Metro: Last Light

Metro Last Light manages to create a rich and engaging world that holds onto the player's attention with a vice grip.

This is - at pretty much all times - entertaining, stylish and hugely enjoyable. There are tightly scripted blasts of action one minute, more open, pensive situations the next...There are individual parts of Metro: Last Light that are easily the equal of Bioshock Infinite, and sections that are better than COD. [June 2013, p.95]

Metro: Last Light makes up for the sins of its predecessor, showing a balanced and complete result in all regards. The mixture of stealth and action helps to increase the diversity of possibilities, expanding our gameplay experience. Overall, the most striking feature lies in its artistic aspect, which greatly empowers the storytelling.

For the first time, the Metro franchise arrives at the PS3. It's a cruel and often terrifying experience, with an intriguing story, atmospheric visuals and great gameplay. The AI is questionable at times and there's some bugs to deal with, but other than that, Metro: Last Light is a strong shooter.

Last Light features tighter controls and improved sound design for its arsenal, which now puts the gunplay on par with most triple-A shooters. However, I was more enthralled by the upgraded stealth mechanics.

A solid, true sequel to Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light has some flaws, but they're over-matched by the positives that make Last Light an excellent FPS experience.

I see a missed opportunity with the story, the AI can be iffy, and the game isn’t as stable as one would like. Still, there’s no denying that Last Light is worth your money and your time, particularly because you won’t soon find another game quite like it.

What Metro: Last Light does best is establish and maintain a tone. It is sad. It is hopeless. It is grim. Wonderfully, thought provokingly, and very enjoyably grim.

Even though Metro: Last Light successfully convinces you that you are actually wandering around in a post-apocalyptic Moscow, a number of technical issues do break the carefully constructed illusion from time to time. [June 2013, p.66]

A more coherent and compelling story than the first marred by an occasional lack of direction. [July 2013, p.66]

A really good experience. There’s enough here for fans of action, stealth and survival to enjoy. Though the series seems to have moved on from being scary the majority of the time, it does this progression in a way that feels natural.

A very competent, atmospheric shooter that isn’t solely about blowing shit up. If you’re not afraid of the dark and need a change of pace, a ride with Metro: Last Light might be exactly what you need. [June 2013, p68]

4A Games’ followup to the remarkable Metro 2033 doesn’t quite hit the high watermark of its predecessor. At times the story and experience feel too constricted and too safe in comparison, but 4A eventually hits the perfect balance of action and atmosphere.

Metro: Last Light really benefits from the fictional source material that serves as its inspiration. The game's world is so fantastically detailed and meticulously crafted that you really feel like you're a part of it – and the psychological horror elements put recent Resident Evil games to shame. The AI issues are inexcusable and the plot could certainly be improved, but this is still one stop that you really shouldn’t miss.

Did I mention it has the creepiest spiders since Deadly Creatures? By its very nature of being a sequel, Last Light doesn’t feel as fresh as Metro 2033 did, but there’s still nothing else like it.

Metro: Last Light emerges from the dark underground as an exceedingly enjoyable single-player experience and one of the best games this year. So far.

I would never recommend it to a casual player; but to everyone else searching for a challenging single player first-person game—Metro: Last Light is what you have been waiting for.

Metro: Last Light is a fine shooter, an exciting, fun ride, but it’s not necessarily the Metro game we wanted. We miss 2033’s punishing difficulty and its willingness to experiment, to make you suffer, to pull you down into the mud its characters spent every day in. But for many, Last Light’s changes will simply make the experience less intimidating and more enjoyable, and it’s hard to begrudge the game too hard when it’s still delivering such a fine experience.

If you want a fun first-person shooter that doesn’t remotely rise to the greatness of single player-centric adventures like BioShock but is still fun in its own right, then Last Light may just be for you. Just be prepared to deal with some glaring AI issues and disappointing technical problems.

While Metro: Last Light is host to a number of automated imbalances, the extravagant production value and grand presentation quickly make amends for 4A Games's assorted technical misfires.

There are glimmers - when Metro: Last Light lets you free to investigate on your own accord - where this game feels genuinely compelling. The repetitive nature of the gameplay invariable becomes a pain to push on with, however. Plenty of potential, but far too restrictive.