Metro Exodus has been long awaited by the Steam community after we had to wait a year to play on our platform of choice.
Within minutes you're exploring the surface of world, where this game takes place. Each chapter or level is an open world set in a different topographical region (desert, forest, winter, etc). The levels are wide-open to explore and achievements are spread throughout the region based on your exploration (lots of goodies to find and baddies to fight!).

I really went to town exploring the first region, turning over every nook and cranny, finding ways to bounce around objects and jump to places I don't think they wanted me to get to. The novelty of the open world wore off quickly, however, and I found myself blasting through the future levels trying to progress the story. The open world felt like filler to extend the game and not rewarding for the tediousness needed to explore each region.

Almost every encounter has side paths and hidden loot for the keen eye. You're given the option between stealth and raw firepower in almost every instance. I don't care much for stealth games in general, so I used my "leet" skills to end fights quickly via headshots. Honestly, mowing down enemy after enemy was fairly satisfying, however there were many instances where enemies shot me through cover or shot through their own cover, so the gun fights could be a crap shoot at times.

The game took me approx 19 hours to complete and I experienced about a half dozen deaths. And... about half of those were from me falling/jumping :B1:

Customizable guns were fun and interesting. New parts gave significant boost to fire power and I changed my gun layouts multiple times through a single chapter based on my needs.

The backpack gives you the ability to customize your guns while out of a base or hideout, allows you to craft some ammo, and both medication and filters.

The enemies were varied and enjoyable. My old favorite, the Librarian, definitely made itself noticed. :steamhappy:

The dialog was horrendous. Timing was off during conversations overlapped horribly. The timing even when the NPCs were giving you directions was off. At one point an ally told me to turn right after I was half way down the path and looking to the next turn. Roughly 5+ seconds off appropriate timing. POLISH, POLISH, POLISH!!!!

Driving sucked. The boats and van turned slowly, giving very little control. Backing up, maneuvering, or otherwise was painfully slow and the whole experience was cumbersome and felt tacked on. "We're going to force you to row a boat, stop every 10-15 seconds, and then go through a stopping animation to shoot back at ranged enemies." :steamfacepalm:

Weapon attachments were inconsistent and often times not great with a flashlight or night vision goggles (NVG). I waited the whole game to get a closed reflex sight for the AK/Bulldog, but never gone one =( The flashlight/NVG would reflect so horribly off the optics at times, you were better off with iron sights or hip firing.

The characters did not feel like they mattered. At the mid point through the game, a main character is in danger and needs to be rescued, but I did not feel attached to them, I didn't feel invested in their outcome. The game didn't tug the heartstrings or build those relationships to get you to care.

The levels got tedious to explore. So much jumping around, figuring out if there were side paths, finding three bodies to loot for a miniscule amount of resources. Overall it was not rewarding to explore and I was fatigued quickly when I started trying to search every location. This was really noticeable on the desert level.

The physics/game engine/character interactions. Everything bumped awkwardly, so much sliding off cliffs you're trying to jump up to when the fourth jump you finally reach up and grab the ledge. It was horribly inconsistent and speaks to a game made by amateur developers, not a third run for a AAA title. I found a ton of floating guns and clothing pieces. Reloading save games was a roll of the dice to see what changed! POLISH, POLISH, POLISH!!!!

Guns jamming sucked. It wasn't fun, it didn't add much to the gameplay other than frustration. If I'm collecting scrap and chemicals, why can't some of the cloth scrap I picked up double as a rag to scrub the junk off your gun? I can completely change the air line system on my Tikhar while in the field, but I can't grab the corner of my own shirt to clean off a gun?

Why tf does the Librarian have a ♥♥♥♥ and balls all flopping around in your face?

Bottom line, would I recommend this to a friend?
If you've played the first two and were a fan, AND you got this at a "sale price" ($30 or under) then I'd say go for it, finish the story if you want. I was not impressed by this game and while I appreciate completing it, I wouldn't play it again, whereas I purchased the Metro 2033 Redux because the original was great.

If you're not interested or invested into the Metro games, then I'd give this a hard pass. It's an interesting environment, but the inconsistencies and tedious gameplay are a turn off.

When I think of games where it was more fun to explore, I think the Fallout series, or The Witcher 2/3. In those games there were actual side quests directing you to important locations. They also rewarded you either in story/character development, or through loot, for completing those tasks. Heck, even giving a region a name and giving you a detailed map which is revealed, or... something... would make it feel more satisfying to explore.

If you're a shooter, stick to shooting. I loved the first two Metro games, while this one feels forgettable.

[h1]The Game[/h1] Metro Exodus has been long awaited by the Steam community after we had to wait a year to play on our platform of choice. Within minutes you're exploring the surface of world, where this game takes place. Each chapter or level is an open world set in a different topographical region (desert, forest, winter, etc). The levels are wide-open to explore and achievements are spread throughout the region based on your exploration (lots of goodies to find and baddies to fight!). I really went to town exploring the first region, turning over every nook and cranny, finding ways to bounce around objects and jump to places I don't think they wanted me to get to. The novelty of the open world wore off quickly, however, and I found myself blasting through the future levels trying to progress the story. The open world felt like filler to extend the game and not rewarding for the tediousness needed to explore each region. Almost every encounter has side paths and hidden loot for the keen eye. You're given the option between stealth and raw firepower in almost every instance. I don't care much for stealth games in general, so I used my "leet" skills to end fights quickly via headshots. Honestly, mowing down enemy after enemy was fairly satisfying, however there were many instances where enemies shot me through cover or shot through their own cover, so the gun fights could be a crap shoot at times. The game took me approx 19 hours to complete and I experienced about a half dozen deaths. And... about half of those were from me falling/jumping :B1: [h1]The Good[/h1] Customizable guns were fun and interesting. New parts gave significant boost to fire power and I changed my gun layouts multiple times through a single chapter based on my needs. The backpack gives you the ability to customize your guns while out of a base or hideout, allows you to craft some ammo, and both medication and filters. The enemies were varied and enjoyable. My old favorite, [spoiler]the Librarian[/spoiler], definitely made itself noticed. :steamhappy: [h1]The Bad[/h1] The dialog was horrendous. Timing was off during conversations overlapped horribly. The timing even when the NPCs were giving you directions was off. At one point an ally told me to turn right after I was half way down the path and looking to the next turn. Roughly 5+ seconds off appropriate timing. [b]POLISH, POLISH, POLISH!!!![/b] Driving sucked. The boats and van turned slowly, giving very little control. Backing up, maneuvering, or otherwise was painfully slow and the whole experience was cumbersome and felt tacked on. "We're going to force you to row a boat, stop every 10-15 seconds, and then go through a stopping animation to shoot back at ranged enemies." :steamfacepalm: Weapon attachments were inconsistent and often times not great with a flashlight or night vision goggles (NVG). I waited the whole game to get a closed reflex sight for the AK/Bulldog, but never gone one =( The flashlight/NVG would reflect so horribly off the optics at times, you were better off with iron sights or hip firing. The characters did not feel like they mattered. At the mid point through the game, a main character is in danger and needs to be rescued, but I did not feel attached to them, I didn't feel invested in their outcome. The game didn't tug the heartstrings or build those relationships to get you to care. The levels got tedious to explore. So much jumping around, figuring out if there were side paths, finding three bodies to loot for a miniscule amount of resources. Overall it was not rewarding to explore and I was fatigued quickly when I started trying to search every location. This was really noticeable on the desert level. The physics/game engine/character interactions. Everything bumped awkwardly, so much sliding off cliffs you're trying to jump up to when the fourth jump you finally reach up and grab the ledge. It was horribly inconsistent and speaks to a game made by amateur developers, not a third run for a AAA title. I found a ton of floating guns and clothing pieces. Reloading save games was a roll of the dice to see what changed! [b]POLISH, POLISH, POLISH!!!![/b] Guns jamming sucked. It wasn't fun, it didn't add much to the gameplay other than frustration. If I'm collecting scrap and chemicals, why can't some of the cloth scrap I picked up double as a rag to scrub the junk off your gun? I can completely change the air line system on my Tikhar while in the field, but I can't grab the corner of my own shirt to clean off a gun? Why tf does [spoiler]the Librarian[/spoiler] have a dick and balls all flopping around in your face? [h1]The Verdict[/h1] Bottom line, would I recommend this to a friend? If you've played the first two and were a fan, [b]AND[/b] you got this at a "sale price" ($30 or under) then I'd say go for it, finish the story if you want. I was not impressed by this game and while I appreciate completing it, I wouldn't play it again, whereas I purchased the Metro 2033 Redux because the original was great. If you're not interested or invested into the Metro games, then I'd give this a hard pass. It's an interesting environment, but the inconsistencies and tedious gameplay are a turn off. When I think of games where it was [b]more[/b] fun to explore, I think the Fallout series, or The Witcher 2/3. In those games there were actual side quests directing you to important locations. They also rewarded you either in story/character development, or through loot, for completing those tasks. Heck, even giving a region a name and giving you a detailed map which is revealed, or... something... would make it feel more satisfying to explore. If you're a shooter, stick to shooting. I loved the first two Metro games, while this one feels forgettable.