• Played on Survival + Ranger Hardcore
  
• Crosshair off
  
• Hints off
  
• Max graphics; advanced PhysX

I was expecting a linear STALKER with how major fans talk up this game and talk about its similarity to STALKER. I expected that I would be missing some information about how the game is played due to turning off hints, but I was recommended the above settings by the accompanying Metro Discord community.

• Environments are delightfully interactable and fully featured. lots of little cool details; lots of it occurs via voice acting, which can be hit or miss
  
• There's a ton of little conversations here and there between characters that you can easily miss (that are actually interesting and not pointless drivel like other games)
  
• Visuals are fantastic
  
• Actual human vs human combat is pretty solid and reminiscent of STALKER in how dangerous it can be.
  
• Silhouettes, anomalies, etc are really reminiscent of STALKER
  
• Neat details of looting, like pushing corpses over to get access to pockets
  
• The later parts of the game where you are no longer handheld are pretty good. A bit tough to handle due to the sheer amount of enemies, but handleable and fun. Very linear though
  
• Scorpions are cool as ♥♥♥♥ and a super smart use of the flashlight

• QOL/Bugs
  
  • Boot up sequence takes you a full minute to get to the main menu. I'm not exaggerating.
    
  • Intro/end cutscene is 30 fps
    
  • There's the normal difficulty selection when you start a new game, but there's also Normal and Hardcore in the options. There is no explanation for this; I had to ask in the Discord
    
  • Subtitles are extremely large for no reason
    
  • In the mission where you get to the library, there is a trap that has an invisible trigger. It's debris falling from the library. There is no hint/signal anywhere that this is a trap, just kinda happens.
    
  • If you shoot lurkers as they come out of the tunnel and kill them instantly, they finish the animation of exiting the tunnel and THEN die. Lurkers also have issues with frequent random clipping into the ground, making them invincible when they approach you as your bullets don't hit them.
  
  
• AI & NPCs
  
  • Friendly NPCs dont walk/run as fast as you
    
  • NPC dialogue (so far) is tending to be on the CoD side of trying to be badass over realistic (STALKER does this too)
    
  • The voice acting is really bad at times (STALKER does this too)
    
  • Khan's (a friendly NPC in the game) mysterious shtick is just honestly really annoying lol
    
  • Often enemies will only attack you and not friendly AI, even when said friendlies are in the way between the monster and you
  
  
• Game & Enemy Design
  
  • Game begins with an intro where you climb up a rusty ladder which breaks and barely get caught in time. Not a good first impression unless you're trying to set the tone for a generic linear shooter (this is 5D foreshadowing rofl)
    
  • You are handheld by AI for almost every encounter in the first 3-4 hours of the game.
    
  • Red flashing constantly when you are immensely hurt. It doesn't stop until you get health. WHY?
    
  • This game is not immersive. Running from 15+ cops firing assault weapons at me and magically dodging them all as well as watching a friendly jump-stab a Nazi (that he could've shot) who was about to execute me is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Call of Duty tier ♥♥♥♥, not an "immersive shooter". It's about as immersive as Wolfenstein.
    
  • Melee hitreg is awful. Speaking of melee combat, if you sneak up on someone and try to backstab, it'll do the animation even though the regular melee is an instant kill. This can cause scenarios where the animation is screwing you over because it gives enemies too much time to potentially see you and blow your cover.
    
  • STEALTH: Not Good. The stealth AI is awful, and they're terrible at clearing a room; they seem to not be able to see you if you aren't in the path of their searchlight, which is serviceable if your stealth sequences are at night, but one stealth sequence was at sunset, and they definitely should've seen me but didn't. Also, there is a three minute (at best) uninterrupted stealth sequence where you have to sneak through the Communists' side of a warzone and then the Nazis' side of the warzone. It's awful and I had to exploit dumb AI in order to do it. There is no checkpoint for a very long time (much longer than what is normal for the game). Suppressors also don't make a noticeable difference on your ability to be stealthy (hello???).
    
  • The Librarians are cool in concept, but the effect it has of you having to memorize where the holes and doors are while one slowly stalks you and the other is flanking you is awful.

My difficulty options, while more immersive, did actually end up affecting my experience of the game. Here are some of the various issues I encountered that I am certain or at least believe stem from my setting selection.

• No UI showing for QTEs. i just had to spam M1, W, and E and guess one of them will do the trick lol
  
• I've had to look up multiple times how to do basic things like how to select my throwing knives. Can't do it though cuz no weapon wheel.
  
• You cannot aim down sights with the shotgun. This is only bad because you don't have a crosshair.
  
• Looting consists of mashing E everywhere; ammo and other resources don't stand out enough to be selective about where you press E.
  
• Friendly NPCs (whom you fight with a LOT) do not do as much damage as you (they do more like a quarter of the damage you do); it's generally a good idea to let them do most of the fighting (which isn't immersive) and stay a distance away to avoid wasting ammo, only using it to help yourself. This is most important in the end-game after you leave for the library due to there not being another ammo shop past this point. Had some pretty major close calls with ammo.
  
• Hold M and then press right click to bring up your HUD and ammo counts. I did not know this was a thing at all until the very end of the game.
  
• You can charge your flashlight by holding F and then clicking mouse 1. I didn't know this was a thing until I accidentally held F for too long.
  
• You cannot carry a third weapon. It says you can in the binds, but you can't due to the Ranger Hardcore difficulty.
  
• It appears that there's some sort of moral system in place; this is not made obvious to you if you are not familiar with the game already. I noticed it due to musical cues, but it's very easy to miss.

Metro 2033 is not STALKER. I'd say it's not even close enough comparatively for fans of STALKER's gameplay to enjoy it. What I will say is that it fills a middle ground if someone was put off by STALKER's sheer difficulty and slower-paced gameplay, but wanted to experience the atmosphere and ideas. I don't hate Metro 2033, but I definitely don't love it. If I want COD, I'd play COD. If I want STALKER, I'm playing STALKER.
People say that Metro: Last Light is just 2033 with a new story, so I think I'll be avoiding it and just moving onto Exodus.

[h1]Metro 2033 Redux is not a linear STALKER but instead a Call of Duty campaign with STALKER atmosphere and ideas.[/h1] [h3]Settings:[/h3] [list] [*]Played on Survival + Ranger Hardcore [*]Crosshair off [*]Hints off [*]Max graphics; advanced PhysX [/list] [h3]Expectations:[/h3] I was expecting a linear STALKER with how major fans talk up this game and talk about its similarity to STALKER. I expected that I would be missing some information about how the game is played due to turning off hints, but I was recommended the above settings by the accompanying Metro Discord community. [h2]Pros:[/h2] [list] [*]Environments are delightfully interactable and fully featured. lots of little cool details; lots of it occurs via voice acting, which can be hit or miss [*]There's a ton of little conversations here and there between characters that you can easily miss (that are actually interesting and not pointless drivel like other games) [*]Visuals are fantastic [*]Actual human vs human combat is pretty solid and reminiscent of STALKER in how dangerous it can be. [*]Silhouettes, anomalies, etc are really reminiscent of STALKER [*]Neat details of looting, like pushing corpses over to get access to pockets [*]The later parts of the game where you are no longer handheld are pretty good. A bit tough to handle due to the sheer amount of enemies, but handleable and fun. Very linear though [*]Scorpions are cool as FUCK and a super smart use of the flashlight [/list] [h2]Cons:[/h2] [list] [*]QOL/Bugs [list] [*]Boot up sequence takes you a full minute to get to the main menu. I'm not exaggerating. [*]Intro/end cutscene is 30 fps [*]There's the normal difficulty selection when you start a new game, but there's also Normal and Hardcore in the options. There is no explanation for this; I had to ask in the Discord [*]Subtitles are extremely large for no reason [*]In the mission where you get to the library, there is a trap that has an invisible trigger. It's debris falling from the library. There is no hint/signal anywhere that this is a trap, just kinda happens. [*]If you shoot lurkers as they come out of the tunnel and kill them instantly, they finish the animation of exiting the tunnel and THEN die. Lurkers also have issues with frequent random clipping into the ground, making them invincible when they approach you as your bullets don't hit them. [/list] [*]AI & NPCs [list] [*]Friendly NPCs dont walk/run as fast as you [*]NPC dialogue (so far) is tending to be on the CoD side of trying to be badass over realistic (STALKER does this too) [*]The voice acting is really bad at times (STALKER does this too) [*]Khan's (a friendly NPC in the game) mysterious shtick is just honestly really annoying lol [*]Often enemies will only attack you and not friendly AI, even when said friendlies are in the way between the monster and you [/list] [*]Game & Enemy Design [list] [*]Game begins with an intro where you climb up a rusty ladder which breaks and barely get caught in time. Not a good first impression unless you're trying to set the tone for a generic linear shooter (this is 5D foreshadowing rofl) [*]You are handheld by AI for almost every encounter in the first 3-4 hours of the game. [*]Red flashing constantly when you are immensely hurt. It doesn't stop until you get health. WHY? [*]This game is not immersive. Running from 15+ cops firing assault weapons at me and magically dodging them all as well as watching a friendly jump-stab a Nazi (that he could've shot) who was about to execute me is fucking Call of Duty tier shit, not an "immersive shooter". It's about as immersive as Wolfenstein. [*]Melee hitreg is awful. Speaking of melee combat, if you sneak up on someone and try to backstab, it'll do the animation even though the regular melee is an instant kill. This can cause scenarios where the animation is screwing you over because it gives enemies too much time to potentially see you and blow your cover. [*]STEALTH: Not Good. The stealth AI is awful, and they're terrible at clearing a room; they seem to not be able to see you if you aren't in the path of their searchlight, which is serviceable if your stealth sequences are at night, but one stealth sequence was at sunset, and they definitely should've seen me but didn't. Also, there is a three minute (at best) uninterrupted stealth sequence where you have to sneak through the Communists' side of a warzone and then the Nazis' side of the warzone. It's awful and I had to exploit dumb AI in order to do it. There is no checkpoint for a very long time (much longer than what is normal for the game). Suppressors also don't make a noticeable difference on your ability to be stealthy (hello???). [*]The Librarians are cool in concept, but the effect it has of you having to memorize where the holes and doors are while one slowly stalks you and the other is flanking you is awful. [/list] [/list] [h3]Cons Specific to My Settings[/h3] My difficulty options, while more immersive, did actually end up affecting my experience of the game. Here are some of the various issues I encountered that I am certain or at least believe stem from my setting selection. [list] [*]No UI showing for QTEs. i just had to spam M1, W, and E and guess one of them will do the trick lol [*]I've had to look up multiple times how to do basic things like how to select my throwing knives. Can't do it though cuz no weapon wheel. [*]You cannot aim down sights with the shotgun. This is only bad because you don't have a crosshair. [*]Looting consists of mashing E everywhere; ammo and other resources don't stand out enough to be selective about where you press E. [*]Friendly NPCs (whom you fight with a LOT) do not do as much damage as you (they do more like a quarter of the damage you do); it's generally a good idea to let them do most of the fighting (which isn't immersive) and stay a distance away to avoid wasting ammo, only using it to help yourself. This is most important in the end-game after you leave for the library due to there not being another ammo shop past this point. Had some pretty major close calls with ammo. [*]Hold M and then press right click to bring up your HUD and ammo counts. I did not know this was a thing at all until the very end of the game. [*]You can charge your flashlight by holding F and then clicking mouse 1. I didn't know this was a thing until I accidentally held F for too long. [*]You cannot carry a third weapon. It says you can in the binds, but you can't due to the Ranger Hardcore difficulty. [*]It appears that there's some sort of moral system in place; this is not made obvious to you if you are not familiar with the game already. I noticed it due to musical cues, but it's very easy to miss. [/list] [h2]Conclusion:[/h2] Metro 2033 is not STALKER. I'd say it's not even close enough comparatively for fans of STALKER's gameplay to enjoy it. What I will say is that it fills a middle ground if someone was put off by STALKER's sheer difficulty and slower-paced gameplay, but wanted to experience the atmosphere and ideas. I don't hate Metro 2033, but I definitely don't love it. If I want COD, I'd play COD. If I want STALKER, I'm playing STALKER. People say that Metro: Last Light is just 2033 with a new story, so I think I'll be avoiding it and just moving onto Exodus.