Metro: Last Light

A mostly triumphant return to form for this unique series. [July 2013, p.86]

What it inherits from the original are often its greatest strengths. It’s the inconsistencies that do it harm. They’re so close to something truly special here, and I’m confident that 4A Games’ next will be something to behold.

What Metro lacks in pitch-perfect game mechanics, it makes up for with an atmosphere that you can taste.

For excited fans of the year 2033 it is a must, for Slavic games lovers it is a reason to be interested in it. However, not even its superb graphics quality is enough to get over the game's shallow moments along with its thoughtless script that has been cooked with plain water mainly. Although radioactive, plain water still.

Metro: Last Light manages to give shape to the world described in the books bearing the same name beautifully. The claustrophobic and grim atmosphere really come into their own thanks to the great graphics. Unfortunately the immersion is often broken by static npc's, a lack of interactivity and the idiotic artificial intelligence doesn't offer much of a challenge.

Paved with good intentions, this new FPS from 4A Games comes up short in terms of gameplay (mostly because of a poor AI). That's too bad because its atmosphere and story are rich and interesting. It's a good experience if you're able to pace yourself like the game needs you to in order to shine; to help you there, it's also a shame that the "Ranger" difficulty mode has to be purchased as a DLC.

Metro: Last Light is probably the most ambitious and demanding Deep Silver production and, in terms of graphics and visual impact, this sequel has little to envy in other triple A shooters like Crysis 3. The game stands for the beauty of the 4A Engine, for the settings and for some cool horror passages, but in terms of gameplay lacks in too many areas: enemies' AI is poor, the levels are linear and scripted, there's almost no interaction with the game world.

Metro: Last Light is not a bad game, but nor is it a good one in quite the same sense as its predecessor. Metro 2033 was flawed but trying to do its own thing. If anything, Last Light feels like a regression. Similarities abound, but this is a more conservative FPS, one looking at the competition rather than itself, and one with some terrible missteps. So go in with low expectations, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

As a default experience, Metro: Last Light is a good game that forgets why Metro 2033 was a great one.