro as my favorite eastern europe apocalyptical shooter but metro exodus damn well made me cry at the end with the story.
11:01 Ahhh the Tihar my personal favorite metro weapon of all time: stealth (and somewhat loud) capable, available/cheap ammo and pure post-apoc improv aesthetic, good taste Avalanche
_"Dear Muscovites and guests to our capital! The Moscow Metro is a form of transportation which involves a heightened level of danger."_ -- A notice in the metro This franchise will always be one of the GOAT. Thanks so much for covering this amazing game AR!! Metro 2033 Redux was definitely my childhood for sure 🚇
One of my favorite jump scares in Metro 2033 is in the train tunnel when you're asked to touch the pipes to heard the sounds of the dead, if you hold on too long a spirit attacks you.
There is a 3rd game that was released a few years ago, and is even better. Its more open-world and allows you to explore the surface a lot more, but it also introduces new enemies & factions and is still oozing with atmosphere. The game is Metro: Exodus.
@@ApexHydra- I wouldn’t say it’s another far cry, but tbh I think the games identity suffers a lot. Replacing the Station sections with the train sections makes it feel more of a personal story, but you lose so much world building. Making the surface a mostly easily explorable place removes a lot of the mistique of the surface. There was also a lot less anomalies and supernatural elements throughout, and the supernatural elements are very important to the universe of metro. But the anomalies by the train yard was amazing I wish there was more of that. I loved the game, thought it was fantastic. But I’d be lying if I said a lot of elements felt a bit derivative to a lot of other recent games, and a lot of that comes to leaving the metro. The Metro is easily one of the most unique and creative game worlds out there, and easily one of the most immersive and motivating. I mourn to one day return to the metro, perhaps taking a 2034 route (the book) and going with a new protagonist and let arytom have a rest
When I built my first gaming PC back in 2017, Metro 2033 Redux was the first game I played on it. Looking back, it was the perfect game to start with. I remember turning off the lights with my headphones on and just immersed myself in the world. Great video as always Avalanche!
I only played the original and I was wondering for the first half of your commentary like i remember the game looking a lot better esp lighting. Nice coverage of a awesome game
I think I know which scenes you're referring to when mentioning frustrating circumstances with mutants. I'm pretty sure the Defense level is one and the quick bastards popping out of holes in the ground when you have the kid on your shoulders is another.
Another great video on the heels of your Stalker retrospective! I recommend anyone interested in the books, but not so much the reading part, check out the complete series on Audible! They're actually really well-read and acted out with voice actors that almost sound like they were from the game. I listened to the whole trilogy and recommend it whole-heartedly!
It's nice finally seeing someone else other than DF put some frametime graphs in their videos. If i had any help in that, it's more than enough just seeing it in a vid.
Spoilers: I honestly prefer 2033's book ending. The idea that Artyom understood the Dark Ones when it was too late is more powerful to me than him just being doubtful at the end.
so glad to see more creators giving the stalker series younger brother some much needed appreciation. The Original first 2 metro games are some of the absolute most immersive games I've ever played and are the definition of atmosphere when it comes to in game world building. Awesome franchise!
Metro is, barring Halo, my favorite 1st person shooter series of all time, and my favorite Post Apocalyptic game of all time on top of that. I hold it in higher regard than Fallout, Half-Life, and even Stalker. There's just something about the unbelievably immersive world and well-written characters combined with an atmosphere so thick you need a saw to cut through it. And I've been waiting forever for someone to give it the in-depth look it deserves.
I have to say, at least in first two games, Metro offers such a sad and scary perspective on a post-apocalypse itself, unique even, in a way. Especially with those paranormal elements and glimpses in a past, creates almost a primal experience of rediscovering the world. While at some point humanity were sole rulers of Earth, tamed and explained nature and everything (mostly) made sense... and then boom, we're back in a caves, like some cavemen tribes carefully walking this new world, facing the unexplainable things yet again. All that with an environment so hostile, that the chance of mankind survival seems to be very faint. Other post-apocalyptic games or media didn't induce this kind of feeling at all (I don't claim I discovered all of them tho). Sadly, as much as I liked Exodus, it did ruin this feel and brought back "life (including mankind) _will_ prevail" kind of optimism
@@LeonserGT I know what you mean. Exodus kind of removed that bleakness when it was revealed there was life beyond the Metro. There was something existentially terrifying in overhearing conversations between the Rangers and even other station dwellers about how, one by one, over the course of a few years every other city in Russia went radio silent. It made Moscow out to be the last place on Earth with humans left alive. Still, I enjoy Exodus for its characters and story, even if the shooting is a bit wonkier than its predecessors. Besides, there's always the chance we could return to the Metro once more in future installments.
@@Xaxp well, they did bring us back in Two Colonels DLC, and overall, Novosibirsk level basically redeemed entire game's atmosphere for me, such a bleak and eerie place
Ahh love metro. The audio book narrated by Rupert dagos is just phenomenal. It's here on RUclips. Highly recommend listening to it. Really fleshes the game out. Exodus was really good too but 2034 is my favourite. (edit) Last light.
haven't even watched the video yet, but I absolutely love this game. Playing it through on Ranger difficulty is one of my most treasured videogame accomplishments. I also highly recommend the book!
I love the shit out of this game. Rented it from Rogers (time flies huh?) and loved it as a kid and rented twice after. Bought it after I just couldn’t put it down. A masterpiece of a game.
it warms my heart seeing people play this game and making videos about it. I only started playing the games a few years ago myself, but I can easily say the series is one of my favorite.
You can buy the remasterd version on Switch, PS4, and Xbox One too. The Switch release in particular was pretty cool as there aren't many great M rated FPS games on it, especially exclusives.
Bro I'm all for playing things in ultra wide but, that aspect ratio? Come on dude.. it's not okay when it's squished it's not okay when it's stretched, okay it's a little bit better when it stretched cuz fat people are gross but that's just the American in me ofiscating reality, the camera operator in me says fix your fucking aspect ratio.. and you're at least one of the better ones at this so I'm kind of surprised.
if you actually have the option I would recommend you to try playing it in 3D, I do own the original and didnt actually play the redux in 3D, but the original was definitely awesome that way, dont think the redux will be inferior
Jared if I remember right, you have a PS5. I sadly still don't. I know this is about the first Metro. But can you confirm if Exodus got a performance patch? I heard 4A was going to add some 4K, 60fps+, and maybe RTX for the vanilla PS4 game when put in a PS5. I know the PC Master Race can do this already. But sadly I'm not part of that right now. 😢
Great novel, great game. It's funny that the games really veered away from following in books after this. In spite of that, I actually prefer the games story to the books after the 1st entry. I'm not a fan of dbag Artium in the Metro 2035 novel.
I liked Last Light's story more than 2035. Although, I liked the arc that dealt with a disease breaking out in the metro. I think that was the second book anyways. I think I like 2036's story more than Exodus though.
You've honestly unlocked a memory of me reading one of the very few books I was interested in, in my lifetime and that was The Road. There's a reason I've liked this channel and that's because he's just as much of a fan of apocalypse narratives as I am.
Thanks for opening me up to this series Jared. I just bought all three on a steam sale last week. I’ve already finished 2033 and Last Light, I loved them both. I’m gonna go back to the DLC but I’m onto Exodus now and it is amazing. I haven’t been this into a game world in a very long time.
I played the original 2033 that was collecting dust in my steam library few months ago and the game still felt like it aged really well thanks to its art style and atmosphere.
Played Exodus and absolutely loved it, bought the redux versions of last light and 2033. And the trend continued, my love of the series grew. I’ve played all the games three times. The first time just checking things out, the second time was to play in the correct order and the third time for the trophies though I’m yet to get Exodus due to lost data on my old PlayStation I’m still holding out hope I can get even if it’s in safe mode.
Definitely one of the best “analog” games there is. Every piece of gear needing to be maintained and so deliberate in its use really makes you covet and treasure what they do for you
The Stalker reviews made me want to pick Metro Exodus up and finish off the franchise after beating the first two years back. Did not disappoint and look forward to seeing you review that (and parasite eve I've seen the streams and have been hoping that's coming down the pipeline 🤞🤞) but I'm so stoked to see this review and whatever comes next!
I'm reading the audiobook right now because of this review. I started it a few years back and liked it a lot but had to drop it because of external circumstances. I'm loving it this read through. It's got such atmosphere and the narration really makes you feel like you're there by the fire sharing ghost stories from the metro while drinking mushroom tea.
I've been following your vids for a few years now and you cover the vast majority of games i like. And when you covered all the Stalker games i just KNEW you were going to cover these too, I am almost sad when i check to see how much video footage is left and it's near the end. great videos my friend, i look forward to the next one covering Last light.
1:15:10 , I’ll say that the best console port is actually the Xbox S/X versions, as it add auto HDR, making the lighting better, and the FPS boost makes the game run at a capped 120 fps. This goes for Last Light as well.
Bro, your channel is so fucking under rated, it's impossible to think a guy with a subscriber count that sits barely above 100k can pump out feature length videos that are so relaxing and awesome to listen / watch. I hate it when you excuse yourself on keeping them so long, but that's the fucking charm, i love it and chances are, your greater part of the audience does as well. For the longest of time i though only Nick930 did this kind of feature length video reviews, so glad i was wrong. In a world where people grow all the more grotesquely short in their attention span, keep pushing for this kind of stuff, the right people will slowly trickle in :D Much love and keep em coming!! ( PS - I know this video is quite a few months old by now but still )
I love that you still said Stalkers welcome to the metro as if you knew everyone from the Stalker videos would watch metro though it is honestly true of course
I'm glad this isn't some kind of takedown, I was a bit worried by the seemingly spicy nature of the video title. I never really liked these games that much, but I can appreciate what they do.
I completely agree with you on not understanding the apparent distain for "linear" games. So many open worlds feel completely unnecessary, and lacking life. I would rather have great and well planned segments most of the time, even if that's what happens every time. Something I just realized is that the world of Metro is basically a giant sewer level, and yet it's actually interesting and fun to explore. Now THAT is an achievement.
There’s nothing quite like having no UI, being knee deep in nosalises with a dim flashlight, and you notice that the belt magazine in your abatz has five shells left. True horror. Also I’ve found a fun way to play 2033 and last light are to sell your weapon/ weapons each time you go to a station and try to find the best one out there for the scenario
Metro 2033 on my xbox 360 was my first true survival horror/Post-Apocalyptic game from Eastern Europe and it was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. Now years later Stalker appeals more to me but that's only because I spend nearly a decade playing and replaying all versions of Metro. The originals on xbox, Redux on PC, and Exodus enhanced edition. After I beat 2033 the first time I immediately bought the novel and while different it scratched the same itch just as fine. One of my favorite franchises in one of my favorite subgenres.
This video came out on my b day so that is a really nice surprise since i would be considered a veteran of the series by now (maybe for 2033 and ll, we do not talk about the third one...). You made some nice points my dude
The issue you had with crashing reminded me of when I first played Warhammer Vermintide II, if you disabled the intro cutscene that played when booting up the game then the entire game would crash and never fully boot up.
Amazing video on this game. For me the magic was that I read the book before I played the game. I read it and basically had this vision in my head to how everything looks down there. Then I played the game and it more or less confirmed this. Just amazing.
Great video! One small note, the original metro 2033 was not released on the PS3. It was only released on Xbox 360. I remember this because i was pissed about not getting it, because i didn't have an Xbox at the time lol
I played this series some point last year as I had bought exodus and didn't want to miss a single detail and I can confidently say that it all still holds up
This video made me buy the Metro bundle which is only $8.99 for all 3 games and the gold edition for exodus. Ive only played exodus but not the DLC for it. I cant wait to see what the first 2 are like. Exodus was amazing
![[DRAGON BALL LEGENDS REVEALS ＆ STUFF] LEGENDS FESTIVAL 2024 Special Edition Part 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/mV5bGIswTtQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm gonna share a short but sad story if you all will entertain me. Anyways I was playing the original (non Redux) version of this on the 360. I loved the atmosphere, weapons, story, etc. Apparently so did my mom. Our TV was in the living room and she had become very ill from various diabetic complications. Had to have her whole right leg amputated. So she was bed (rather couch) ridden and watched me play this game non stop. Asked questions, learned the characters, asked me if I could find an English copy of the book at the library for her to read. It truly became a bonding game despite it being single player. Sadly, she didn't survive to see me play the sequels. Thanks for listening if even a brief second and as always I love the content Jared.
Thats sad :,(, she sounds like she was a cool mom
@@hosybosy1119 thanks man, I appreciate that. She was. Both my parents loved video games and grew up in the arcades (I was born in 1985). So when I developed an interest in games, first system was a NES in '89, they definitely encouraged it. Since at the end my mom couldn't move much by herself, I did get her a DS to play on the couch. Despite her hardships, she did like the small things like that.
🤜🤜 that’s a tough one brother, hopefully she with the big man in the sky.
😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
Condolences
It's the beginning of the Metro Retro, Let's Go! The first game actually is the reason I ended up playing the Stalker games. Glad to see some love for both from one of my favorite Content Creators.
Same right here. These two franchises are Reale gems
It's cool how Stalker and Metro have that effect on people. Once someone plays one of them, they are insanely likely to play the other.
Stalker came out before metro
@YTcràp.bookmarks no idea what the fuck you just daid
@YTcràp.bookmarks wait I think I get you now your saying that because stalker is this 'realistic hardcore' and being an old game full of bugs people seen it not being a good game for them to play but found the games edgyness and the feel and look of it interesting. Finally the metro games came out and it was the closes to it, then they just choose that because there was the closes to it?
This game and the novel got me through my junior year of high school, man what an experience this game series is!
I read the novel long after playing the game and it was incredible!!!
So immersive and atmospheric, what an experience these games were. At the same time, they were enough of a chore, that these will remain a single playthrough, but what a single playthrough they were.
@@AvalancheReviews Do you know anywhere I can purchase them by chance?
Interesting fact, in the books, hunter blackmailed arytom into going to polis, cuase as a child he went to a station and went to the surface, but when he ran home after running into some mutants, he wasn’t able to close the gate, leaving a way for the mutant to get into the metro
Note: know I skimmed a couple bits but rather not give away everything
They touch on that a little in Last Light.
@@AvalancheReviews loved that but kinda a shame they didn't add that in 2033 redux
The book world of 2033 is way more hardcore. Stalkers only leave at night with tinted goggles, there are way less mutants and the librarians take a few shots to kill (they are akin to regular nosalises), and don't get me started on Bourbon haha
@@RhodokTribesman Bourbon = sad Leg day
@@RhodokTribesman oh I remember, heck uploaded his death scene years ago and all I get is either sad comments or in the book type comments
Fallout: "you know what would be cool? Using bottlecaps as currency"
Metro:"Hold my Vodka"
It's been proven time and time again, but Eastern Europe does Fallout better than the West.
@@AvalancheReviews I don't want to agree with that because I love Fallout's 50's Retrofuture style so much, but I do. They don't use gameplay mechanics to hammer home the atmosphere like STALKER or Metro does.
@@AvalancheReviews Tell me how Eastern Europe has done Fallout better than say, Obsidian's Fallout New Vegas. Tell me what comes to mind when you think of what makes Fallout well, Fallout.
@@Valkod23 Atmosphere of complete despair and hopelessness. I really like fallout. But I played the Fallout series after playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro, and honestly Fallout felt like a post-nuclear apocalypse kids show.
@@nikolaivanov1278 Fallout was always about what rose from the ashes of nuclear armageddon. Even the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series are set inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and nowhere else, with the rest of the world functioning just fine. Even the Metro series (the books anyway) has the surface being mostly habitable with the people stuck in the metros because the leaders in charge are maintaining a horrible status quo to remain in power.
You want a good FPS that shows the hopelessness and despair of the setting even though it ends on a hopeful note (because the first two films ended on hopeful notes)? There's also Terminator: Resistance. That game is set entirely in the future war segment of the first two Terminator movies and my god is that a hopeless and despair-filled setting.
Now, Bethesda's Fallout games, yes I absolutely agree with your take on those ones being a kid's show basically.
I remember my first exposure to metro 2033. I was probably around 15-16, home alone at night, in a dark room with a thunderstorm going on outside in the distance. The atmosphere was intense to say the least.
So ready for a huge Metrospective, it’s undoubtedly one of my favorite game series. Love seeing you work your magic Avalanche!
Let the Metrospective begin!!!!!
What a sick name lol
@@goob8945 I know right LOL
I absolutely love Metro 2033 and the trilogy as a whole. The atmosphere is unmatched and the amount of attention to detail makes the games so immersive. Can't wait for your videos on the sequels.
One of my favorite subtle touches Metro has is that you can hear Artyom's heartbeat whenever you look down a scope and the scope wavers with his heartbeat too.
The direction of the flame coming out of the lighter shows you your destination. Kinda brilliant.
A lot of the complaints you have with the difficulty mode comes from how they changed difficulty scaling from the original 2033 to the original Last Light, which they then carried over into the Redux for both games. In the original 2033, raising the difficulty raised the amount of flat damage that both enemies and the players do to the point where, on Ranger or Ranger Hardcore, everything short of a Librarian or Demon will go down to a single shotgun shell, a couple of rifle rounds to the body, or a headshot with anything. And while ammo was still hard to find, there was no maximum ammo cap so you would never run the risk of being unable to pick up ammo, or buy more at stations.. Last Light, and by extension Redux, changes this so that while the enemies still get an increase in flat damage dealt, the player only gets an increase to their headshot damage. Combine this with restricting the player to only two weapons instead of three and heavily restricts the player's spare ammo to only 180 rifle rounds, 60 shotgun rounds, and 45 revolver rounds (An increase from the original Last Light to be sure where you could only carry half that on Ranger modes). I personally really still prefer the original game because of this, even though its not as visually impressive and doesn't have the level extensions that Redux adds to flesh out some of the shorter sections of the game.
TL;DR in the OG version of 2033 you got a flat damage buff and no max ammo. In Redux only NPCs get a flat damage buff, you only get a headshot damage buff and your max ammo is heavily restricted. OG is arguably harder, but it's fairer.
This 3 games and the stalker series is i dont know why, is just so freakin special for me, and i cant even describe why. The atmoshpere is just so freakin on another level, thats why i think i played these games like 3-4 times each. And i really cant wait for STALKER 2, i have so much hope for that game, and if its gonna be a let down, i will be broken.
I was disappointed to hear that Stalker 2 was gonna use those baloney NFTs. But the backlash from the fans must've been big because the devs announced that Stalker 2 won't have them now.
I really Stalker 2 is great and not another massive disappointment or broken mess like most AAA games now.
Holy Shit. Over an hour long video on Metro 2033. I've never been this early in my life.
My Christmas present to you
The quality and volume of your work output is astonishing. You and Grimbeard are two of my favourite channels in gaming.
Making me wanna re-download the game, played both versions, game's a hidden gem - just throw it on one night and didn't put it down, to find out, there where to more whole freaking games! Safe to say, it was a good weekend. And an even better re-visit.
Hell yeah! 2033 grabbed me from the start. As soon as it released, I was knee deep in it. I've been hooked on the series since.
haven't seen this elsewhere but the classic version of metro 2033 is still available in steam, and from time to time they give out free copies for keeping. That's how I got into the series.
I love how when you have the lighter out, the flame will point towards the direction you’re supposed to go. Such a cool detail that came in handy a lot.
I played this back on the 360 and it blew me away. I'm so glad it's getting the love it deserves.
Its weird, this whole video feels squished some how. Still, really happy you've moved into reviewing one of my favorite series of FPS/Sneaky games!
I think he recorded the game play with a weird fov?
@@solutionless123 Seems like its in forced 4:3 as opposed to 16:9. Hmm...
Might have been ultrawide compressed into 16:9?
@@ForgedHorizons Could be. It does seem like an aspect ratio thing for sure.
My bet is he’s recoded in ultra wide. Can’t wait for Exodus though!
When i was facing the horrors in the Metro i wanted to desperately head to the surface........and when i was on the surface i wanted to desperately get back into the Metro!
Not many games have done that to me.
Thank you for the video Avalanche.
Ranger mode is a fun challenge except the part (at least on the PS4) where you have to do QTE and the button prompts don’t show up on the screen. That part is rough unless you know the buttons to push or just hit everything till it works
@StrawHalo how tf is metro unfinished?
D6 is real. I wathed a doc on it a few years back. It was built parallel to the civil metro. The whole country can be run out of it in the event of nuclear annihilation. There's even been RUclipsrs black bagged doin those urban exploration vids in abandoned parts of the metro.
Played the first game, loved it. But I gotta clear some of my backlog before I jump back into the series. Anyways, loving this series of videos; keep up the good work!
Ah I am so happy you are starting this series, they are my absolute favorite games.
I love the Metro series.
Exodus has one of the best narrative and character driven story ever and I am not ashamed to admit it's good ending made me misty eyed.
I wasn't totally sure if I had the good ending or not so at the very end, I was like "Ok, oh god oh god..he just said XYZ, that means I got the good ending right?" Hoping that the worst didn't happen hahaha, PHEW, I made it though
Finally! So few creators cover this series. Very strange. It's fairly linear, tight and up the front, with full English language support etc. Don't know why it's not as commonly covered as new Fallouts.
Love the series. Main reason for upgrading my gfx card is playing RT Exodus, 2K 60 without DLSS or any other tricks and scaling.
I have a high expectation from stalker 2 after seeing how many people care about it even after more than 10 years
Let's hope they don't let us down.....although i fear they will.
@@AvalancheReviews Luckily Stalker has a huge modding community, so even if they let us down the modders will do wonderful things for it.
@@pastichiorocker my thoughts exactly
I LOVE this recent run of reviews. Thanks for putting this together, Avalanche! You're killing it.
My pleasure
My favorite FPS, not only does it succeed in what it wants to be as an experience but goes beyond, having tight design and a narrative with an actual message, something usually missing from the FPS genre, and a unique one in fiction at that
This game kicks my ass. I don't feel like it gives me enough tools to alleviate my suffering as Stalker does, but I think that's part of it's charm. I can't wait for your Stalker 2 review man.
I have played 2033 so much on ranger hardcore that playing it with hud is jarring and confusing to me.
Holy shit I never realized there was a redux of metro 2033, in fact when I play metro 2033 I have the OG one and I still fucking love it. Still get caught off guard by millers voice character from 2033 being the same as Pavels voice actor from last light.
This is a wonderful game series enthralled me from the word go seeing those grimy Soviet Metro tunnels with the grit the Slime and the mushrooms
And the impenetrable blackness
Still to this day I have played anything quite like the Metro series
It is something really special.
Honestly man, I was randomly recommended your full stalker retrospective the other day, and I didn’t think I would love your videos as much as I do. I’ve gone through the dead space, RE, and stalker retrospective. Keep up the AMAZING work man, your stuff hits the perfect niche I have for RUclips videos.
So weird I've never played any games like metro or stalker before, but I've been eyeballing them recently and it seems like they're in the wind for a lot of new players right now, huh
Both are easy series to miss honestly. They're a little niche, even though they're both first person shooters. I hope you're right. It'd be nice if these 2 franchises got a few more fans.
If you can get stalker to work (a challenge in modern pcs) it it's an amazing (yet somewhat buggy) experience, you can get some mods to make it harder or make it way better and inmersive, good luck in the zone
I saw this video, stopped it, used your link to buy all three games, played them, and now I am back. What a journey... Absolutely loved the series and can't believe I didn't play them when they were new.
It is really hard for me to choose between Stalker and Metro as my favorite eastern europe apocalyptical shooter but metro exodus damn well made me cry at the end with the story.
11:01 Ahhh the Tihar my personal favorite metro weapon of all time: stealth (and somewhat loud) capable, available/cheap ammo and pure post-apoc improv aesthetic, good taste Avalanche
_"Dear Muscovites and guests to our capital! The Moscow Metro is a form of transportation which involves a heightened level of danger."_ -- A notice in the metro
This franchise will always be one of the GOAT. Thanks so much for covering this amazing game AR!! Metro 2033 Redux was definitely my childhood for sure 🚇
One of my favourite games. Wasn't the best or most polished, but it just had so much charm and character
One of my favorite jump scares in Metro 2033 is in the train tunnel when you're asked to touch the pipes to heard the sounds of the dead, if you hold on too long a spirit attacks you.
There is a 3rd game that was released a few years ago, and is even better. Its more open-world and allows you to explore the surface a lot more, but it also introduces new enemies & factions and is still oozing with atmosphere. The game is Metro: Exodus.
And it's amazing!
The outdoor areas really would have benefited from something like ALife, but that's just me wanting more Stalker.
If you want another Far Cry, sure
@@truejungian except it doesn't play like far cry.
@@ApexHydra- I wouldn’t say it’s another far cry, but tbh I think the games identity suffers a lot. Replacing the Station sections with the train sections makes it feel more of a personal story, but you lose so much world building. Making the surface a mostly easily explorable place removes a lot of the mistique of the surface. There was also a lot less anomalies and supernatural elements throughout, and the supernatural elements are very important to the universe of metro. But the anomalies by the train yard was amazing I wish there was more of that. I loved the game, thought it was fantastic. But I’d be lying if I said a lot of elements felt a bit derivative to a lot of other recent games, and a lot of that comes to leaving the metro. The Metro is easily one of the most unique and creative game worlds out there, and easily one of the most immersive and motivating. I mourn to one day return to the metro, perhaps taking a 2034 route (the book) and going with a new protagonist and let arytom have a rest
When I built my first gaming PC back in 2017, Metro 2033 Redux was the first game I played on it. Looking back, it was the perfect game to start with. I remember turning off the lights with my headphones on and just immersed myself in the world.
Great video as always Avalanche!
Awesome to see you cover this amazing series, heads up, this series just keeps getting better, especially with dlc by exodus
I only played the original and I was wondering for the first half of your commentary like i remember the game looking a lot better esp lighting.
Nice coverage of a awesome game
Yes!!!! I knew you would start this eventually. Amazing game series
I think I know which scenes you're referring to when mentioning frustrating circumstances with mutants. I'm pretty sure the Defense level is one and the quick bastards popping out of holes in the ground when you have the kid on your shoulders is another.
Another great video on the heels of your Stalker retrospective! I recommend anyone interested in the books, but not so much the reading part, check out the complete series on Audible! They're actually really well-read and acted out with voice actors that almost sound like they were from the game. I listened to the whole trilogy and recommend it whole-heartedly!
It's nice finally seeing someone else other than DF put some frametime graphs in their videos. If i had any help in that, it's more than enough just seeing it in a vid.
Spoilers: I honestly prefer 2033's book ending. The idea that Artyom understood the Dark Ones when it was too late is more powerful to me than him just being doubtful at the end.
so glad to see more creators giving the stalker series younger brother some much needed appreciation. The Original first 2 metro games are some of the absolute most immersive games I've ever played and are the definition of atmosphere when it comes to in game world building. Awesome franchise!
Hell yeah looking forward to watching the review. Definitely worth the short stream so we got this big boy today
Wanna know a secret? I edited this video from the very second I stopped streaming till about 11am today. Just barely got it out.
@@AvalancheReviews Damn man that's crazy. Big respect to you
I recently played redux and not gonna lie these games are truly underrated. These games are so unique and creative. Theres really nothing else like it
Metro is, barring Halo, my favorite 1st person shooter series of all time, and my favorite Post Apocalyptic game of all time on top of that. I hold it in higher regard than Fallout, Half-Life, and even Stalker. There's just something about the unbelievably immersive world and well-written characters combined with an atmosphere so thick you need a saw to cut through it.
And I've been waiting forever for someone to give it the in-depth look it deserves.
I have to say, at least in first two games, Metro offers such a sad and scary perspective on a post-apocalypse itself, unique even, in a way. Especially with those paranormal elements and glimpses in a past, creates almost a primal experience of rediscovering the world. While at some point humanity were sole rulers of Earth, tamed and explained nature and everything (mostly) made sense... and then boom, we're back in a caves, like some cavemen tribes carefully walking this new world, facing the unexplainable things yet again. All that with an environment so hostile, that the chance of mankind survival seems to be very faint. Other post-apocalyptic games or media didn't induce this kind of feeling at all (I don't claim I discovered all of them tho).
Sadly, as much as I liked Exodus, it did ruin this feel and brought back "life (including mankind) _will_ prevail" kind of optimism
@@LeonserGT I know what you mean. Exodus kind of removed that bleakness when it was revealed there was life beyond the Metro. There was something existentially terrifying in overhearing conversations between the Rangers and even other station dwellers about how, one by one, over the course of a few years every other city in Russia went radio silent. It made Moscow out to be the last place on Earth with humans left alive.
Still, I enjoy Exodus for its characters and story, even if the shooting is a bit wonkier than its predecessors. Besides, there's always the chance we could return to the Metro once more in future installments.
@@Xaxp well, they did bring us back in Two Colonels DLC, and overall, Novosibirsk level basically redeemed entire game's atmosphere for me, such a bleak and eerie place
Avalanche covering the Metro games? Let's gooooo!
this game was the FPS savior back in 2010s when everything were bootlegs of COD
Totally agree. It did something very different and luckily, people were more than happy to get on board with it.
metro 2033 was one of the best survival horror games released that gen.
Ahh love metro. The audio book narrated by Rupert dagos is just phenomenal. It's here on RUclips. Highly recommend listening to it. Really fleshes the game out.
Exodus was really good too but 2034 is my favourite. (edit) Last light.
haven't even watched the video yet, but I absolutely love this game. Playing it through on Ranger difficulty is one of my most treasured videogame accomplishments. I also highly recommend the book!
I love the shit out of this game. Rented it from Rogers (time flies huh?) and loved it as a kid and rented twice after. Bought it after I just couldn’t put it down. A masterpiece of a game.
I rented from blockbusters. Good Times!
it warms my heart seeing people play this game and making videos about it. I only started playing the games a few years ago myself, but I can easily say the series is one of my favorite.
This game in on mega sale, so if you were considering getting it, now is the time to grab it.
af.gog.com/game/metro_2033_redux?as=1672895661
You can buy the remasterd version on Switch, PS4, and Xbox One too.
The Switch release in particular was pretty cool as there aren't many great M rated FPS games on it, especially exclusives.
Bro I'm all for playing things in ultra wide but, that aspect ratio? Come on dude.. it's not okay when it's squished it's not okay when it's stretched, okay it's a little bit better when it stretched cuz fat people are gross but that's just the American in me ofiscating reality, the camera operator in me says fix your fucking aspect ratio.. and you're at least one of the better ones at this so I'm kind of surprised.
if you actually have the option I would recommend you to try playing it in 3D, I do own the original and didnt actually play the redux in 3D, but the original was definitely awesome that way, dont think the redux will be inferior
I purchased the original copy of Metro 2033 via G2A.
Jared if I remember right, you have a PS5. I sadly still don't. I know this is about the first Metro. But can you confirm if Exodus got a performance patch? I heard 4A was going to add some 4K, 60fps+, and maybe RTX for the vanilla PS4 game when put in a PS5. I know the PC Master Race can do this already. But sadly I'm not part of that right now. 😢
This was really good. Subbed.
Great novel, great game. It's funny that the games really veered away from following in books after this. In spite of that, I actually prefer the games story to the books after the 1st entry. I'm not a fan of dbag Artium in the Metro 2035 novel.
I liked Last Light's story more than 2035. Although, I liked the arc that dealt with a disease breaking out in the metro. I think that was the second book anyways. I think I like 2036's story more than Exodus though.
@@AvalancheReviews oh I got them mixed up. I was talking about Exodus vs the novel. I don't think Artium is even in the 2nd novel.
You've honestly unlocked a memory of me reading one of the very few books I was interested in, in my lifetime and that was The Road. There's a reason I've liked this channel and that's because he's just as much of a fan of apocalypse narratives as I am.
@douchey belushi I agree, truly it was one of the inspirations that got me into post-apocalyptic narratives lol
The road was a hidden gem too
Thanks for opening me up to this series Jared. I just bought all three on a steam sale last week. I’ve already finished 2033 and Last Light, I loved them both. I’m gonna go back to the DLC but I’m onto Exodus now and it is amazing. I haven’t been this into a game world in a very long time.
I see you stretched it barely past 10 mins for more ads huh?
Just a little past the 10 min mark.
I played the original 2033 that was collecting dust in my steam library few months ago and the game still felt like it aged really well thanks to its art style and atmosphere.
If you pretended that Metro takes place 50 or so years after Stalker it totally works. Instead of a nuclear war the zone just expanded and expanded.
Played Exodus and absolutely loved it, bought the redux versions of last light and 2033. And the trend continued, my love of the series grew. I’ve played all the games three times. The first time just checking things out, the second time was to play in the correct order and the third time for the trophies though I’m yet to get Exodus due to lost data on my old PlayStation I’m still holding out hope I can get even if it’s in safe mode.
Started playing these a while back. I bought the book on Kindle and read it while I was riding the subway to work every day.
Definitely one of the best “analog” games there is. Every piece of gear needing to be maintained and so deliberate in its use really makes you covet and treasure what they do for you
About to play the OG 2033 on Ranger Hardcore again after 10 years, wish me luck with the jank!
I can't wait for his metro Exodus review
The Stalker reviews made me want to pick Metro Exodus up and finish off the franchise after beating the first two years back. Did not disappoint and look forward to seeing you review that (and parasite eve I've seen the streams and have been hoping that's coming down the pipeline 🤞🤞) but I'm so stoked to see this review and whatever comes next!
I'm reading the audiobook right now because of this review. I started it a few years back and liked it a lot but had to drop it because of external circumstances. I'm loving it this read through. It's got such atmosphere and the narration really makes you feel like you're there by the fire sharing ghost stories from the metro while drinking mushroom tea.
I've been following your vids for a few years now and you cover the vast majority of games i like.
And when you covered all the Stalker games i just KNEW you were going to cover these too, I am almost sad when i check to see how much video footage is left and it's near the end.
great videos my friend, i look forward to the next one covering Last light.
1:15:10 , I’ll say that the best console port is actually the Xbox S/X versions, as it add auto HDR, making the lighting better, and the FPS boost makes the game run at a capped 120 fps. This goes for Last Light as well.
First you spoil me with Stalker, now Metro?! Loving the reviews so far, very entertaining.
Bro, your channel is so fucking under rated, it's impossible to think a guy with a subscriber count that sits barely above 100k can pump out feature length videos that are so relaxing and awesome to listen / watch. I hate it when you excuse yourself on keeping them so long, but that's the fucking charm, i love it and chances are, your greater part of the audience does as well. For the longest of time i though only Nick930 did this kind of feature length video reviews, so glad i was wrong. In a world where people grow all the more grotesquely short in their attention span, keep pushing for this kind of stuff, the right people will slowly trickle in :D
Much love and keep em coming!! ( PS - I know this video is quite a few months old by now but still )
I was really disappointed with Polis. It's huge, but you immediately get pushed into a small room and never get to explore it like the other stations.
Dude yes you’re finally covering one of my favorite FPS series of all time. I can’t wait to see you cover Metro Exodus
I love that you still said Stalkers welcome to the metro as if you knew everyone from the Stalker videos would watch metro though it is honestly true of course
my man takls about stalker... then about metro 2033...brilliant work :D
It was the next logical direction to take...... At least in my mind it was.
Just replayed the redux and it is still mad fun and atmospheric as hell
Welp seems the time to polish up on apoclypse training i guess
I'm glad this isn't some kind of takedown, I was a bit worried by the seemingly spicy nature of the video title.
I never really liked these games that much, but I can appreciate what they do.
No, I could never criticize Metro...... too much. I love the series!
I completely agree with you on not understanding the apparent distain for "linear" games. So many open worlds feel completely unnecessary, and lacking life. I would rather have great and well planned segments most of the time, even if that's what happens every time.
Something I just realized is that the world of Metro is basically a giant sewer level, and yet it's actually interesting and fun to explore. Now THAT is an achievement.
NEVER hold a revolver like that
There’s nothing quite like having no UI, being knee deep in nosalises with a dim flashlight, and you notice that the belt magazine in your abatz has five shells left. True horror.
Also I’ve found a fun way to play 2033 and last light are to sell your weapon/ weapons each time you go to a station and try to find the best one out there for the scenario
Metro 2033 on my xbox 360 was my first true survival horror/Post-Apocalyptic game from Eastern Europe and it was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. Now years later Stalker appeals more to me but that's only because I spend nearly a decade playing and replaying all versions of Metro. The originals on xbox, Redux on PC, and Exodus enhanced edition. After I beat 2033 the first time I immediately bought the novel and while different it scratched the same itch just as fine. One of my favorite franchises in one of my favorite subgenres.
There's no greater joy in life than meeting another person in the wild who likes the Metro games
This video came out on my b day so that is a really nice surprise since i would be considered a veteran of the series by now (maybe for 2033 and ll, we do not talk about the third one...). You made some nice points my dude
Never once had this crash on me with high settings
The issue you had with crashing reminded me of when I first played Warhammer Vermintide II, if you disabled the intro cutscene that played when booting up the game then the entire game would crash and never fully boot up.
Your analisys on Stalker made me buy Roadside Picnic
YES! Such a good read!!!
Amazing video on this game. For me the magic was that I read the book before I played the game. I read it and basically had this vision in my head to how everything looks down there. Then I played the game and it more or less confirmed this. Just amazing.
Great video! One small note, the original metro 2033 was not released on the PS3. It was only released on Xbox 360.
I remember this because i was pissed about not getting it, because i didn't have an Xbox at the time lol
"Ammo will be scare..." and there is me finishing 2033 on hardcore with 300+ MGR
This wasn’t even on my radar until I watched this, great coverage Jared!
I played this series some point last year as I had bought exodus and didn't want to miss a single detail and I can confidently say that it all still holds up
This video made me buy the Metro bundle which is only $8.99 for all 3 games and the gold edition for exodus. Ive only played exodus but not the DLC for it. I cant wait to see what the first 2 are like. Exodus was amazing