Gas Mask Air
Microsoft today revealed a brand new game in the Metro series, based off of the popular series of Russian novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky. The new game, titled Metro Exodus, was announced at Microsoft’s E3 2017 press conference with a reveal trailer, revealing a few early details. We’ll break down everything we saw in the reveal trailer, and what you can expect from Metro Exodus. Currently, the title is scheduled for a release sometime in 2018 and will have support on the newly-announced Xbox One X. Metro Exodus will, however, also be coming to PS4 and PC.
This may not be much of a surprise, but resources like air for your gas mask still play a big role in Metro Exodus. Previous games in the series have you budgeting your air, and while it wasn’t ever incredibly hard to find new canisters, you still had to keep an eye on it. The beginning of the trailer shows the character, Artyom, looking at his watch, which is counting down from one minute for the remaining air. Clearly, at least while you’re in the Metro, you’ll need to be scavenging and looking for as many supplies as you can.
Scavenging for Ammo
Keeping with the scavenging themes of the series, the trailer for Metro Exodus shows that ammo will be just as scarce as ever. While exploring a blown out van, Artyom picks up a new clip for his rifle from a dead body and uses it to fire at a few enemies. In previous games, ammo functioned as both your main weapon and currency in the world, forcing you to make a choice on how you want to use it. We don’t know yet if this feature will return for Metro Exodus, but it does seem that ammo won’t be in plentiful supply this time either.
The Metro is as Dangerous as Ever
After exploring the Metro for a couple short minutes, Artyom runs smack dab into a pack of giant mutated rats. These are terrifying enemies that leap on him ferociously, forcing Artyom to run for his life instead of face the enemies down. The dark tunnels are as desolate as the other games, littered with random items and destruction.
Previous Metro games had you facing down some fearsome enemies, and survival wasn’t easy as the title could be punishingly difficult. Hopefully, this brief look at gameplay from Metro Exodus suggests it’s going to be very much the same way.
Clean Air and Other Humans on the Surface
The big reveal of Exodus’ trailer comes at around the halfway point, when Artyom forces his way out of the Metro tunnels and into the light of day. Previously, wandering onto the surface was a dangerous proposition as it was entirely irradiated and filled with deadly creatures. In Metro Exodus, however, it looks like you’ll be able to journey out to the surface and explore without the limitations of a gas mask.
It’s not quite clear how the outside world is safer at this point, although it could tie into the good ending of Metro: Last Light. In that ending, after finding out the truth about the Dark Ones, Artyom is seen in a field with them, and told things will be better if they go away. At this point, if the Dark Ones have vanished, they could have somehow salvaged something to make the environment livable for human life.
Another thing we see at the tail end of the trailer is that it’s not just Artyom exploring the wilderness of Russia. At the end, he’s saved by a mysterious woman aboard a train, rigged up with barbed wire and other defenses, suggesting that it could be a group or organization traveling aboard it. We’ll certainly find out more about the state of the world as more is revealed about Metro Exodus.
Binoculars and Map System
When Artyom makes his way out of the Metro, there’s two important pieces we see. First off, he pulls out a detailed map on a clipboard, which also has a compass and a few other instruments. Of course, this isn’t something new to the series as the clipboard has always functioned as an immersive way to look at the map and make your way to your next objective. However, it looks much more detailed in Metro Exodus, as the map has geography and locations marked on it. After that, Arytom pulls out a pair of binoculars to look into the distance and scout out the land, before he starts making his way to the train yard. No doubt these, and other instruments, will be of vital importance while out exploring the wilderness.
Alternate Ammo Types, Picking Up Crossbow Bolts
Alternate ammo types have always been a part of the Metro games, but it’s good to see that the feature returns in Metro Exodus. Along with that fact, we also see a new weapon added to the game: a deadly crossbow. After taking out the weapon, we see Artyom fire off a crossbow bolt at some kind of irradiated dog, before picking the bolt back up out of the beast’s skull. This could prove to be invaluable in Metro Exodus, as ammo is so scarce, having the ability to pick a bolt back up would really help, and make the crossbow an essential weapon.
On top of this, we also see Artyom pull out some kind of alternate bolt, after changing the shoulder guard length on his weapon. It’s not quite clear what the other type of bolt is doing, but it seems to cause more damage to the beast attacking.
Deadly New Enemies
Dangerous mutated enemies were pretty common to encounter on the surface in other Metro games, but Metro Exodus really ups the ante with its first trailer. After exploring the ruins of a Russian city, Artyom comes face to face with what appears to be an enormous mutated bear. The massive beast charges at him, knocking Artyom flat on his face and causing him to scramble to get away. However, it turns out the bear’s own size gets the better of it as a cliff crumbles beneath its size, giving Artyom the perfect opportunity to get away. It’s hard to say at this point, but perhaps the environment will play a factor in how you deal with different enemy types.
