Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Serving as a prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain released the year after, two-hour long Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes introduced fresh stealth and traversal mechanics, manoeuvres that became staples in MGSV’s proper release. Set a few months after Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 1975, Ground Zeroes follows Snake’s infiltration of American black site Camp Omega as he attempts a daring rescue. Renowned for presenting newfound immersion to the series, the main complaint with Ground Zeroes is it was just too short.

At the same time, however, it was also clear that the single player first person shooters that had once been the genre’s lifeblood were dying out. Multiplayer was growing in popularity at a rapid rate, and with the likes of Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield eating up an increasingly larger share for the market, it felt like there was no room anymore for narrative-driven single player first-person shooters. Or, well, that’s what the majority of us thought, at any rate, because in 2010, along came Ukrainian studio 4A Games’ debut project, Metro 2033, to prove us all wrong.

Developed by a team of former GSC Game World staff that had previously worked on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, Metro 2033 was based on a novel of the same name by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, telling the story of a group of survivors in a post-nuclear Russia, living in the cracks and shadows of Moscow’s underground Metro system in order to avoid the heavily irradiated surface. Launching for Xbox 360 and PC, Metro 2033 instantly became something of a poster child for the notion that narrative-driven single player first person shooters still very much had a place in the games industry.

Though the game received some criticism for a few of its technical issues, some clunkiness with its combat, and AI-related bugs, by and large, Metro 2033 was received well by critics and audiences alike, and with its excellent post-apocalyptic setting, its horror elements, its grueling survival mechanics, its excellent story and the way it told it, and more, it instantly endeared itself to a sizeable audience. Though it didn’t set the world on fire with its sales the way so many other shooters at the time would do (especially the multiplayer-centric ones), with over 1.5 million units sold, it became clear that the game had been enough of a success to warrant a sequel.

And it didn’t take long for that sequel to arrive. In 2013, around three years on from the launch of Metro 2033, 4A Games put out Metro: Last Light, and with it, the studio chose to head down a path of its own making. Rather than adapting the second Metro book, Metro 2034, 4A Games instead worked with Metro author Dmitry Glukhovsky to write an original, new story that would serve as a direct follow-up to 2033’s bad ending. Thankfully, it was a risk that paid off, because Last Light continued to prove that there was still a place in the games industry for linear, narrative-driven shooters.

By and large, other than choosing to tell its own original story, Metro: Last Light didn’t stray too much from the path that its predecessor laid out, which meant it had a lot of the same strengths, and a lot of the same weaknesses. The game attracted some criticism for issues related to its AI and its technical state, but at the same time, garnered widespread praise for its story and storytelling, its tense atmosphere, and its stellar storytelling. At the same time, it also made relatively smaller improvements to the gameplay, which came together to uplift the combat and stealth in some noticeable ways.

Like its predecessor, Metro: Last Light was a critical and commercial hit, and it was clear to everyone that another sequel would arrive at some point in the future. The wait for the third Metro game, however, turned out to be a much longer one than the wait for the second one had been. By this point, both the series and 4A Games had become known quantities in the AAA space (to say the least), and with expectations higher than ever, the studio started envisioning a much more ambitious experience for the series’ next instalment.

Metro Exodus arrived six years after its predecessor, in 2019, and though it was a long wait, the game proved to be worth it. One of the biggest changes it made was adopting a semi-open world structure, and taking players out of the dank, cramped, underground tunnels that they had spent the majority of their time in in the first two games. In Metro Exodus, Artyom and his crew travelled the remains of post-apocalyptic Russia, hopping from one large, open-ended map to the next, with the game once again telling an original, new story written in collaboration with Glukhovsky. The game definitely swung for the fences- and for the most part, the results were impressive.

Metro Exodus’ larger emphasis on exploration and the optional content it had on offer lent new weight and depth to the experience, while at the same time, the game also continued to deliver a healthy amount of the tense, linear, guided sections that had been the series’ bread and butter over the course of its two previous instalments. It also continued to tell a riveting story, one that benefited from its larger, more expansive worldview, while gameplay elements like combat and stealth also saw further noticeable improvements.

Unsurprisingly, Metro Exodus went on to become the series’ biggest and most successful game yet. As of February this year, the shooter has sold over 10 million units worldwide, which, of course, means the series’ future is assured. In fact, we already have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Metro in the coming months and years. First up is Metro Awakening, a virtual reality FPS being developed by Vertigo Games that will serve as a prequel to Metro 2033, and is promising a more linear, guided experience in vein of the series’ earlier entries.

And of course, there’s more things to look forward to as well. 4A Games has confirmed on a number of occasions that it’s working on the next Metro game for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. In fact, the series’ next instalment was officially confirmed to be in development all the way back in 2020- but, as 4A Games revealed a little over a year ago, the game’s development had (understandably enough) been impacted by the war on Ukraine. Work on the sequel is still continuing, but it should go without saying that 4A Games’ primary focus right now is going to be ensuring the health and safety of its team, rather than finishing the project. What exactly does that mean for when the next Metro game will arrive? We don’t know, but we do know that it’s coming.

Thankfully, the games industry has gotten to a point where the notion that story-driven single player experiences (especially shooters) don’t have much of an audience doesn’t hold much water, and the Metro series has had a significant role to play in that turnaround. Ironically, 4A Games has confirmed that it’s also working on a standalone multiplayer-centric Metro experience, but honestly, as long as the series also continues to put out the narrative-driven solo experiences it’s become known for, a multiplayer spinoff doesn’t really sound like a bad idea. One way or another, there’s a lot of Metro to look forward to in the future, and we couldn’t be more pumped about it.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Embracer Group and Saber Interactive’s deal includes an option for the latter to purchase both 4A Games and Zen Studios (developer of the Zen Pinball series). Due to “commercial reasons”, Embracer and Saber haven’t mentioned the exact price that has been set for both studios, but say that it “reflects at least the studios’ market value and is significantly higher than the current net book value (including goodwill) of USD 81 million (SEK 829 million).” This will be on top of additional “earnout liabilities of approximately USD 31 million (SEK 317 million)”.

Interestingly, however, even if Saber should exercise the option to acquire 4A Games, long-term licensing and publishing rights for all existing and future PC and console Metro games will be retained by Embracer-owned PLAION. Metro publisher Deep Silver was merged into PLAION last year.

Embracer has also retained control and ownership of 4A Games’ next AAA project (which will presumably be the next Metro game).

Meanwhile, another Metro title is also currently in the works, with Vertigo Games developing the VR-exclusive first-person shooter Metro Awakening.

Halo 3: ODST

The Halo games have continued to be system sellers for Microsoft for generations at this point, but Halo 3: ODST always ends up being one of the more under-appreciated games in the franchise. And that’s a shame really, because ODST had some really interesting ideas that were executed reasonably well – including but not limited to large open environments and a setting that didn’t rely on Master Chief or Cortana. It’s a unique game that has a lot to say, and fans should definitely give it a try.

Quantum Break

Quantum Break was an ambitious project from Remedy Entertainment, and it sought to combine elements of a TV show with a game. Sure, some of its concepts didn’t really stick the landing – but Quantum Break is an extremely fast and frenetic shooter that features some interesting time-based abilities and a story that’s about as weird as one would expect from the developer. It’s easily one of the more underrated Microsoft exclusives, but one worth trying out nevertheless.

Sunset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrive comes from the now Sony-owned Insomniac Games. It’s a post-apocalyptic adventure game where you grind on rails, jump on bouncy surfaces, and use a vast array of weapons to gun down waves upon waves of enemies. It features a colorful open world with likable characters and quality writing, but the game wasn’t really able to make an impact in the end. Sunset Overdrive is emblematic of the developer’s biggest strengths, which makes it a really underrated game that deserves a lot more love and credit than it gets.

Mafia 1

The original Mafia was a game that was well ahead of its time. In a market where every developer was trying to copy Rockstar’s formula of an open world, Mafia provided its own take with a more realistic world that operated on brutal rules and a story that was a complex tale with plenty of loyalties and conspiracies. It was a special game that unfortunately never got the audience it deserved, most likely due to its demanding gameplay – which is honestly a shame.

The Saboteur

Developed by Pandemic Studios, The Saboteur thrusts players into a beautifully realized rendition of 1940s Paris. You play as a racer-turned-rebel who embarks on a quest to prevent evil schemes from happening, and that story remains engaging from start to finish. But what’s more impressive is the set of mechanics that beautifully combines social stealth elements with action gameplay in an open-world setting, and it’s honestly a surprise as to why such a special game went unnoticed by the masses.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is developer Ninja Theory’s take on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, and it tells the story of two people who must work together to ensure each other’s survival. The game uses a simple but fun combat loop for its gameplay, but what makes it special is the interesting scenarios it keeps on creating at every turn – which makes it such an engaging experience.

Vampyr

Vampyr is all about a doctor juggling his personal life at a hospital and his struggles with turning into a bloodthirsty vampire. The combat is all about balancing stamina and dishing out damage to your opponents, and the game does a great job of creating a well-knit set of systems that beautifully interact with one another to create a fully realized world. There are a few rough edges here and there, but it is a game that’s worth trying out.

As Dusk Falls

As Dusk Falls is a narrative adventure that starts out simply with a family embarking on a road trip, but that soon evolves into something greater. The art style here is fantastic, and the story is pretty engaging from start to finish. It’s a simple game that does just enough to keep you entertained for its runtime, and sometimes that’s all you need.

Gears of War Judgment

The Gears of War series has continued to be one of the most valuable first-party games for the Xbox platform, and almost every mainline entry has been showered with great critical and commercial reception. Gears of War Judgment stands out as an exception, not because it suffered from bad reviews – but that not many people actually played it. And this is a shame because this prequel provides a ton of context to the events of later entries – and that information will be highly appreciated by fans of the franchise.

Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct attempted a shot at revival in 2014, which ended up receiving a rather tepid reception from fans. While it wasn’t on par with contemporaries like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, Killer Instinct was certainly a quality first-party game from Microsoft that never really got the love and attention it deserves.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments is widely considered to be one of the best games in the long-running series, and a lot of that praise can be attributed to the game’s excellently crafted story. Crimes and Punishments never fails to keep you guessing, and the writing is also quality stuff. The gameplay revolves around carefully assessing clues and deducting solutions to these cases, and that provides a very distinct fantasy of being a great detective.

Gears Tactics

Gears Tactics does a great job of translating the series’ signature third-person shooting to a top-down tactical game without losing the game’s identity in that transition. The resulting product is a game that shouldn’t work but somehow feels like a natural evolution of the franchise. It constantly ramps things up with new kinds of obstacles and more complex levels, and that keeps you engaged for a long time.

Wanted: Dead

Wanted: Dead takes inspiration from multiple action adventure classics like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, and crafts an experience that feels equal parts a glorious homage and a fresh experience. Wanted: Dead features a solid combat loop where you can effortlessly switch between slashing your foes with a sword and gunning them down with weapons – and that foundation of ideas rarely gets stale.

State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition

State of Decay 2 didn’t launch in the best of states, but over the course of multiple major updates – the developers were able to not only fix the game’s technical issues but also realize its potential with new content changes and mechanic overhaul. But for many fans, the boat had already sailed by then – and State of Decay 2 became an underrated game only appreciated by a small group of people. If you are one of those who gave up on the game, give it another try – and you might be surprised.

Metro 2033

The Metro series came into the limelight with Metro: Last Light and recent entries such as Exodus are widely praised for their brand of survival gameplay. As a result, Metro 2033 ends up being a rather underrated game in the series – which is a shame because many of the ideas that we have come to associate so dearly with the series were actually founded in Metro 2033. It’s a really well-made game, and more people should give it a shot.

Firewatch

This Campo Santo-developed first-person adventure was released in 2016 and sees players taking the role of a man named Henry who is a fire lookout at a national forest. The game has some great art direction which is also minimalist, alongside quality voice-acting. Firewatch does not have much in the name of action, but the beauty of nature and its environments remains constant throughout. Players will also have to choose dialogues from an options tree, which can significantly impact your relationship with other characters.

The series has since gone on to expand its horizons with last year’s Metro Exodus, but 4A Games have taken a pause to look back into the past- and they’ve done so by putting remastered versions of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light on the Switch, making this not only the first time that the series appears on a Nintendo system, but also the first time it’s playable on a handheld console.

The results are surprisingly good- which has become something of a trend with Switch ports of third party titles. Games like The Witcher 3 and Alien Isolation have already impressed audiences with how well they work on the Switch, and Metro Redux is good enough to join those ranks. Not only is it a great excuse to jump back into two of the best single player shooters of the last decade, it’s also an impressive showcase of what talented developers can do even when they’re working with limited power.

"Not only is it a great excuse to jump back into two of the best single player shooters of the last decade, it’s also an impressive showcase of what talented developers can do even when they’re working with limited power."

In spite of being a decade old (7 years in Last Light’s case), both these games still look great. A lot of that is thanks to the excellent work 4A Games put in when the Redux versions first released, but what’s even more impressive in this particular case is how good they look on the Switch. They don’t just look good “for Switch games”- it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that in many cases, Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light look almost as good on Nintendo’s console as they do on the PS4 or the Xbox One.

And that’s really one of the highest praises I can give to Metro Redux on the Switch- that it compares so well to other versions of the game. Unlike, say, The Witcher 3, where the port was great but not necessarily the way to go for first time players, Metro Redux does not feel compromised to any significant degree, and if you are someone who’s never played these games before, this is still an excellent way to experience them for the first time. The most obvious downgrade here is the frame rate, which gets cut down to 30 FPS instead of the 60 frames that the PS4 and Xbox One offer, but thanks to how well both games play and how consistently they maintain their frame rates (for the most part), it doesn’t feel like a very significant sacrifice. It helps, as I’ve mentioned, that the actual visuals are great.

That’s especially true if you’re playing the game in handheld mode. While playing Metro Redux undocked does present some issues with insufficient lighting in the darker areas of both games (of which there are plenty), by and large the visuals deserve a lot of praise. From the detail in the environments to the crispness of the image quality, Metro Redux never gives the impression that it’s making any major or instantly noticeable concessions while being ported to less powerful hardware.

"From the detail in the environments to the crispness of the image quality, Metro Redux never gives the impression that it’s making any major or instantly noticeable concessions while being ported to less powerful hardware."

Console mode looks great as well, and though some flaws with textures and smaller details are more noticeable – as they would be, on a larger screen – these are, for the most part, minor inconsistencies that are easy to overlook. Performance is generally great as well, as I mentioned earlier, with both Metro 2033 and Last Light being steady with their frame-rates. I ran into some instances of stuttering (mostly while playing Last Light), but they were fleeting issues that didn’t really have much of an impact on my overall experience.

Metro Redux does have some technical issues though- but they’re not due to the Switch’s limited capabilities, nor are they exclusive to Nintendo’s hybrid. The Metro series has always had a little bit of jank, and things such as facial models and general animations have often been a little rough around the edges in these games. While Metro Redux does iron out a lot of these issues (it did that back in 2014, actually), some of that jank is still in here.

Lip syncing can be weirdly off sometimes, characters sometimes move jerkily and mechanically, and characters’ faces don’t look the best. Meanwhile, there’s also audio glitches that series fans will find quite familiar, and while they did occasionally bother me – especially during the more story-heavy sections – they were by no means game-breaking. If nothing else, at least this is the kind of stuff that Metro fans have grown used to over the years, so it doesn’t come as a shock to the system. The one issue that can be quite grating is the long load times, when can be as long as over a minute at times.

"Performance is generally great, with both Metro 2033 and Last Light being steady with their frame-rates. I ran into some instances of stuttering, but they were fleeting issues that didn’t really have much of an impact on my overall experience."

These grievances, however, don’t change the fact that even in 2020, years on from their original releases, Metro 2033 and Last Light are great games. 4A Games’ talent for telling engaging stories and immersing players in its rich, atmospheric worlds shines through in nearly every moment of the Metro games, and the technical polishing done by the developers has ensured that they’ve aged quite gracefully.

Regardless of whether you’re hankering for a revisit to the post-apocalyptic remains of Russia, or you’re itching to experience these modern classics for the first time, Metro Redux on the Switch is an easy game to recommend. Is it the best version of the game? Not quite, no, due to the Switch’s inherent limitations- but it comes closer to that mark than many would have thought it would, and that’s an impressive achievement in and of itself.

This game was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch.

Super Shotgun – DOOM (2016)

The Super Shotgun in Doom 1 and 2 was revered for its close range devastation and this carried over beautifully to DOOM (2016). It may not be the BFG 9000 but the Super Shotgun can rip a hole through several smaller enemies at once, besides inflicting heavy damage on bigger demons. It’s the Slayer’s signature weapon and is only getting better in DOOM Eternal with the introduction of a grappling hook.

After a couple of leaks over the last few months, it was recently confirmed that Metro Redux would indeed be coming to the Nintendo Switch, and that the port would be developed in-house by 4A Games themselves. It’s a bit of an unusual move, with developers usually choosing to go with third party port-specialist studios (such as Panic Button or Virtuos) for their Switch-porting needs.

4A Games choosing to handle the port themselves inspires confidence- because who know those games better than them, right? Now, they’ve also shared new information on how the collection will look and run on the Switch. Koch Media (parent company of publishers Deep Silver) have confirmed to Wccftech that on the Nintendo Switch, Metro Redux will run at 720p and 30 frames per second in portable mode, and get bumped up to 1080p (and still 30 FPS) in console mode. That’s better than the games’ last-gen versions, but worse (as expected) than on the PS4 and Xbox One.

Metro Redux will bring the remastered versions of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light to the Nintendo Switch on February 28.

Speculation of Metro Redux coming to the Switch has been mounting since the game was leaked by a retailer for Nintendo’s platform last year, and with yet another listing (this time from PEGI) just a couple weeks back, that speculation has grown even more. Now, series developers 4A Games have confirmed that the collection is indeed headed to the Switch.

Metro Redux is releasing for the Switch on February 28, a month and a half from now. The physical release will compile both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light (and all their DLCs) on a single 16 GB cart, which is good, because it’s becoming increasingly uncommon from Switch ports of this scale to put all their content on the cart without the need of downloading anything.

The port is being developed in-house by 4A Games. Pre-ordering the physical edition (at “selected” retailers) of the collection will also get players a “Ranger Cache pre-order pack”, which includes the following:

• Metro Redux pin badge set
• Game case sleeve
• Double sided alternate artwork inlay
• 4 double sided art cards
• A2 double sided poster

You can check out the pre-order pack’s contents and the game’s announcement trailer below. In related news, two other games – Saints Row 4: Re-Elected and BioShock Collection – were also recently leaked for the Switch, so be on the lookout for those announcements as well.

The Switch has seen a bevy of ports – old and new, likely and unlikely – since its launch, which makes sense, because the system’s hybrid functionality makes it a uniquely excellent platform to play any game you can think of. Two games that wouldn’t feel out of place on the Switch are 4A Games’ linear story-driven first person shooters, Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light- and it seems they might be on the way to Nintendo’s platform.

The Pan European Game Information (PEGI) ratings board, which the is games certification board in European markets, has rated Metro Redux for the Nintendo Switch (rated 18, of course). Metro Redux, in case you’re not aware, is a collection that compiles remastered versions of the first two games of the series, Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light.

Though there has been no official announcement for this release yet (maybe soon?), the game being given an official age rating seems like a pretty dead giveaway. Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Metro Redux on Switch either. Back in October, a listing for a Switch version of the game also popped up at an online retailer.

Either way, we’ll keep you updated as this story develops, so stay tuned.