Having just recently played through the two previous games and found them both having lived up to the lavish praise heaped upon them by people I trust like Tricky Klepek, I cannot WAIT for this entry. I adored just about everything from the first two games, outside of the stealth segments (but they were forgiving enough and largely achievement focused so I don't hold it against them). The quiet moments in those games are among the best in games in general, not just FPS's, in my opinion.

Only one I played was Metro Last Light (and that was years ago), but I remember that game pretty fondly. I'd love to see Exodus with how ambitious the E3 trailers made it sound.

I absolutely love the Metro series. I am very much looking forward to this game, I hope it resembles Metro 2033 / Stalker a bit more than Last Light though. On a related note I am super bummed that the Original version of 2033 will not boot on my PC. I've tried everything except wiping my windows install, all I get is a generic c++ run time error. I actually prefer the gritty look of the original over the more polished redux.

I made a resolution this year that I'd only treat myself to 3 new games and everything else must be from my backlog. This is one of those 3 games. To say I'm excited for it is an understatement.

@theflamingo352: If you enjoy survival-horror games, I highly suggest you check out Metro 2033 in the meantime while you wait for this. It's a really good game, and I actually like it a lot more than Metro Last Light (though that game still has flashes of brilliance as well).

I still haven't played Last Light, but I just replayed 2033 via the Redux version late last year and ended up falling in love with that game again.

@theflamingo352: Check out Redux; it's pretty cheap and worth going through before Exodus.

@ogbigcarl: I think the original 2033 has some better aspects. I felt the music placement was done to a better effect: some of the music in Redux was changed around. I also remember the kids in the original sounding like kids, and it helped cement them into the world while the Redux version just sounded like adults playing kids and it was offputting. I could be totally remembering that incorrectly, but I don't think so. Playing Redux and looking at it is better in my opinion.

I don't find Last Light and Metro 2033 to be that different. I've seen some arguments that the difficulty doesn't work for both games in Redux as you can play them the same way, but again, they're similar enough to me that it's like playing two episodes of one game. I don't agree with the sentiment that Last Light was Call of Duty-fied. I think stealth was the only difference in the original 2033, and it was much worse. Have you checked pcgamingwiki to see if it could fix your issue?

Also, I'm disappointed because my PC can't run Stalker too well. I'd love to go through it but I've only ever made it through the first mission more or less before I get disappointed by the performance and just quit.

@relkin: Dang. Yeah, play Last Light. Again, it's cheap and well worth it. What stopped you from playing it before?

I probably won't periodically update this with Game Informer news, but here's the latest update if you're interested. To me, it sounds like it could possibly disappoint some by the fact you're leaving the metro behind, but it also sounds like a story about hopefulness for the future, and leaving the station and all of the politics is just a part of that. It also seems to be taking an aspect similar to Far Cry 2, but not to that extent, where weapons can wear making them have worse accuracy and damage.

Definitely interested. The Metro games never really grabbed me as much as the Stalker games did, but they're still hugely atmospheric game. I'll definitely be playing this.

@ntm: My gripe with Last Light is just how weird the story felt in relation to the isolation of 2033. I just didn't really like the endings all that much as well and only completed the game twice compared to beating 2033 something like 7 times across difficulties/platforms/languages. I get that they tries to flesh out characters a bit in last light but they just didn't feel that great and all the extra talking made you quiet protagonist a little more strange. I do have to say that I haven't touched last light since it came out and have replayed 2033/redux in that time as well so my memory is a little fuzzy. I'll probably go through the two games again before Exodus.

Also have you read the books? If not I highly recommend 2033.

I have looked around a ton trying to get og 2033 to boot but with no luck. I'm guessing that your PC is bit old if stalker is giving you trouble, That sucks. I will say however that depending on how much you like older style PC games really tells if you will like stalker. The metro games are very modern in their gun handling and so on, stalker is a very strange game by today's standards and I find it very hard to go back to now. THe stalker game do however have just amazing atmosphere in them as you walk across the wasteland and into old military bases and so on.

The first two are brilliant atmospheric survival games. very excited for this one

Yeah this game has me real hyped up. I hope it will be awesome :)

I'm out pumped for this. Loved the first game and even though I thought the 2nd was disappointing I still liked it. The Metro games have some killer atmosphere so I'm excited to see what they do with the new one

there anything concrete re The Last of Us Part 2 not hitting this year? don't get me wrong, i imagine it won't, but i've not heard more than bits and pieces about how they're still hard at work. Naughty Dog has said they'll never again announce a release date until they're positive they'll hit it (or delay a month or two for polish), so i could still see them announcing a late November date at E3.

This series is amazing. It looks like this one may let you be out in the world more than the previous two. I can't wait.

Yes I am! However I have still not completed the first two.

But I blame myself!

Hmm, I picked "I don't know". Never really could get into Metro games despite really liking the book "Metro 2033" and beign a fan of post-apocalyptic stuff. I love open world games so even though this won't be open world, the more open areas might make it more enjoyable to me. I rarely like linear games so maybe that's why the previous games weren't that interesting to me, but I'm always willing to give a series another chance and I might jump into this new one on sale or something.

@ogbigcarl: Yeah, I like older shooters or games in general (although Stalker isn't really old in my opinion or even the way it played from what I experienced; just a bit archaic looking in spots). Stalker was good from what I played and I would go through it if my PC didn't suck at playing games. My PC isn't too old, but by PC gaming standards, sure. It's just not a gaming PC. I would give Last Light another try. I don't really see the big difference that some do between the two.

I actually played Last Light first. I didn't know if 2033 was a game I wanted to play when it came out, but just before Redux came out (I just checked, and it was only a couple months apart) I bought it on 360 and went through it pleasantly surprised that it was similar and almost every bit as good as the first. I say 'almost' only because the stealth wasn't great in it, otherwise just as good. As for the books, no I've only read about the differences between game and book. I am honestly not that interested in the books enough to read them, but I'm sure they're good.

I'm more interested in the CliffsNotes version and how it differs to the books.

@terrencemalice: When I made this thread, I looked up the release date, and it said 2019. That said, it's possible that that's not true. The person that said it was launching then is the composer (just checked again); I think sometimes they get it wrong, but it's likely that 2019 might happen. So, maybe late 2018, early 2019? It'd be cool if it was this year to round out a good year of games, with Red Dead Redemption on its way as well. Exodus doesn't have a release date yet either, it's just this year but 'this year' is more set in stone.

@sethmode: Yeah, you made a thread about the books recently right? Have you played the recent Wolfenstein games? They're not entirely like Metro nor Half-Life, but similar to how Metro takes the mantle where no Half-Life 3 exists, I think Wolfenstein can also be said the same about to an extent. I'm currently playing New Colossus on I am death incarnate and loving it, so both games are on my mind. I might go back to Metro: Last Light after I'm done with Wolfenstein. I haven't finished Redux's Last Light on hard due to a glitch.

@ntm: Yeah that was me. Still haven't listened to the audiobook yet, as I haven't been back to work, but I look forward to it tentatively, hoping the translation isn't too bad.

And yeah, I've played both new Wolf games, and loved them both very much (still haven't played The Old Blood, but looking forward to giving it a go once I'm done with my replay of the Witcher 3). And yeah, I love what Machinegames took away from Half-Life as well.

Can't wait for this thrilling game. The resolution of this game really impressive.

@ntm: I used the wrong words, yea stalker isn't that old but it doesn't adhere to what we consider basic fps design that we are used to. Stuff like weapon handling and ballistics and so on. I certainly have kind of a hard time playing them now, even with the amazing mods available. I'm currently playing through all of the Yakuza series at the moment but once I am done I'll give Last Light another shot so its fresh in my mind before Exodus.

I never finished the first game due to an unfortunate autosave issue (on the surface with a broken gas mask and mutants after me), but I did play Last Light to completion. I remember thinking it was mostly a mediocre (though wonderfully atmospheric) shooter, and I don't love the feel of the guns or the way enemies feel like bullet sponges. But the final mission of the second game hit me with previously unexpected emotional weight. I saw the E3 video and immediately got excited for this one!

I am very excited for this game but if I was to make a list of games that I think will missed their 2018 release target, Metro Exodus would top it. It's just the type of ambitious game that wouldn't feel right without being delay 2-3 times.

I adore this series, so yes, I am very much looking forward to Exodus.

I hope it's a little more like 2033 in terms of story. 2033's story was so bleak and had this great sense of mystery and ambiguity that heavily reminded me of Half-Life. Last Light was a lot more story heavy, but I thought it started out pretty ridiculous and only got more-so as it went on, especially in the final act from what I can remember. That child Dark One was just corny as hell. Not a fan of that at all. It also removed a lot of that mystery the first game had. On the plus side, Last Light played a LOT better than 2033 and had some superb level design and set-pieces.

I'm liking what I'm hearing about the way Exodus is structured so far, though. I'm totally okay with it not being a single open world, and honestly, I prefer that. The Metro games work because they have a deliberate sense of pacing that is impossible in one large open space.

@onekillwonder_: To me, I like a story that tries to find hope (which is what Exodus seems to be about) in a world that lacks it. I thought the dark one aspect was great actually, kind of sweet. Also, did you play Redux? If you liked 2033's story and bleakness but thought Last Lights gameplay was better, that's what 2033 Redux is: a blend of both of those things you liked.

@liquiddragon: Maybe, maybe not. There is no official release date yet, just 2018. Although Game Informer showing coverage of the game is no real indication, to me it shows that the game is coming along nicely which gives me hope that it'll be 2018. What you said got me wondering though because I honestly didn't even think about it. I asked on their Facebook page to see what they had to say about the confidence of a 2018 release. I'll post what they had to say here if they respond.

@bladeofcreation: I just bought my friend Redux and I remember he told me in the past about feeling the enemies were bullet spongey (in the original 2033). I can agree, though it's always preferred to go for the head or use the correct gun. They do sometimes have armor. Another option, which I almost always choose in all my playthroughs is simply to save ammo and kill guys stealthily with close takedowns. I think the shooting feels quite good, but I agree that enemies can take bullets when they're wearing armor. It's not that bothersome to me though. Also, the game is pretty fair so you must have borked something up to get trapped like that. The games, however, do take some learning actually. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people miss a handful of things on one playthrough.

I thought the Redux version of 2033 played almost, but not quite as good as Last Light. LL, I feel, had overall better encounter design than 2033, so that's probably a huge part of it. I also do need to play Last Light again. I beat it when it first came out, then I got the Redux disc but only played through 2033 on it. To be honest, I don't remember the story that well aside from a few specific beats, I just recall really not being into it and thinking the endings were very underwhelming. It was also the Russian child voice for the Dark One that bothered me. It seemed way too campy for the rest of the game.

@onekillwonder_: Oh, okay I see. To be honest... I'm not sure I agree with that. I don't know though as I rarely play the games as shooters when it comes to human vs. human, but I think 2033 has more vertical combat areas as well as places you can circle around them. In Last Light, there are a lot more encounters where it's just a narrower, one (maybe two) floor boxed room with some cover spread around. I am actually playing Last Light right now going through it again (or, the first time for the Redux version) on the hardest difficulty.

As for the endings, I think both 2033 and Last Light had equally as 'good' endings, as in I would say neither is noteworthy, at least in their execution. I thought they were fine when it comes to story and what it could mean for the future of the sequels. I don't think I took issue with the Dark One's child voice, though I was too into the story and what was going on to care maybe. There are some incidental moments of dialogue that don't sound that well voiced, but I think all the integral characters were voiced well enough. The voice must not have been bad enough to take me out of it I guess if I did notice it. When you say 'Russian child voice' do you mean speaking in Russian, or Russian accented?

never played a metro game :/