Recent reviews by kinZ

This is the example of what a faithful remake should be! There are clever additions and reimagings, but they subtly weave through the original narrative.

Also, it runs and looks amazing. My 2070 super, i7-8700k, 32GB RAM w/ DLSS quality are able to pull 70-high 90 fps at 1440p with everything set to high, besides motion blur/vsync/ray traced AO.

I remembered this game as terrifying, but it's even scarier and atmospheric than I remember.

Awesome pixel art direction and sound design with nice voice acting! I really enjoyed some of their earlier games, like Primordia and the switch to a rural/folk/lovecraftian setting was a great choice. Would recommend if you're in the mood for a point & click, the puzzles especially are not obscure like some older adventure games.

10/10 prepares me for the dystopian Trump presidency.

10/10 for making me cry more than once.

Granted, I haven't even fiished the tutorial section but I have a gut feeling this game will continue to excel. I love the art direction and the setting, it gives the game a really awesome unique feeling. The weapon system seems really varied and nice and as do the controls. I'm excited to get into the story.

I almost cried because of a 6 minute game.

WOW I GUESS I DIDN'T NEED TO BE HAPPY ANYTIME SOON OK
...why are you reading this review when you should've already bought the game?
10/10 would recommend.

Well, I've done it. I've finished Metro 2033: Redux. All I can say is the experience was a great, if not slightly bumpy one. I'll start with what this game does right.

• Wonderful, immersive atomosphere. While the game can be classified as 'horror', it's different than any horror game I've played. Sure there are a few jump scares. But the oppressive world is far more terrifying than the lumbering librarian or any of the other mutants. Being on the surface while the time on your filter ticks away, literally counting down until you eventually choke on the noxious air, or seeing that your in a tunnel surrounded by mutant spiders that are only sensitive to light - then realizing that your battery is almost dead, or knowing that a pack of ravenous wolf like creatures are about to swarm and you're low on ammo, is a far more engaging and terrifying experience. You have to learn to conserve here, especially on the higher difficulties.
  
• Great story, with lots of moral ambiguity and some still unresolved questions that will tie into the sequel, Metro: Last Light. I normally don't play FPS games, but this has one of the best story arcs (that directly continues in the sequel), that I've played.
  
• Stealth system is great. I know that it was drastically changed in the redux version of this game to be more like Last Light, and while I haven't played the original non-redux version of 2033, I think the majority will think the change was necessary. A lot of changes have been made in the redux version, from graphic improvements to optimization and stealth changes.
  
• Personally, I like the weapon system. There aren't a huge number of guns but you can fit one to your play style.
  
• Definitely has high replayabilty, so don't be too mad if you finish the game in 13 hours or less like I did. You can choose between stealthy approaches (necessary on higher difficulties) and the all-out gunning everyone down approach. Or you can choose not to kill anyone at all during the whole game. Your choices (in and out of combat) affect which of the two endings you receive. My first playthrough I played on normal, but I am looking forward to try the higher difficulties next time around. They offer a greater challenge with scarcer resources.

Now, time to be a negative nancy.

• Littered with bugs. I've had framerate issues, some CTDs, and an instance in the Depot level (known infamously as the sky bug) which rendered that level unplayable and had to download someone else's save file to progress. That meant loosing all my gear and receiving someone else's. I may have had worse issues if I had not fixed a CTD problem in Last Light. I'd recommend deleting the intro video ogv files and replacing them file a blank text file (legal.ogv). I also disabled advanced physx and forced my cpu to run physx instead of my nvidia gpu. Most of the bugs you encounter will have a solution on the web, just it may be an aggravating and time consuming journey to fix them. Make sure you're computer can handle the game before you buy.
  
• Some poor level design. The Trolley Combat level being the worst. Controls feel very sticky and that's a bad thing in a rail shooter section where you can die extremely quickly. It must've taken me 7 tries to get through it.
  
• Very linear. Besides the choices that add to replayablity that I mentioned previously, the levels themselves often feel like being pushed down a corridor with little to no exploration. Opening a box in an adjacent room does not count as detailed exploration. Personally, I think the game really would have benefitted from larger maps, not even necessarily a whole open world. Also, some crafting would have been nice.
  
• Characters aren't that meaningful, at least in my opinion besides Khan maybe and Artyom. I think this is probably because I didn't read the Metro 2033 book that inspired the game series.
  
• Why does Artyom only speak in the loading screens and not the rest of the game??? It's kind of awkward.
  
  Overall, despite the game's flaws (the bugs being the worst), it's a unique experience that I highly recommend. This Redux version has made significant improvements to the original and when played back to back with the sequel, the game offers a cohesive narrative with satisfying combat and stealth. Prepare for some frustrations, but also prepare for a lot of fun in the Metro.

Would violently dismember mutant alien again

10/10