This updated and redesigned package containing the previously released titles, “Metro 2033” and “Metro: Last Light” is a big win for FPS fanatics and fans of the series.  Aside from its obvious graphical enhancements (which we’ll get into later) and thoughtful little gameplay additions, there’s also the great value of gaining a pair of games.  If you’ve been gaming for any length of time already you have probably picked up some type of “two-pack special”, offering you a bundle and many additional hours of gameplay.   Well, as far as those sorts of deals go, Metro Redux is definitely a good one, especially if you dig first person action, survival themes, storytelling, mutated foes, or multilayered gameplay.

Although much of the game could be categorized as being largely linear, the truth is that this doesn’t hinder the way everything unfolds.  That being said, if you’re the type of gamer who finds post-apocalyptic themes and scary darkness unappealing, you might not fully engage with the atmosphere of the game.  It paints a very bleak picture which is rife with untold levels of human suffering.   Basically, it seems to take inspiration from multiple sources and examples from within the FPS canon and melds them together (shades of things like “Half Life” to overtones from the days of “Doom”).  Still, it isn’t at all simply an amalgamation of sources; Metro Redux manages to come off with its own personality. Plus, there are enough small alterations that have been made in this “upgrade” which simply make the gameplay much smoother in general.

Now, the graphics…  In short, they’re just about what you’d expect to encounter with a release of this type.  Basically, there’s lots of detail, great lighting and a great sense of realism portrayed throughout.  The 4A engine is being utilized in the newly rebuilt versions of both titles too, improved all around.

Above all else, you play Metro Redux for its gameplay.  Little changes, like the way you can now swipe muck off your mask’s visor make the game flow better, taking on a more polished character.  Scavenging is also a core element of this package, where if you neglect to take into account basic strategies and resource gathering you’re not going to last very long.  That’s what makes titles like this fun, of course – the way they seem to force gamers to adapt to the limitations.  …and seriously, who doesn’t like rummaging around through containers for treasure, really?  Be honest.