9 long years have passed since my last gaming session in Metro 2033. After passing in 2010, the first part of the now cult series left strong feelings for itself and gave me unforgettable emotions. In conclusion to my IMHO nine years ago, I recommended Metro 2033 to every gamer for familiarization and passage.

But, it took a long time. I have changed, and most surprisingly, the game changed back in 2014. Let’s check if something has changed after 9 years with Metro: 2033 Redux.

  • Developer: 4A Games
  • Release date: August 28, 2014
  • Publisher in the CIS:  Buka
  • World Publisher: Deep Silver
  • Genre: FPS
  • System requirements:  2.2 GHz or faster dual-core CPU, GeForce GTS 250/ATI Radeon HD4870, 2GB RAM, 10GB HDD
  • HDD
  • Recommended system requirements:  Any quad-core or dual-core CPU with a frequency of at least 3 GHz, GeForce GTX 480/ATI Radeon HD5870, 4GB RAM, 10GB HDD
  • Official site 4A Games

Frankly speaking, for such a long time, I even began to forget how sincere, dear and in some aspects Metro 2033 is the best game in the series.

Most likely, in the near future, I would not replay Metro 2033. But the guys from Epic Games broke out with a September distribution of games in their store and presented Metro: 2033 Redux to all their users. For which special thanks to them.

Thus, I will renew my memories of wandering the labyrinths of the Moscow metro, and newcomers who have never played Metro games will plunge into the gloomy and oppressive atmosphere of dying humanity buried in the metro.

How I went down to the Metro again

After picking up Metro: 2033 Redux from the Epic Games Store, I decided to install it just to test the performance of a demanding game on my current machine.

Launched, climbed into the settings, configured and …

VDNKh, my little shack, and Sukhoi calling me to meet Hunter.

The first Spartan our hero meets:

First encounter with monsters.

A frightened Sukhoi telling Hunter: “Even when you don’t see the Blacks, they are still there.”

Alexander is clearly depressed and devastated, because his soldiers are dying, and he is unable to do anything about it.

And then, in the midst of Sukhoi’s conversation with Hunter, the door behind us swung open and the soldier screamed to alert those in the room about the Blacks attack on the blockhouse.

Half dead, half mad.

Hunter decides to take the risk and try to find out something useful about the growing threat of Black. He asks me to find a certain Miller and, in case of his failure, to tell him about everything that happened at the station and by Hunter himself.

Leaving into the tunnels, without turning around, the Spartan finally told me: “If we want to survive, we must destroy this threat. Destroy it at any cost!”

Memories of the first part flooded over me and instead of going to the desktop, I watched this cut-scene and went to carry out the task of Hunter, who had not returned from reconnaissance. This is how my second trip along the Moscow metro began.

A little bit about that sergeant:

He is

Surprisingly, in terms of graphics, the game did not improve much. It is noticeable that the project is a purely cosmetic remaster. However, this did not allow Metro: 2033 Redux to work normally at ultra settings in Full HD resolution on this configuration:

  • Xeon E5-2643@3400MHz (4 cores, 8 threads. The closest analog of Core i7 2600)
  • 24GB DDR3@1333MHz (3 slots of 8GB in three-channel mode)
  • Sapphire Radeon RX470@1320/1800MHz (4GB GDDR5)

And you know, if back in 2010 I could not play at maximum settings in the original Metro 2033 because of the frankly weak Radeon HD4670, then the situation with the RX470 confused me a little.

And yes, the game runs perfectly on ultra settings, but only with SSAA set to 0.5. But with such parameters, the picture is so soapy that looking at it I slipped and for some time cursed loudly at 4A Games, after which I calmed down, and having set the settings lower, I sat down to play through:

So what am I talking about?

This time I will not describe the plot. Hopefully, you, like me, will not play Metro 2033 for the first time (and I hope after reading you will go to play it). In this blog, I would like to say a few words about the minor characters.

For example, a shuttle from VDNKh rescued after the death tunnel looks extremely cheerful:

Sergeant Grafouni approves. (This is a screenshot from the game, not some mod)

However, why should he be sad when such a girl walks around here:

But beware, some gamers may not be able to see Bourbon sitting behind it due to the girl’s figurine! But this is his first appearance.

Then only Spoilers!

So, guys, there will be spoilers further. Not much, of course, but they will. So, those who haven’t played Metro 2033 (are you out of your mind at all?), Close your browser and go play, and those who have passed the game are welcome to a tiny IMHO about minor characters.

Bourbon

In general, the character turned out to be incredibly colorful and memorable. And so much so that his death still seems one of the most sudden and unexpected (unless, of course, forget about his profession and enemies). Until the end of the trip, I was haunted by the feeling that that was too few Bourbon in the game. His gangster tricks and very authentic criminal jargon made the character unique, and some of the expressions of Bourbon can be remembered to this day.

You can’t even refuse Bourbon, and after a couple of minutes you don’t even regret it.

I realize that he was only a stepping stone in the development of the main character. Bourbon showed Artyom a somewhat “different” metro – slippery, dirty and rotten through and through, in order to then transfer a slightly more experienced young man into the hands of the wise Khan.

Killed and was killed. Not the worst end for a bandit.

One thing pleases me. Before his death, Bourbon gave us a lot of sacred knowledge, one of which will help you in real life: “Don’t eat yellow snow.”

Khan

For all the pompous nature of this character, he does not cause bouts of nausea (like guys similar to him in other games), but on the contrary, he breathes with warmth and kindness. This is precisely what Artyom lacks in the cold and harsh “subway”. At first, Khan really seems to be a strange character, but as you progress through his storyline, you realize that his fate was much worse than yours.

And remember: “Even in such a difficult time, you need to remain human.”

Miller

With whom, in my opinion, everything is ambiguous in the first part, it is with the generalissimo (Ulman knows better). In my opinion, Miller rushes from one extreme to another in each of the Metro games. Here he made many sacrifices to help Artyom. In the following parts, he will either hesitate, then lead his fighters into obvious traps (Hello Metro: Exodus), then completely inactive (Metro: Ray of Hope). In general, the Miller from Metro 2033 is a fairly good character and, apart from the following parts, is spelled out quite adequately for himself. But damn it, I played the following parts. He is saved only by the ending of Metro: Exodus. But more about this some other time (if any).

And remember: “If there are droppings in any place, it means that someone threw it.”

Ulman

Along with Bourbon, he is one of my favorite characters. But in Ullman’s case, 4A Games staged an exemplary execution and simply leaked an interesting, funny character that diluted the dark and oppressive environment.

In the first part, Ulman kept joking and kindly teasing Melnik and the rest of the detachment. With him it was much calmer and more confident to move through the tunnels to D6.

“Then someone dropped a completely new skeleton. Maybe we can take it with us? Well, for key chains!”

The rest of the characters are not particularly memorable to me. But it means that they are boring or bad. I guarantee you, even the shouts of the bandits, their negotiations, and the rest of the hustle and bustle in the game, evoke certain and memorable feelings.

To talk about anything further, in my early opinion, does not make any sense. You just need to plunge into this game.

Go down the Metro

If you haven’t played Metro, play. If you did, play again, since the guys from 4A Games have released remasters of the first two parts, and besides, the freshest Metro Exodus.

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