Summary
- Xbox First Look: Metro 2039 with 4A Games & Deep Silver just concluded, bringing us the world premiere of the much-anticipated fourth mainline game in the series.
- You will play the series’ new voiced protagonist – “The Stranger” – in its darkest chapter yet, returning to a post-apocalyptic Moscow metro that’s been overrun by a fascist regime.
- The Ukrainian studio is open about how their experience of invasion by Russia has deeply shaped their perspective and fundamentally altered their game.
Metro 2039 is the upcoming fourth mainline entry in 4A Games’ iconic series of post-apocalyptic first-person shooters. Like the previous games in the series, it will be a story-driven, single-player campaign, crafted with skill and passion by a global team founded and still majority-based in Ukraine.
Today we got a first look at the game, its story, and its creators in a video presentation. Not had a chance to watch? Read on for a summary of everything we learned about this exciting new entry in a beloved series.
The Story
After Metro Exodus expanded the scope of the series’ world, Metro 2039 will return to its roots in the Moscow Metro, going “back to the tunnels and leaning into what makes Metro, Metro,” according to Creative Director Andriy ‘mLs’ Shevchenko.
All the various independent factions that previously populated the Metro have now been united under a fascist dictatorship, led by a literal Fuhrer. You will play as The Stranger, “a recluse plagued by his violent nightmares, forced to undertake a harrowing journey back down to the Metro, a place he swore to never return,” as described by Co-Creative Director and Lead Audio Designer, Pawel Ulmer. Notably, The Stranger will be the series’ first fully voiced lead protagonist.
The cinematic reveal trailer took us into one of The Stranger’s nightmares, bouncing around associatively between grim and violent moments and images from throughout his traumatic life, never knowing what is truly real. On waking in the present, he starts heading, with grim determination, back down into the Metro.
This will be the darkest chapter in the Metro saga yet, according to Ulmer. “We are not romanticizing the post-apocalypse, or making a theme park out of it. Metro has always been a more tragic view on our actions as humanity.”
Gameplay
The presentation ended with a brief clip of mixed gameplay and cinematics, our first taste of what Metro 2039 has in store. Set in a ruined Metro station, we see hallmarks of the series – familiar hand-crafted weaponry, gorgeous visuals, and a preference for using in-game objects rather than a traditional UI, most notably The Stranger’s watch ticking down. We see some glimpses of exploration, with The Stranger looking to examine a body slumped against a pillar, before we get an action setpiece.
The Stranger is attacked by Nosalises – returning monsters that resemble ferocious moles, with the size and proportions of gorillas – which have crashed down into the tunnel leading to the station. The sequence gives us a sense of the tactical nature of combat – The Stranger chooses to rush down an escalator rather than take on the fight immediately, but upon readying his weapon it misfires, seemingly indicating how the player will need to pay close attention to ammo and maintenance. As a Nosalis begins to maul him, The Stranger pulls out a knife and stabs the beast in its neck.
As they turn back to escape, we see a kneeling older man with an assault rifle, guarding a populated Metro tunnel, giving us a quick look at the kinds of settlements we’ll be able to visit. The Stranger quickly crawls backwards as two more monsters bear down and the heavy metal doors slide shut just in time…
Environmental Storytelling
Every detail of Metro 2039’s world will be deliberately handcrafted to create a sense of history and lived-in specificity. Shevchenko described this approach to narrative level design as “frozen stories.” These aren’t your grandma’s environmental storytelling skeletons and graffiti, but rather areas thoughtfully staged with items, bodies, and props to allow observant players to piece together micro-narratives throughout the environment.
“Nothing is prefabricated – everything is unique and grounded,” explained Executive Producer Jon Bloch. “When you walk into a room, it’s clear that a person lived there. You can feel what they were doing right before they left or died.”
The Engine
Like all their previous games, Metro 2039 has been built in 4A Games’ own custom engine. Having their own engine has always allowed them to make the Metro games visually stunning and performant. This shared technological lineage of now over 15 years allows each entry in the series to take advantage of and build upon everything developed for the preceding games.
“4A Engine is purpose-built to make the games that we want to make,” said Bloch. “If we need to build a new feature or do something in a specific way, with our own engine we can just make it. We’re limited only by our vision.” He explained that 4A Engine allowed them to be early pioneers of ray tracing with Metro Exodus, and they are pushing this even further in Metro 2039.
Shaped by War and Ukrainian Pride
A recurring theme throughout the presentation, both implicit and explicit, was how Metro 2039 has been informed by the majority-Ukrainian studio’s recent experience of war from the invasion of Russia. It even led to the entire planned story of this game being reworked to reflect the real lives of the people making it.
“Everything we had planned for the next chapter of Metro changed,” said Bloch. Dmitry Glukhovsky, who wrote the novels the games are based on, has returned to help craft the story for Metro 2039, all while living in exile from his native Russia for criticizing the government, including for its invasion of Ukraine.
“The meaning [of our games] has always been about preventing war,” said Ulmer. “But now,” Shevchenko added, “war is our reality, and our message has shifted to be about the consequences, the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, and the price of freedom.” Ulmer continued: “When Russia’s full-scale invasion began, it changed the lives of everyone in the studio – but more so of our team and families in Ukraine. Even today, the majority of our team works from various locations around Ukraine.”
“Reality forced us to take a different approach, told from a uniquely Ukrainian perspective, but this is still a Metro story, in the Metro universe,” said Shevchenko.
We look forward to learning more about Metro 2039 in the lead-up to its release this winter.
