Another week, another batch of free games from the Epic Games Store. Last week it was all about the Caped Crusader with a massive amount of Batman titles. This week we’re going underground in the wasteland and then on to everything, in the most literal sense.

First up we’re getting Metro 2033 Redux. It’s a remaster of the first game in the Metro shooter franchise that included upgraded graphics, AI, and physics. It’s always a great game to revisit, and if you jumped into the series with Metro: Exodus, it’s worth it to take a trip to the beginning.

Next we have Everything. No, that doesn’t mean that everything is free on the store this week (Epic Games have been generous with their giveaways, but not that generous). The game is a procedural simulation of the systems of nature where you go to outer and inner space with no real goals or tasks, just the whims of nature.

Both Metro 2033 Redux and Everything are available now on the Epic Games Store for free. Next week’s free title will be Minit.

Microsoft holds the exclusive marketing rights for the upcoming Metro: Exodus, and apparently, they’ll be leveraging them to the fullest, because they have announced a brand new Xbox One X bundle to go along with the release. The Metro saga Xbox One X bundle leverages Xbox One’s strengths by including not just the best console version of the game, but also Metro 2033 Redux and Metro Last Light Redux—meaning the whole saga (as the name suggests) is accessible to buyers of the bundle in one place.

The bundle will come with 1TB of storage space, one controller, a month’s subscription to Game Pass, and a month’s subscription to Xbox Live Gold, in addition to the console and games. It will cost $499, and can be bought now on the Microsoft Store, as well as at participating retailers (though you will only get it on February 15, which is when the game itself is due to release).

If you are excited for Metro, make sure to check out the newest, thrilling trailer for the game, which sets up the stakes of the game’s story and its world.

While Sony’s additions to PlayStation Now, their cloud based streaming service, for the month of December 2018 exhibited a case of quantity over quality, with not much standing out in the 50 new games that were added (other than maybe For Honor), the month of January seems to be the opposite of that.

Over on the PlayStation blog, Sony has revealed the full lineup of games being added to PS Now. While there’s only nine new games added to the service this month, there’s a few notable ones in there. First off, there’s Prey, Arkane Studios’ incredible reinvention of the series that launched in 2017. The other two headline additions are Metro 2033 Redux, and Project CARS 2.

Also in there are God Eater 2: Rage Burst, and the 2D RPG and tower defense hybrid Lock’s Quest. Sony also notes that these nine new additions bring the total number of streamable and downloadable PS4 games on PS Now to over 275, and over 700 streamable games in total. You can check out the full lineup of new additions below:

• Chess Ultra (PS4)
• God Eater 2: Rage Burst (PS4)
• Lock’s Quest (PS4)
• Metro 2033 Redux (PS4)
• Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (PS4)
• Prey (PS4)
• Project Cars 2 (PS4)
• Skydrift (PS3)
• Thunder Wolves (PS3)

For fans excited for the release of Metro Exodus, the game will be touring the world for players to try out soon, giving you a chance to play before it can launch. However, if you’re already certain about purchasing it, well, now you can do so- if you own an Xbox One, at least.

Metro Exodus is available to pre-order for the Xbox One, which obviously means it can also be pre-downloaded. This also comes with the remastered version of the first game in the series, Metro 2033 Redux, to sweeten the deal. You can pre-order either the regular version of the game or the Gold Edition, which comes with an expansion pass. While you can pre-load the game right away, it won’t  be playable until the game finally releases in February next year (obviously).

Metro Exodus will be bigger than the previous games in the series in many ways, featuring much larger levels, open ended exploration, and more. While the game does not feature an open world, its large levels are non-linear and will allow you to explore the hostile Russian nuclear wilderness with quite a bit of freedom.

Metro Exodus is set to release for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 22, 2019.

Even after finishing Metro 2033, only a few flashes exist of the actual names and people I met. Pavel, Hunter, the Cursed Station and Prohibition are the few names I remember and I wouldn’t be surprised if I forgot them tomorrow.

"Which is why we need a sequel ASAP because while I’m honestly still amazed that these games are as good as they are, it’s equally surprising that they haven’t had any announced follow-ups."

However, the experiences and accomplishments I accrued couldn’t be erased. Wandering on the surface, avoiding the claws of flying monsters while fighting oversized mutant rats; sneaking through a secret archive and trying to successfully navigate past the hulking Librarians, who alternated between brute force and somewhat adorable curiosity from one second to the next; traveling down miles of unexplored tunnels, avoiding mutated beasts in an effort to stay alive, much less make it to the next station; climbing up a large catacomb to reunite a boy with his mother, always aware of his weight on my back as we fought burrowing creatures together; trying my level best to save the Cursed station from being overrun; and of course, the frantic end-game which mixed resolution and horrific spectacle with unresolved questions. I could go on and on and that’s only Metro 2033 Redux.

I’m not going to sell you on why it or its sequel Metro: Last Light Redux are some of the best first person shooters money can buy (and they can be purchased together at a great price, so what are you waiting for?). There are plenty of people who can point to the awesome campaign and how meaty the gameplay is while presenting a compelling, if altogether mysterious, story.

Which is why we need a sequel ASAP because while I’m honestly still amazed that these games are as good as they are (forget how long I took to get to the first one), it’s equally surprising that they haven’t had any announced follow-ups. Even the DLC for both games is inconsequential and does’t add that much more than, at least not as much as, a full-fledged expansion.

"4A Games needs to deliver Metro 2034 or whatever the next game ends up being called simply because the industry needs it."

We live in a day and age where people will pay $20 to $40 every few months for Destiny DLC content, which amount to slivers of unique content of the day, but Metro 2033 Redux or Metro: Last Light don’t get the same treatment? Yes, I know they aren’t comparable and it would take longer to deliver a worthwhile Metro DLC story experience. I also know that developer 4A Games’ strength lies in creating complete experiences even though they take much longer and more creative work to develop.

However, the fact that I want more gameplay isn’t the reason why the Metro franchise needs another sequel. No, 4A Games needs to deliver Metro 2034 or whatever the next game ends up being called simply because the industry needs it.

How many compelling single-player first person shooters have you played in the past two years? Wolfenstein: The New Order was good – not mind-blowing but good while The Old Blood was a decent expansion. Halo: The Master Chief Collection was a disappointment due to its numerous bugs. Call of Duty: Ghosts was a joke and while Advanced Warfare was better, it’s still a far cry from a great single-player experience. That also applies to Titanfall – great multiplayer but horrible single-player. Far Cry 4 was infuriating at times but more or less fine. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel was fun but it was no Borderlands 3. Killzone: Shadow Fall? Yeah, no and the less said about Destiny’s single-player campaign, the better.

Ironically enough, some of the best first person games in recent memory haven’t been shooters as exemplified by Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture, Outlast and The Talos Principle. Even Dying Light was alright with its mix of shooting, parkour and hack and slash. Come to think of it, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has some first person shooting (I’m really reaching here, I know).

"We need more games like Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light. We need more games that don’t insist on spoon-feeding us even on their easiest settings or trivializing the time we put into them with meaningless missions, grinding or worse, a disposable campaign that only serves to pad the multiplayer."

There isn’t even a dearth of upcoming first person shooters with a campaign per say. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 looks like it’ll have some semblance of a story to it. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst will be first person even if there isn’t any shooting. Halo 5: Guardians will have a strong campaign or at least that’s the hope. Homefront: The Revolution will also be happening next year so there’s that. Let’s not forget about Doom, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided or Dishonored 2 (which is more first person stealth than shooter).

They’ll all probably be great, but the point is that it feels like forever since an amazing, straight-up single-player FPS has come along. I’ll sing the praises of Metro Redux (released in 2014) but Metro: Last Light was released in 2013 while Metro 2033 is a 2010 game.

They aren’t even the most up to date shooters but they’re still so good, and their Redux versions look fantastic. Half Life 3 may never happen in our lifetimes and I can’t help but feel that the Metro franchise will be the next best thing as a shooter where you simultaneously are the main character and also care about him. That’s not even getting to the amazing level design, stellar attention to detail, breath-taking visuals, strong mechanics and shooting, memorable set-pieces and sizable length.

We need more games like Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light. We need more games that don’t insist on spoon-feeding us even on their easiest settings or trivializing the time we put into them with meaningless missions, grinding or worse, a disposable campaign that only serves to pad the multiplayer. And judging by the success of the series and the continued crowding of the multiplayer FPS space, it’s not like a sequel would go unappreciated.

Metro Redux which was recently released on the PlayStation 4 runs at 1080p and 60fps on Sony’s console. Given that Sony’s first party studios like Naughty Dog have somewhat struggled to achieve consistent 60fps in their games, it’s surprising that such a demanding game is running in full HD on the PlayStation 4. So how did 4A Games achieved it?

“There is no secret. We just adapted to the target hardware,” 4A Games’ chief technical officer Oles Shishkovstov said in an interview with EuroGamer. “GCN doesn’t love interpolators? OK, ditch the per-vertex tangent space, switch to per-pixel one. That CPU task becomes too fast on an out-of-order CPU? Merge those tasks. Too slow task? Parallelise it. Maybe the GPU doesn’t like high sqrt count in the loop? But it is good in integer math – so we’ll use old integer tricks. And so on, and so on.”

He also added that eSRAM itself  is not a pain to work with but the amount of eSRAM on the Xbox One is actually challenging. Regardless it’s sufficient performance wise. “Actually, the real pain comes not from ESRAM but from the small amount of it. As for ESRAM performance – it is sufficient for the GPU we have in Xbox One. Yes it is true, that the maximum theoretical bandwidth – which is somewhat comparable to PS4 – can be rarely achieved (usually with simultaneous read and write, like FP16-blending) but in practice I’ve seen only a few cases where it becomes a limiting factor.”

Metro Redux is now available for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and it’s pretty solid remaster. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Metro Redux is a remaster of both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light. In both games you play as Artyom, a resident of Moscow’s underground metro system. As Artyom you are immune to the psychological side effects of “Dark Ones”, the humanoid residents of the surface. The Dark One’s fate as well as your own are entwined over the course of the two games culminating in a dark adventure with themes of redemption and atoning for past mistakes. It is a sophisticated narrative that is unfortunately hampered by some awkward voice acting and writing.

" Living on the surface is impossible, and so the only chance of survival is to take shelter in the ruins of the Moscow underground metro system. "

Both Metro games create a dark nuanced atmosphere, with classic eastern European horror aesthetics. The tunnel system is old and run down due to years of neglect, tree roots from the world above permeate the ceilings and water from burst pipes pools in low areas. Stations are now overcrowded villages divided by miles of dangerous track filled with bandits and monsters.

In stark contrast to the damp and claustrophobic feel of the underground tunnel system, the world on the surface is bright and open. And although this is the case, it contains some of the single most isolating areas in both games. While on the surface the player must wear a gas mask and constantly keep track of how much time they have left before needing to change the air filter. Air filters are limited throughout the game and they deteriorate quickly. If you run out of them while still in an irradiated area you run the risk of suffocating to death.

Because humans have been forced to live in the metro for 20 years the weapons they use are old, and a lot of them homemade. Revolvers and submachine guns are common place, but finding an actual AK-74 is considered a treasure. Other weapons such as the Helsing, and Tihar rely on pneumatic air tanks to fire homemade arrows and ball bearings. These pneumatic weapons must be manually pumped full of air before they can be used, adding a unique dynamic to using them in combat.

"While on the surface the player must wear a gas mask and constantly keep track of how much time they have left before needing to change the air filter. "

Weapons can be sold, traded, and modified at the various vendors in the game. There is a wide array of attachments available for each weapon, and some can augment certain weapons for extremely specific situations. For instance, in Last Light you can modify the Lolife pistol to become a mid-range silenced rifle while still using pistol ammo. I used this weapon a lot to pick eliminate enemies at mid-long range before they were aware of my presence. Modifying a weapon in a transformative way can become necessary to conserve ammo.

The currency Metro uses is a little unorthodox in the realm of video games. Instead of standard gold or cash, you pay for things using bullets. These aren’t normal bullets however, they are pre-war military rounds The player can choose to either keep them for weapon upgrades and items, or use them in their assault rifle for a damage boost. This adds an interesting dynamic to the game, as ammo is often scarce at the best of times and you may need to use these rounds to survive.

The gunplay in 2033 has been improved from the original version, but unfortunately that doesn’t make much of a difference due to the combat encounters feeling outdated and ill-conceived. Last Light largely features the same gun mechanics, however it is elevated by the fact that the combat encounters are better designed throughout the game.

" The gunplay in 2033 has been improved from the original version, but unfortunately that doesn't make much of a difference due to the combat encounters feeling outdated and ill-conceived. "

Certain situations in both games encourage you to take a more stealthy approach, which allows you to use silencers and night vision attachments for your weapons.  Unfortunately the areas in 2033 just don’t seem to be set up properly for this sort of thing. On the other hand, Last Light’s stealth segments make the player feel like a knife in the dark among enemies. Using the darkness to your advantage will become a needed skill, and it’s augmented by the advanced lighting engine implemented in these games.

For me, these were among the strongest segments in Last Light. At one point in particular you are given a rail car to advance through the tunnels, along your journey you encounter a group of refugees from the communist regime. Choosing to help these refugees gain safe passage, you are tasked with clearing outposts on the rails up ahead. Before each outpost, you can stop your vehicle and shut the lights off allowing you to take a stealthy approach. Some of the outposts have back entrances you can advance through and catch your enemy off guard using close range knife take-downs or longer range silenced shots.

Encounters are not always that satisfying, as the Nosalis enemies are spongy and come at you in packs. At certain points this seems to be used as a way to deplete the player’s ammo before entering a station, causing them to spend military rounds to replenish stock. I could just be overly cynical about that, but it seemed to be the case for the majority of 2033, and a few times in Last Light. These encounters were tedious, with the enemy only focused on attacking the player character and never any surrounding NPCs. If you let more than one Nosalis get too close to you it can mean certain death while just trying to reload one of the many clips you will be dumping into each group. As stated above this was more of an issue in 2033 than it was in Last Light, which doesn’t use this enemy type as often.

"Last Light’s stealth segments make the player feel like a knife in the dark among enemies. Using the darkness to your advantage will become a needed skill, and it’s augmented by the advanced lighting engine implemented in these games. "

There is a moral choice mechanic that determines one of two possible endings in each game, but the player is never told of it’s existence. This may lead to some confusion when starting Last Light after 2033 because there is only one canon ending that Last Light takes into consideration. On my playthrough of 2033, I was completely unaware of this system and wondered why the game made me choose between some things, never getting an explanation. Its not like the system needs to be completely telegraphed, but even the slightest hint would have given me a better understanding.

The newest additions to this package seem to be new play styles the player can choose before starting each game. The two new play styles are Survival, and Spartan. The former of which plays more like a survival horror game in the vein of the original 2033, with the latter playing more like Last Light. I experimented with both and found that the Spartan style was more in line with how I tend to enjoy shooters, but survival will be fitting for people who appreciate a struggle. Add to that the return of the classic Ranger difficulty mode and you will find a unique and immersive challenge that will test the survivability of even the most storied fans. If I had one complaint about these playstyles it would be that the descriptions aren’t quite clear on what they will be before starting the game, and unfortunately once you have chosen there is no going back. The difficulty however can be changed at any time.

" There is a moral choice mechanic that determines one of two possible endings in each game, but the player is never told of it’s existence. "

Ultimately Metro Redux is the best way to experience each of these games. Last Light stands out as the star of the package providing a well paced journey of redemption through the dreary and isolated world. In spite of it’s vast improvements, 2033 just doesn’t hold up as well and can feel like a slog due to tedious encounters and repetitive enemies. I would recommend playing them both but if you have to choose, go with Last Light. The story does a good job of recapping 2033 and it is a much better game.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Update 2: Metro Redux will run at 900p on Xbox One, DeepSilver has confirmed to GamingBolt. Title has been updated to reflect the story.

Update: There are reports that the Xbox One will be running at 900P. We decided to get in touch with DeepSilver’s PR agency again. The PR said that the last they heard is that it’s not final at all but that the PS4 was running at 1080p. We will update this story if we hear more.

Earlier today DeepSilver and 4A Games announced that remastered versions of Metro Last Light and Metro 2033 are launching this summer. The games will launch across the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC with a whole range of improvements to gameplay and graphics.

The games are confirmed to be running at 60fps on both the PS4 and Xbox One and it was confirmed via the PlayStation Blog that the PS4 version will also run at a full 1080p resolution. GamingBolt got in touch with DeepSilver for clarification regarding the resolution for the Xbox One version.

“We don’t have final numbers yet,” the PR agency handling DeepSilver told to GamingBolt. The PR also confirmed to us that the Xbox One resolution is being worked on and will be revealed at a later date.

Since 4A games are masters in pushing systems to the limit, we are hopeful that the Xbox One version will also be running at 1080p.  We will keep you updated on this front. In the mean time, what are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below.

DeepSilver and 4A Games have announced that Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light will be remastered and will release on the PS4, Xbox One and PC this summer. Players can pick either of them for $24.99 or a bundled edition simply titled as Metro: Redux which can be picked up for $49.99.

The PS4 and Xbox One version will run at sixty frames per second, however the former will run at 1080p resolution. We have no updates regarding the resolution of the Xbox One version but we have reached out to DeepSilver for a clarification. We will update this story when we hear from them.

The Redux versions include “re-mastered visuals: advanced lighting, dynamic weather, more detailed characters with improved animation, more dynamic destruction and improved smoke, fire and particle effects,” according to the press release that GamingBolt received.

The remastered version will also include gameplay enhancements like better melee animations, and Check Watch’ and ‘Check Inventory’ features.

We also have new screens from the game which you can check below.

4A Games is apparently working to bring Metro 2033 to the PS4 and Xbox One in the form of Metro 2033 Redux. The next-gen port was outed on Italian website Everyeye.it, along with box art and details about the DLC. Check out the images below for more information.

Everyeye has since pulled the images from its website, and neither 4A Games nor publisher Deep Silver – which published Metro: Last Light in 2013 – have confirmed the validity of the game’s existence. For now, take this with a grain of salt.

The last time we heard anything about the Metro franchise was regarding possible rumours of Last Light heading to next gen consoles. That of course went unconfirmed but if this particular report is true, then it could mean that 4A Games and Deep Silver are working to bring the whole franchise to Xbox One and PS4 eventually.

What are your thoughts on the above? Fact or fiction? Let us know in the comments.