3/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of Metro Exodus.

Metro Exodus is a fine addition to a unique survival / horror / action (?) shooter series. This entry offers improvements to the series as well as some return to the lack luster parts from the previous entries. Firstly, gameplay comes across as more challenging now. I previously complained that the Metro games were to high velocity action focused due to high enemy health / volume, Artyom's own large health pool and an abundance of ammunition available to the player. Now Artyom is much more vulnerable along with enemies and ammunition is act more sparse, which makes me wonder if other people had the same complaints with the first two entries. In terms of story, it can be hit or miss. Exodus seeks to expand the world of Metro which I think it does mostly effectively but certain sections are definetely much better than the others. Highlights include the open world areas (mostly). The swamp is fine but the boat is cumbersome and annoying to fight anything in the water. The desert is fun mostly due to the van available to the player and the Taiga is more focused in a linear level which ironically was the most enjoyable for me. But then there's some sections that come and go to fast and then it's over, almost like I accidentally switched to a different game. Voice acting and dialogue in general is fairly compotent. There's plenty of stiff delivery and weird character moments but there's also plenty of good to see. The biggest problem to me (which may not be a problem to some) is the amount some characters will speak. Whenever you approach any character chances are they speak to you for 2+ minutes about anything which really makes you remember the background of this whole thing being a book. This is great for people who are deeply interested in the lore and characterization but it never really gripped me. Perhaps it was the way the information was delivered, characters themselves or my own attention span but I simply did not care for much presented. Except for Damir. Fucking love Damir. And Stepan too. Overall, it's a fine experience. I did not enjoy it as much as Last Light but I think I enjoyed it more than 2033. And it had a suprisingly effective ending that I think was a proper send off for some certain aspects of the Metro property. Favorite Thing: Certain character moments + levels that really wow'd me and kept me interested in finishing the game to see what else the game would offer me. Least Favorite Thing: Certain character moments + levels that really shocked me due to their inclusion in the game and did not make me want to continue.