In 2013 Moscow was ravaged by nuclear war. To escape the toxic air and mutated wildlife now inhabiting Russia, the survivors retreated beneath the earth, settling in the Metro system and using its various stations as makeshift towns. Twenty years later, a young man named Artyom leaves his home to deliver an important message to a neighboring station about mysterious creatures known as the Dark Ones.
Throughout his journey, Artyom is paired with an assortment of traveling companions, nearly all of which die at the end of whatever mission they appear in. As a result, they aren't given much development time and the player never really gets to know or care about them. I quit playing about two-thirds of the way in, and out of the nine people the game had me fight alongside, I could only recall the names of Bourbon and Khan. Artyom's reason for going on his journey wasn't very compelling either. More than once I had to stop and wonder "why am I doing this again? Oh right, something about a promise Artyom made to that one guy (don't remember his name)." I really wanted to take my time, to experience the people, factions, cultures and creatures of the Metro, but I was hurried along, ushered from one station to next without being given time to take in my surroundings. The NPCs all appeared to be identicle looking men wearing the same outfits. In between stations I fought through dark tunnel after dark tunnel; 2033 was released during the industry's "dark and brown = realism" phase. Underground environments like tunnels and caves can be fascinating spaces with unique ecosystems, and in my opinion Metro 2033 didn't do them justice. After a while everything just started to blur together. I couldn't get a sense of place or identity. Even the major factions were hard to tell apart. The only areas that came close to being compelling were the moments on the surface, and those were easy to get lost in.
Metro 2033 is a linear first-person shooter that uses predominately traditional gun types - revolvers, assault rifles, and shotguns plus a few inventive ones, such as the pneumatic crossbow. Artyom can only carry one gun from each class (pistol, automatic and heavy) on his person, in addition to a small assortment of throwing knives and explosives. Ammo is scavenged from the world, with the scarcity of supplies varying based on the difficulty setting. Special pre-war "military grade ammunition" (5.45×39mm) doubles as the Metro's currency for new weapons and modifications at shops.
In addition to his arsenal of weapons, Artyom carries an assortment of non-combat gadgets that tie rather well into the post-apocalyptic setting and resource management mechanics. The most essential item is easily Artyom's gas mask, which is worn during trips to the surface and uses air filters that require replacing approximately every five minutes. There is also a universal charger that is hand cranked to power Artyom's headlamp and night vision goggles. I somehow went most of the game without ever knowing this was a thing. In my defense, Metro 2033 doesn't really bother to explain most of its mechanics, and there are a number of design inconsistencies that make it hard to tell when something is glitching versus acting as intended. I recall this one section where Artyom was being guided by an NPC, the two of them reached a wall of webbing inside of a train and stopped. Up to this point the NPC had been telling me when to stop, when to move, what to do, and I had no choice but to follow his instruction. After a few minutes of the NPC standing silently in front of the webbing wall, I reloaded the level thinking the game had glitched. Turns out I was meant to burn the spider webs with my lighter, the lighter I never knew I had. Up to this point I had encountered my fair share of spider webbing and had been able to walk right through it every time. The train was the first and only instance where I had to burn the webs.
The combat itself is pretty simple and repetitive; every type of mutant charges the player head on, while human enemies either take cover or stand out in the open. Enemies also happen to be bullet sponges, at least on certain difficulty settings, while the player is not. The hit detection is pretty bad too. I could shoot a nosalis mutant in the head at point blank range with a shotgun and there would be no indication if the hit landed. Some mutants would go down with a single shot to the head while others took 4+ hits. In some areas it may be possible to sneak past hostiles by crouching and avoiding or putting out lights. The player can also choose to silently kill or knock out individuals. The choice ultimately doesn't matter because bodies are not noticed by the NPCs and there is no chance of the comatose person waking up. If the player does happen to alert a guard, every guard in the area becomes alerted and knows precisely where the player is located. The problem is made worse by the game's level design, which is not well suited for stealth, lacking in alternative routes and/or having very little cover.
On a number of occasions I couldn't tell where I was suppose to go within a level, especially in the more open areas, like my first trip to the surface. I was having to duck in and out of cover to avoid flying mutants that could one-hit kill Artyom. Not that hiding helped, seeing as they could grab me through walls and ceilings. Having to constantly dip into cover in a game without destination markers, combined with the added blood spatter on the screen to indicate low health, made it difficult to get my bearings in a landscape filled with clutter. The "Outpost" mission in chapter four was especially arduous. I had a clear route to the roof, but no indication of where to go after that. After some research I discovered the player is meant to climb back down the building and find a somewhat hidden staircase. This then leads to an open stretch of land filled with those flying enemies and a small army of humans. To make matters worse, the auto-save only checkpoint system used by Metro, last saved just before I reached the roof. So every time I died I had to travel back to the tiny outpost on the roof and re-watch a cut-scene of a cassette being played. Then I had to travel down the building and either fight or sneak my way past all the enemies. Manual saves really should have been included! I understand the reason why they were omitted, to prevent save scumming, but the checkpoint system is just too unreliable. Other times my inability to understand what the game expected of me came down to NPCs verbally giving instructions, and either because of multiple characters talking over each other or background noises drowning out the dialogue, I couldn't hear what was being said. This was the case for the mission "Cursed", in which an endless wave of enemies attacks a station until the tunnel is collapsed with explosives.
Lastly, I have got to mention the invisible karma meter. The meter determines which ending you get - "Enlightened" (good) or "Ranger" (bad/cannon), based on your actions throughout the game, and 2033 has got one of the jankiest morality systems I've seen in a game. Whether the player kills or spares opponents has no bearing on the morality system at all. Instead, points are awarded for things like listening to conversations or noises in a pipe, which I've seen some people argue is inline with the good ending's focus on curiosity and information gathering. But if that were the case, then why award points for playing the guitar or giving bullets to beggars? I gotta say though, I was glad the player wasn't punished for killing. Too many games do that now and it was refreshing to not be told what a terrible person you were for taking out armed hostiles.
I haven't read any of the Metro books, so I can only judge the game based on it's own merits. 2033 has got a retro feel of levels that were created first and then vague story elements were introduced to tie them all together; very cut and dry, and not terribly deep. Where I saw a copy-pasted world of browns and greys, others experienced a "must play atmospheric world". Where I encountered bad AI and level design, others experienced "masterfully crafted gameplay that forces you to pace yourself". With most popular video games I find disappointing, like Breath of the Wild or Trails of Cold Steel, I can at least understand why someone would enjoy playing it, but I cant say that here. What the developers accomplished is impressive considering their small size and working conditions, but the disproportionately positive reception 2033 gets compared to its actual quality makes me wonder if I've missed something.
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