Metro Awakening VR

Metro Awakening is a full-scale, thrill-packed adventure that surprisingly successfully recreates the world from the books and the “big” games in the series, adding a VR twist to it. Such high quality is a rarity among games for virtual reality headsets.

Superbly immersive and packed full of action and chills, Metro Awakening is by far the best PSVR 2 game this year and should be in the top ten of all PS5 games of 2024.

We’re sorry that we ever doubted that Vertigo could pull off a Metro VR game. The Dutch devs have masterfully captured the essence of this cult series, and amplified its best traits with myriad VR specific mechanics. While we had some issues with its story and would have liked a tad more setting variety, its highs are so high we’d happily go through it all again. With the visuals, the atmosphere, and the controls all melting into the experience, Metro Awakening is easily one of the most immersive VR games we’ve ever played.

Metro Awakening is one of the best virtual reality video games of recent times, making use of a sensational setting - as terrifying as it is overwhelming - and a more than striking staging. Its development can sometimes be repetitive and monotonous, although the survival mechanics and weapon manipulation do the rest, despite feeling somewhat less precise than in other similar FPS. A great addition to an already successful saga that finds in VR a new space in which to expand its universe and that any shooter fan should experience.

Metro Awakening VR is one of the best survival horror game experiences available on any VR headset, with thrilling scares and strong survival mechanics all tied together with an immersive and rich atmosphere. Even though the story loses steam before the end and stealth combat fails to impress, the rest of its best parts make for an unmissable game for any horror fans with a VR headset laying around.

The intensity of the Metro franchise meets the strengths of Arizona Sunshine to create an intense and well-crafted shooter.

Metro Awakening is a VR outing that does the Metro series proud. With a story and setting that adds further depth to Dmitry Glukhovsky's magnum opus, incredible visual and sound design, and a wealth of mechanics that represent the Metro staples, this title is a tense, gripping and action-packed blast for VR fanatics. It is a title that focuses a little too much on the survival aspects, meaning the horror is less affecting, and the core gunplay is far from the best the medium has ever produced. But all in all, Metro Awakening is a seminal VR hit that proves that VR is far from a dying fad, and still has a wealth of intriguing experiences to offer.

Metro Awakening VR is an ambitious effort. Aside from the mura issue, which is PSVR 2 specific, the only other blemish is a restart bug. Whenever I died and the game restarted, it would often crash. Hopefully, this is a bug that can be quickly fixed with a patch. Aside from the PSVR 2 mura issue, this is a top-notch game that should not only appeal to VR Gamers but fans of the Metro series. The game has 12 chapters and each chapter should take you about an hour to play. That is if the mutants and spiders don’t creep you out and force you to rip off your headset.

Metro Awakening is a great virtual reality game. Immersive, interesting, challenging and faithful to the Metro universe. However, its pace is a bit slow, the story takes a while to get going and some moments, because they are "too realistic", can end up being stressful for the player.

Quotation forthcoming.

Metro Awakening is one of the best games made for the PS VR2 in terms of optimization, solidity, and as a port of a traditional franchise. We consider it a must-buy for anyone who owns the headset.

Metro Awakening is another good entry in the outstanding Metro series, though at times it feels like more of a side quest than a main entry. Still, the graphics are gorgeous, the metro underground is equal parts fun and creepy to explore in VR, and the game makes great use of VR to bring the world to life and really immerse the player. Despite a few minor issues, Awakening is a great VR experience and well worth picking up, especially if you are a fan of the series.

After a long time, Metro Awakening is finally another reason to take the VR headset out of the shelf, dust it off and play something. It's a game you'll enjoy thanks to its very good atmosphere and decent story, but it has a rather rambling narrative that's hard to follow at times.

"Metro in VR" with all the goodness that implies, and a great deal of respect and reverence for the original works. Just watch out for the spiders.

The atmosphere of Metro Awakening is extraordinary, skilfully realised thanks to an absolutely fine setting and great care for tension. The linearity of the path and a certain repetitiveness of generally already seen mechanics risk trivialising the whole thing, also in the light of the not exactly low price. If you are able to turn a blind eye, however, you will be rewarded by a plot worth experiencing, especially if you love the dystopia created by Dmitry Glukhovsky.

If you have a PlayStation VR2 sitting around collecting dust, now is the time to get it out. Metro Awakening is going to remind you why it's so special and, above all, different to play with one of these headsets and its futuristic controls. Vertigo Games played it safe with tried-and-true elements from any VR FPS, but it knew how to intrigue in a great way what makes the saga it's representing so special and beloved with a completely new title that adds to its intricate lore. Now, I couldn't tell you that this game is a reason to run out and buy Sony's device, but it is one that contributes to the small offer of titles it has, not to mention that we're talking about a new Metro, something that hasn't happened since 2019 with the sensational Metro Exodus.

Metro Awakening is a solid VR title and a fantastic addition to the Metro series. As a fan of both the Metro books and games, being immersed in the world so completely was always an exciting prospect, and Vertigo did not disappoint. The Arizona Sunshine dev has created a highly detailed and almost palpable VR version of Glukhovsky’s doomed transit-system-come-fallout-shelter that is as compelling as it is terrifying. If you’re hankering for more Metro or simply looking for your next PSVR2 fix I can heartily recommend Metro Awakening.

This Metro adaptation for virtual reality impresses thanks to its immersive atmosphere, good controls and high level of immersion. Although the game does become a bit predictable in the long run, reducing the tension a bit. In addition, the story gets off to a rather slow start, but once it gets up to speed it manages to keep you entertained until the end. A decent PlayStation VR2 game, is the short conclusion.

The idea of bringing the universe of the classic Metro series into a virtual reality adaptation is truly intriguing, and Metro Awakening successfully recreates its signature atmosphere of dread and fear of the unknown. This is particularly well-executed thanks to an intuitive control system and user interface that fully immerse players in the game’s post-apocalyptic world. However, a major drawback lies in the repetitiveness of scenarios and environments, which is further exacerbated by the overly long duration of the experience. The final sections, in particular, could have benefited from being more streamlined. That said, despite its various flaws, the game remains an enjoyable experience, especially if you’re a fan of the franchise and eager to dust off your VR headset (especially the PS VR2) after it has likely been sitting unused for a while.

Overall, I think Metro Awakening VR is a worthy VR experience and a good Metro game, but it is not particularly groundbreaking on either front. I am thrilled to see more mainstream AAA titles getting VR releases that are more than just tacked-on afterthoughts. The quality that Metro Awakening manages to display is more than enough to justify other developers looking into making similar games and perhaps even a low-risk way to revive some other dormant franchises in VR (Resistance, please, I’m begging you). I hope to see more of this type of VR title in the future and am happy to see the medium continue to move forward.

Vertigo Games have perfectly captured the essence of a Metro game with Metro Awakening. The more humble yet engrossing story telling is met with some painfully slow moments that bog down what is otherwise a great shooter set in Russia's nuclear fallout.

Despite being rooted in a valuable gaming system, supported by a convincing technical sector, Metro Awakening struggles to maintain its initial momentum among the numerous stages of an adventure that, in the absence of noteworthy variations, is longer than it should be and - especially in the final hours - rather repetitive. Vertigo Games has done a good job in adapting the atmosphere and characters of 4A Games' post-apocalypse to the interactive framework of virtual reality, but without managing to compose a fully balanced and satisfying offer. Metro Awakening remains a worthy product, but it struggles to compete with the best experiences on PSVR2.

Metro Awakening is a capable, haunting jaunt through the familiar, post-nuclear world beneath Moscow I’ve grown to love. It cleverly harnesses VR to emulate the scrappy, resourcefulness of the underground, however its combat is a bit of a slog and struggles to find the fun, leading to a somewhat disjointed campaign.

Metro Awakening is an admirable attempt at translating the post-apocalyptic shooter series into virtual reality, and at its best is a poignantly atmospheric marvel with great controls and an unrivalled sense of place. Yet it is also held back by poor checkpoints and combat, which quickly falls into a repetitive game of cat and mouse between very stupid enemies. It learns all the right lessons from masterpieces like Half-Life: Alyx without introducing enough new innovations of its own, and because of that, it suffers.

The graphics are spectacular, the gameplay smooth and the world interesting, but there's still something off about it. The dark and gloomy gameplay experience quickly takes its toll, especially when physical nausea is present throughout.

For every great things that Metro Awakening does, it unfortunately also does something less great that nullifies it. Punchy action and an eye for detail add to the immersion that every Metro fan has been dreaming of for decades, but less than stellar graphical performance on the Quest 3, repetitive environments, and possible control/inventory issues can wear a player out faster than a shroom-infested tunnel full of 'hard-to-kill' nuclear spiders. No really, if anyone could tell me how to kill them, that would be great...

Quotation forthcoming.

Metro Awakening VR delivers some terrifying moments in its deep, thought-provoking story, but after a strong start, repetitive levels and pacing issues kill most of its momentum.

While Metro: Awakening delivers an immersive VR experience with innovative controls and atmospheric environments, technical shortcomings in graphics and sound design prevent it from reaching its full potential, especially when it comes to the realization of the fascinating world of the novels.

There's a good VR game in Metro Awakening at times, but it feels pulled between its pleasing core combat and narrative ambitions it lacks the gameplay vocabulary to fully articulate. The lack of overall variety, and increased leaning on expositional filling over time, means that while it starts strong its impact fades with continued play.