Journal: Metro 2033 Redux

Game: Metro 2033 Redux

Time played: 4 hours 10 minutes

Genre being explored: Horror Survival FPS

Game Journal 2

The game I chose to play for my second Game Journal was Metro 2033 Redux. I picked this game for many reasons. My first reason was that it was another horror game similar to the game I chose for my first game journal. I wanted to compare the gameplay and design choices between two similarly "labeled" games, while still exploring different style of games. Second it was a readily available solo shooter that I had not tried before, which for me is rare. I play a lot of first person shooters online but not too many by myself so it was a new experience for me.

Metro 2033 Redux is a horror survival shooter set in post-nuclear Russia. The game has you moving through a linear story where you navigate the metro tunnels of Russia or through the ruins of Moscow trying to kill monsters and humans. There are many fun and interesting features that make this game enjoyable. The first interesting feature is the way they introduce the survival aspects. Things like keeping track of how much time you have left on your air filters for your gas mask or how many bullets you have makes the game interesting and brings a strategic element to an otherwise straightforward shooter. 

The most unique survival component in the game is the fact that instead of money or gold as a currency like most video games, this game uses military grade bullets. This makes sense with the survival component of the game and with the plot. Since it is a post-nuclear world overrun with monsters, bullets are a rare commodity, specifically military grade bullets that do more damage and are more effective than the rest of the ammunition in the game. You have to learn how to balance your different ammunition usage without dying, which can become challenging throughout the game especially if you choose one of the harder difficulties.

As a Level Designer I really admired how the encounters and lighting were used to lead the player through this world. Metro Redux is a linear game with a clear story, yet the interactions you have through the level make it seems as you, the player are making the decision of what you do, or more specifically, where you go. For example something the game does when creating this sense of choice is they will give you a big tunnel to traverse, yet as you can see in the photo below the lighting draws your eyes to three spots as you drop down.

Most players will see the bright green lights and the big white light at the end. The player will either choose to either go directly down the tunnel or go to the door on the right. If you go up to the door you realize the door handle is missing and the door can't be opened, which then leads you down towards the rest of the light. What happens is the designers decided to put the glowing light source near the door to give the player the sense of a built out world. The door feels as if it has a purpose and creates a sense of a bigger space even though it is just a simple hallway intend to be transition between one area and the next cutscene trigger.

Metro 2033 Redux is a very fun survival game that uses its fun story and survival mechanics to create an enjoyable game. One thing I haven't talked about too much is the horror aspect. When starting this game I expected this game to have a more of a horror element. Instead the game uses simple jump scares and frightening character models to scare you. The ambience can sometimes become a little frightening in the tunnels, where you are in tight space, creating a claustrophobic feeling. But normally the game relies more on its gameplay to create an enjoyable experience.

When it comes to finding games to compare this to, I would say the gunplay is slightly similar to that of older Call of Duty games. It isn't too complex but you do have options when it comes to weaponry. I also feel that while there isn’t very much horror, the jump scares do remind me little of Alien Isolation’s jump scares. When it comes to survival the game is quite similar to many other survival games such as Rust or Subnautica.

I really enjoyed this game and will probably revisit for another journal in the future as it has many interesting design choices which makes it stand out to me.