IMHO on Metro: 2033 Redux – revisiting the first game after 9 years

Recommended System Requirements: Any quad-core CPU or dual-core CPU at 3 GHz or higher, GeForce GTX 480/ATI Radeon HD5870, 4GB RAM, 10GB HDD

Honestly, over such a long period, I'd even started to forget how soulful, familiar, and in some ways, the best game in the series Metro 2033 is.

Most likely, I wouldn't have replayed Metro 2033 anytime soon. But the folks at Epic Games kicked off their September game giveaway, offering Metro: 2033 Redux to all their users. A big thanks to them for that.

This way, not only will I refresh my memories of wandering the Moscow Metro's labyrinthine tunnels, but newcomers to the series will also dive into the grim, oppressive atmosphere of humanity buried and dying beneath the surface.

How I went back down into the Metro

After claiming Metro: 2033 Redux on the Epic Games Store, I decided to install it just to check how the demanding game would perform on my current rig.

I launched it, went into the settings, tweaked them, and...

VDNKh, my small shack, and Sukhoy calling me to meet Hunter.

The first Spartan our hero meets:

The first encounter with monsters.

A frightened Sukhoy tells Hunter: "Even when you don't see the Dark Ones, they're still around."

Alexander is clearly depressed and devastated; his fighters are dying, and there's nothing he can do about it.

Then, in the middle of Sukhoy's conversation with Hunter, the doors behind us burst open, and a soldier cried out, alerting everyone in the room to a Dark One attack on the outpost.

Half dead, half driven mad.

Hunter decides to take a risk, hoping to learn something about the growing threat of the Dark Ones. He asks me to find a certain Melnik and, should he fail, to tell Melnik everything that happened at the station and what became of Hunter.

Walking into the tunnels without looking back, the Spartan told me one last thing: "If we want to survive, we must destroy this threat. Destroy it at any cost!."

Memories of the first game flooded back, and instead of quitting to the desktop, I watched the cutscene to the end and embarked on Hunter's mission, as he never returned from his recon. That's how my second journey through the Moscow Metro began.

A little about that same sergeant:

Surprisingly, the game hasn't seen major graphical improvements. It's clearly just a cosmetic remaster. Still, that didn't stop Metro: 2033 Redux from struggling to run smoothly at Ultra settings in Full HD resolution on this configuration:

• Xeon E5-2643@3400MHz (4 cores, 8 threads. Closest equivalent to Core i7 2600)

• 24GB DDR3@1333MHz (3x 8GB sticks in triple-channel mode)

• Sapphire Radeon RX470@1320/1800MHz (4GB GDDR5)

You know, back in 2010, I couldn't play the original Metro 2033 at max settings due to my admittedly weak Radeon HD4670. So, the situation with the RX470 was a bit perplexing.

Yes, the game runs great on Ultra settings, but only with SSAA anti-aliasing set to 0.5. With those parameters, the picture was so blurry I nearly slipped just looking at it and cursed 4A Games loudly for a while. After calming down, I set the graphics lower and began my playthrough:

So, what was I saying?

This time, I won't describe the plot. I hope, like me, you aren't playing Metro 2033 for the first time (and I truly hope you'll go play it after reading this). Instead, I want to say a few words about the secondary characters.

For example, the boatman from VDNKh, rescued after the tunnel of death, looks extremely cheerful:

Still, why should he be sad when a lady like this is strutting around:

But be careful, because some gamers might be so distracted by the 'night moth' that they don't even spot Bourbon sitting behind her! And it's his first appearance, too.

Spoilers Ahead!

Alright folks, there will be spoilers ahead. Just a few, but they're coming. So, if you haven't played Metro 2033 (are you even serious?), close your browser and go play it now. For those who have finished the game, welcome to my tiny IMHO on the secondary characters.

Bourbon

Overall, Bourbon was an incredibly vibrant and memorable character. So much so that his death still feels like one of the quickest and most unexpected (assuming, of course, you overlook his profession and enemies). By the end of my journey, I felt like there was criminally little of Bourbon in the game. His gangster quirks and highly authentic criminal jargon made the character unique, and some of Bourbon's sayings stick with you to this day.

I realize he was just a stepping stone in the protagonist's development. Bourbon showed Artyom a 'different' Metro — slimy, dirty, and rotten to the core — before passing the slightly more experienced youth into the hands of the wise Khan.

One thing is comforting: before his demise, Bourbon passed on a wealth of sacred knowledge to us, the newcomers. One piece of advice will even help you in real life: "Don't eat yellow snow."

Khan

Despite all his grandiloquence, Khan doesn't induce nausea (unlike similar characters in other games); on the contrary, he exudes warmth and kindness. This is exactly what Artyom needs in the cold, harsh 'underground.' At first, Khan seems a bit strange, but as you progress through his storyline, you realize his fate was much worse than your own.

And remember: "Even in such difficult times, you must remain human."

Melnik

In my opinion, everything about the generalissimo (Ullman knows best) in the first game is ambiguous. Melnik, to me, swings from one extreme to another across the entire Metro series. Here, he made many sacrifices to help Artyom. In later installments, he'll hesitate, lead his soldiers into obvious traps (Hello, Metro Exodus), or be completely inactive (Metro: Last Light). Overall, Melnik in Metro 2033 is a pretty good character, written quite adequately when isolated from the later games. But damn it, I've played the later games. Only the ending of Metro Exodus saves him. But that's a story for another time (if there is one).

And remember: "If there's droppings somewhere, someone threw it".

Ullman

Along with Bourbon, he's one of my favorite characters. But in Ullman's case, 4A Games staged a public execution, simply squandering an interesting, fun, and genuinely mood-lightening character.

In the first game, Ullman occasionally joked around and good-naturedly ribbed Melnik and the rest of the squad. It felt much calmer and more confident moving through the tunnels to D6 with him.

"Someone just dropped a brand new skeleton here. Maybe we should take it with us? You know, for keychains!"

The other characters didn't particularly stick with me, but that doesn't mean they're boring or bad. I guarantee that even the bandits' shouts, their conversations, and the game's general commotion evoke distinct and memorable feelings.

In my humble opinion, there's no point in talking about anything further. You just need to immerse yourself in this game.

Go down into the Metro

If you haven't played Metro, play it. If you have, play it again — especially since 4A Games released remasters of the first two games, plus the latest Metro Exodus.