First off, i'm not going to be a baby about the whole Epic vs Steam, this is a review for the game not the company behind it:

Lore Preface:
The game takes place after Glukhovsky's Metro 2035 Book (Summed up below)
The book sums up to Artyom's adventure in destroying the jammers ends up with finding out that Hanza, the reds, the Reich and even pPolis are part of a metaphoric hydra to where many heads but one puppeteer. They kept the jammers up because they worried that outside threats would nuke Moscow if they found life remained. Artyom was classified as a schizo and saboteur to make sure the secret didn't get out. Hanza and Miller continued to fund the reds on their fight with the Reich to keep everyone busy. After escaping capture from Polis for being called a traitor and saboteur he was told by a friend that people don't want to be told life out there exists and that people need hope to live down here and that the adventures of Artyom are to be written as a legend, that a normal citizen like them can prosper and do anything with perseverance. Artyom made his way to Exhibition to where Anna was and told them that he is being hunted by Hanza and that life exists elsewhere, trying to rally people to go only Anna said she would hey headed to the surface and took a suped up car with 3 cans of diesel and decided to drive east following the highway between Moscow and Vladivostok. When Artyom asked where they were going and Anna said: "I want to go to my home, see the ocean, Vladivostok." As they left, from atop a tower Spartans of the Order radioed Miller that they were leaving and wondered if they wanted them executed, to which Miller responded ♥♥♥♥ them

End of the book in relation to the start of the game:
Regarding the game, it explains why Hanza is the starting enemies. However I the game tweaked the ending of the book to which I assume that Anna and Artyom saw the train, took it, then Miller changed his mind and instead of saying "♥♥♥♥ them" at the end of the book, the Spartans ambushed and rescued Anna and Artyom and decided to head west.

Story
The overall story of Metro Exodus is by far one of the most gripping experiences I have had in a while. Each larger section of the game is comprised of smaller good and bad endings which overall adds up to a good or bad ending. Receiving the good ending however, is not as complicated as it was in the first game, and in this, you only need to not be an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. After reading both the 3 Books, extended lore books and played the 3 games, I will say that the developers behind Exodus have done just to Glukhovskys universe and developed a captivating plot twist of events which had me shed tears at the end.

Music
Oleksii Omelchuk has created a suspenseful and dramatic score which helps set the Exodus game in motion. From what I can tell he has inspiration for the soundtrack from orchestral score artists such as John Murphy. He also touched down on Russian roots using a Balalaika to create what I like to call the Exodus Overture rift which can be heard throughout different songs pulling everything together.

Gameplay
The beginning of Metro Exodus plays like a large open world sandbox allowing the player to explore where they want when they want hiding upgrades and story around each map. As you continue to play through however each location becomes more and more narrow lessening the players experience to free roam and becomes more of the classic Metro experience from the first two games. The levels introduce vehicles, weapon upgrades and attachments, deep character building interaction lastly stealth and combat gameplay opportunities.

Graphics
The graphics are great, there are actually 5 setting options, Low, Medium, High, Ultra and Extreme allowing for maximum customization. One thing that really ticks me off is no windowed/windowed borderless mode. The enemies from the previous Metro experiences have also been overhauled to create a spooky atmosphere and diverse selection of mutants.

Overall the game to me is definitely GOTY. The new Ranger update has me pulling my hair out with the Iron Man mode, which disables quick saving and checkpoints and only allows saving between levels. Some very unique experiences to the game update as well yields: Full immersion : the time in game can reflect IRL time. 1 day = 1 day IRL as opposed to 1 day = 2 hours IRL. All enemies gain +1 armour level, harder creatures, enemies use grenades more often, limited backpack option means crafting at benches and not on the fly, and lastly different weapon modes such as 1 weapon slot, no weapon slots, previous weapon slots or start with the crossbow (which you get at the second to last level of the game).

Story - 5/5
Music - 5/5
Gameplay - 5/5
Graphics - 5/5
Overall - 10/10

DLC Reviews
"The Two Colonels" Review
"Sams Story" Review

First off, i'm not going to be a baby about the whole Epic vs Steam, this is a review for the game not the company behind it: [b]Lore Preface:[/b] The game takes place after Glukhovsky's Metro 2035 Book (Summed up below) [spoiler] The book sums up to Artyom's adventure in destroying the jammers ends up with finding out that Hanza, the reds, the Reich and even pPolis are part of a metaphoric hydra to where many heads but one puppeteer. They kept the jammers up because they worried that outside threats would nuke Moscow if they found life remained. Artyom was classified as a schizo and saboteur to make sure the secret didn't get out. Hanza and Miller continued to fund the reds on their fight with the Reich to keep everyone busy. After escaping capture from Polis for being called a traitor and saboteur he was told by a friend that people don't want to be told life out there exists and that people need hope to live down here and that the adventures of Artyom are to be written as a legend, that a normal citizen like them can prosper and do anything with perseverance. Artyom made his way to Exhibition to where Anna was and told them that he is being hunted by Hanza and that life exists elsewhere, trying to rally people to go only Anna said she would hey headed to the surface and took a suped up car with 3 cans of diesel and decided to drive east following the highway between Moscow and Vladivostok. When Artyom asked where they were going and Anna said: "I want to go to my home, see the ocean, Vladivostok." As they left, from atop a tower Spartans of the Order radioed Miller that they were leaving and wondered if they wanted them executed, to which Miller responded fuck them[/spoiler] End of the book in relation to the start of the game: [spoiler] Regarding the game, it explains why Hanza is the starting enemies. However I the game tweaked the ending of the book to which I assume that Anna and Artyom saw the train, took it, then Miller changed his mind and instead of saying "fuck them" at the end of the book, the Spartans ambushed and rescued Anna and Artyom and decided to head west. [/spoiler] [b]Story[/b] The overall story of Metro Exodus is by far one of the most gripping experiences I have had in a while. Each larger section of the game is comprised of smaller good and bad endings which overall adds up to a good or bad ending. Receiving the good ending however, is not as complicated as it was in the first game, and in this, you only need to not be an asshole. After reading both the 3 Books, extended lore books and played the 3 games, I will say that the developers behind Exodus have done just to Glukhovskys universe and developed a captivating plot twist of events which had me shed tears at the end. [b]Music[/b] Oleksii Omelchuk has created a suspenseful and dramatic score which helps set the Exodus game in motion. From what I can tell he has inspiration for the soundtrack from orchestral score artists such as John Murphy. He also touched down on Russian roots using a Balalaika to create what I like to call the Exodus Overture rift which can be heard throughout different songs pulling everything together. [b]Gameplay[/b] The beginning of Metro Exodus plays like a large open world sandbox allowing the player to explore where they want when they want hiding upgrades and story around each map. As you continue to play through however each location becomes more and more narrow lessening the players experience to free roam and becomes more of the classic Metro experience from the first two games. The levels introduce vehicles, weapon upgrades and attachments, deep character building interaction lastly stealth and combat gameplay opportunities. [b]Graphics[/b] The graphics are great, there are actually 5 setting options, Low, Medium, High, Ultra and Extreme allowing for maximum customization. One thing that really ticks me off is no windowed/windowed borderless mode. The enemies from the previous Metro experiences have also been overhauled to create a spooky atmosphere and diverse selection of mutants. Overall the game to me is definitely GOTY. The new Ranger update has me pulling my hair out with the Iron Man mode, which disables quick saving and checkpoints and only allows saving between levels. Some very unique experiences to the game update as well yields: Full immersion : the time in game can reflect IRL time. 1 day = 1 day IRL as opposed to 1 day = 2 hours IRL. All enemies gain +1 armour level, harder creatures, enemies use grenades more often, limited backpack option means crafting at benches and not on the fly, and lastly different weapon modes such as 1 weapon slot, no weapon slots, previous weapon slots or start with the crossbow (which you get at the second to last level of the game). Story - 5/5 Music - 5/5 Gameplay - 5/5 Graphics - 5/5 Overall - 10/10 [b]DLC Reviews[/b] [url=https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/profiles/76561198045826063/recommended/889920?snr=1_5_9__402] "The Two Colonels" Review [/url] [url=https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/profiles/76561198045826063/recommended/889921?snr=1_5_9__402] "Sams Story" Review [/url]