Metro: Last Light

Moscow, 2034. About two decades ago, a nuclear war broke out in the world, due to which most of the cities and towns were destroyed. Moscow, which survived almost direct blows, was destroyed to the ground. However, some people survived in it, hiding from nuclear explosions in the subway.

Now they live in tunnels and stations. A new society was formed underground, with its own political forces and groupings. In addition to internecine conflicts, local residents suffer from clashes with numerous mutants. And even this fragile community is under threat.

I find it difficult to see white light, I feel better in complete darkness

The first part of the Metro 2033 series, which was called that way, introduced the player to the world of post-apocalyptic Moscow. In it, the inhabitants of the "subway" were threatened by a completely understandable and obvious danger from the outside - mutants called the Black ones. These humanoids possessed psionic abilities and could, for example, cause hallucinations or fear, as well as convert their psychic energy into telekinesis.

The second part - Metro: Last Light - plunges deeper into the social and political system of the Moscow metro. There is no such danger from the outside, although it seems that the Black ones are not completely exterminated. Now the threat comes from a political-social group that wants to subjugate the entire system of stations and tunnels. It is called to simplify "orientation", "Red".

Developers from the studio 4A Games have slightly expanded the world of the metro. Now Artyom - and this is the name of the central character of the game - will have to periodically get out to the surface. True, there is nothing particularly interesting there, since all the most important is hidden underground: the hidden secret tunnels of the Moscow metro, and the once government bunkers, and the most dangerous monsters. On the surface, there are mainly swamps and views of the destroyed capital of Russia.

What's especially nice, the game is still performed in the genre of "shooter with horror elements". There are still terrible places, the atmosphere of oppressive horror or other meaninglessness of underground existence has not disappeared either. Even the expansion of the world did not affect this.

How to play Metro: Last Light

Most of the gameplay takes place in the Moscow subway. Artyom, under the guidance of the player, will have to explore surprisingly numerous secret tunnels, find no less numerous monsters in them, deal with them and do everything to stop the civil war that is about to begin - in the headquarters of some groups there are already city maps with images of zones of influence and shooters of the most optimal ways of attack.

The gameplay is based on two mechanics - action and stealth. The first is activated primarily when fighting monsters. From time to time, Artyom throws in locations where various, but invariably bloodthirsty mutants creep in waves from all sides, and all that remains is to shoot back. Stealth, on the other hand, is activated when meeting people. The hero has to make his way through tunnels, corridors and offices, which are full of representatives of the opposing factions.

Stealth may seem boring - but it is not required either. If you have a pack of cartridges in your pocket, then you can turn it into an action game and deal with opponents already openly. Fortunately, the game does not prohibit doing this: your task is to go through the scripted levels from point A to point B, and how you do this is no longer important. You won't be able to kill the key characters anyway, and everyone else is not really a pity.

World of Metro: Last Light

Metro would not be a cult series if it did not offer an incredibly large, detailed and interesting world. Over the two decades spent underground, people have become accustomed to the gloomy arches of the tunnels overhead. And they are trying to get back their old life in some way.

In the process of passing Metro: Last Light, the player will visit many locations that demonstrate a surviving society. Here at the Teatralnaya station, Artyom finds himself in the very Bolshoi Theater, where they give a performance with the trained Kikimora. And over there, at the Novokuznetskaya station, in a flooded Venice, he ends up in a brothel. When you get to Red Square, you can go down to the Mausoleum and see what happened to Lenin.

The atmosphere of the world increases as you progress. Towards the end, the player understands a lot about the structure of society - and how it affects individuals. And all this influences the decision that Artyom makes at the end.

As usual, Metro: Last Light has two endings - good and bad. And the first can be achieved only if you fully accept the rules of the society in which you have to exist, but at the same time maintain hope for some brighter and more pleasant future - if not for the characters, but at least for their children.