Metro Last Light

"Last bullet. Last breath. Last chance."

- Tagline

Metro: Last Light (formerly known as Metro 2034, often abbreviated as Last Light) is a post-apocalyptic first-person shooter and sequel to Metro 2033 developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Silver. Metro: Last Light was followed by a third addition to the Metro video game series, Metro Exodus, which was released in 2019.

Overview
As the sequel to Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light follows the same gameplay formula. With the player character, Artyom, journeying across linear sections of a Post-Apocalyptic Metro System and an irradiated surface of post-apocalyptic Moscow, hoping to save what's left of humanity, long after World War III. In this inhospitable landscape, the player must guide Artyom into following friends, battling dangerous mutants, and engaging in firefights with enemy factions, or complex stealth missions in which remaining unseen is vital for survival.

The story takes place after Metro 2033, with a new story guided by Dmitry Glukhovsky but written in-house at 4A Games. The story continues on from the canonical ending of the previous game, in which Artyom destroyed the mysterious new mutant threat, the Dark Ones. In this setting, Artyom's allies: Khan and the other Rangers, join forces once again to defend D6 from many foes including the Fourth Reich, communists, and bandits. With this new installment, 4A has introduced a multitude of new weapons, such as the bolt-action rifle, a single-shot pistol, a hand-powered chain gun, as well as new locations to play in.

The game was released on May 14th, 2013, on Xbox 360, PC through Steam and, unlike Metro 2033, on the PS3. Metro: Last Light was announced at E3 2011 to appear on the upcoming Nintendo console, the Wii-U, however, one year later at E3 2012 it was confirmed that the Wii-U would not be seeing Metro: Last Light.

Plot Synopsis
Metro: Last Light takes place one year after the events of Metro 2033, proceeding from the ending where Artyom chose to call down the missile strike on the Dark Ones. The Rangers have since occupied the D6 military facility, with Artyom having become an official member of the group. Khan, the nomad mystic, arrives at D6 to inform Artyom and the Rangers that a single Dark One survived the missile strike. Khan believes the Dark One is the key to humanity's future and wants to make peace with it, while Ranger leader Colonel Miller wants to kill the creature due to its potential threat. Miller sends Artyom to the surface with a mission to kill the Dark One. He's accompanied during the mission by Anna, Miller's sarcastic daughter and the Rangers' best sniper.

Artyom succeeds in finding the Dark One, who turns out to be a mere child, but the two of them are captured by soldiers of the Nazi Reich. A good-natured communist Red Line soldier, Pavel Morozov, helps Artyom escape the Reich, and the two befriend each other after spending considerable time fighting across the metro tunnels and the wasted surface together. However, when the two reach a Red Line settlement, Pavel is revealed to be a high-ranking officer of the Red Line and allows them to capture Artyom. While escaping captivity, Artyom learns of a plan by the Red Line's head of military intelligence, General Korbut, to capture D6 and take control of the entire metro. Korbut is assisted by Pavel as well as Lesnitsky, a traitorous Ranger who escaped to the Red Line with samples of a bioweapon stolen from D6.

Artyom manages to rescue the Dark One child, with Khan's assistance. After a series of flashbacks where Artyom learns the Dark Ones saved his own life when he was a child, Artyom decides to protect the Dark One. While escorting the Dark One back to Polis, Artyom is confronted by first Lesnitsky and later Pavel. The Dark One uses his powers to read their minds, allowing Artyom to learn of General Korbut's plan to capture D6 and use a bioweapon from the facility to exterminate all human life in the Metro not aligned with the Red Line. After each confrontation, Artyom is given the choice of forgiving his enemy or taking revenge on them.

The two arrive at Polis, the Metro's central station, where a peace settlement between Hansa, Red Line, and Reich is taking place. The Dark One uses his telepathic abilities to make the Red Line leader Chairman Moskvin publicly confess his crimes, including the fact that the peace conference is simply a diversion for General Korbut to attack D6. Artyom, Miller, Khan, and the Rangers make a final stand against Korbut's army, and after they are nearly defeated, plan to detonate D6. As they do so, General Korbut's secret weapon, an armoured train breaks through the defensive line and destroys the platform, incapacitating all of the defenders. A heavily injured Artyom awakes to the group surrounded by Korbut and his men, who are preparing to execute them.

There are two endings to the game following this. In the bad ending, Artyom will activate D6's self-destruct device to prevent Korbut from using the facility to wipe out the remnants of humanity, resulting in the deaths of both the Ranger and Red Army. Artyom is survived by Anna, who is shown an unspecified time later telling her and Artyom's child of his father's adventures. In the good ending, Artyom prepares to activate the device, but is stopped by the Dark One child, who arrives along with several other surviving Dark Ones who had been hibernating inside a secret chamber in D6; the Dark Ones defeat Korbut's army, making it unnecessary for Artyom to sacrifice himself and D6. Artyom credits the Dark One child with being humanity's "last light" of hope for his efforts. In both endings, after the events of the game, the Dark One child leaves with the surviving Dark Ones, promising either Anna or Artyom that they would come back to help the world rebuild.

Story

 * Scattered throughout the world now are pieces of Artyom's Journal - which outline the thoughts and emotions of the otherwise normally silent protagonist.

World Management

 * From the first trailers, it was shown that Artyom's watch would be significantly different in Last Light. Instead of the at-times confusing system of the three LEDs and three coloured areas on Artyom's dive-watch, Artyom's new watch is digital. The new watch replaces estimated filter time, with concise digital numbers which indicate how much time Artyom has left in his filter - with each filter starting the countdown at exactly five minutes. Replacing the three LEDs for the stealth indicator is now a simple single blue light that states if Artyom can or can't be seen.
 * Augmenting this is in stealth missions is a shrill horn sound effect, that plays when Artyom is in danger of being spotted and must move immediately.

Combat

 * In response to criticisms of lacklustre combat in 2033, weapon reload times, battery charge time, and Artyom's movement has all seen an increase in efficiency or "tightness". 4A games have given the in-universe explanation that this is to signify Artyom's expertise with weaponry, now that he is a ranger. These changes have been met with mixed reactions from long-time fans of Metro 2033, with many praising the high-quality controls but criticizing the general ease of combat left by it.
 * Weapons such as the grenade and the throwing knives are given their own devoted sub-menu. Appearing only in the standard difficulties, with the menu open the game slows down about four times. This could be very effective at some times, especially when entering an area where the player suddenly faces an enemy, as it is a very good way to evaluate the situation, and get time to think. Besides that, the player can shoot while ADS (aiming down sights) and reload, but not when looking down the iron sights. The only drawback is that it is still impossible to aim down the sights while reloading, but the player can strafe and duck to attempt to hit their target. The sounds also warp in the same way as some of the cinematics, and when smoking the "bong" in Venice.
 * Hit Markers - markers that appear on the HUD when the player successfully hits an enemy, and depict where and how hard the shot hit - are also in the game, however, they, along now with all features of the HUD are disabled in Ranger difficulties.
 * Metro: Last Light sees the inclusion of purchasable weapon mods, which replace the pre-modded weapons found in 2033. Now, Artyom can hold three weapons of any kind (two, in the Ranger difficulties) and modify them to their preference.
 * In Metro: Last Light, maintaining stealth is easier than in 2033. As the stealth system is simplified with easier enemy AI.

Reception
Metro: Last Light received positive reviews, generally higher than Metro 2033, with most complimenting the game's graphics and story, however, criticizing the game's induction of linear sequences and character animations. Game Informer's Jeff Marchiafava gave the game a rating of 8.75/10, stating that human AI has been greatly improved. IGN's Colin Moriarty stated as a verdict that "Metro: Last Light is a bold post-apocalyptic first-person shooter adventure uniquely told from the Russian point of view". Last Light's setting and presentation are its strong points, though the last third of its campaign is weaker than everything that came before it stated Colin. He scored it 7.2/10 for consoles and 7.7/10 for the PC. Of the highest reviews, GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd awarded it with a 9.0/10 calling it "an astonishing and moving post-apocalyptic journey", with GameTrailers' Nathan Meunier awarding "one of the best looking and unique shooters of [the] year ... with an incredible atmosphere that really [sticks]", the highest score of 9.1/10. Metro Last Light topped very few 'best of 2013' lists outside those of more dedicated fans. Despite this, it received many nominations for Best Shooter of 2013 and was notably awarded as the 4th best FPS of 2013 by Gameranx, 2nd place on Wikia's own Community Choice Awards, and the runner up to the Escapist Magazine's best shooter of 2013.

Retail Versions
It was revealed in December that all initial run copies would be the Limited Edition of Metro: Last Light and include Ranger Mode, an extra 100 military-grade rounds, and a Modified Russian Rifle (AKS-74U). In other countries, an RPK-74 is shown with drum magazines. The RPK-74 is available in the US with a GameStop pre-order. Many gaming stores in Poland offer both the AKS-74U and the RPK-17 as part of the deal. Some other countries around the world seem to have this deal, whilst others do not. Although the Limited Edition offer varies from region to region, the features that all of its iterations have in common are the Ranger difficulty modes and the bonus ammunition.

The Limited Edition caused controversy among many gaming enthusiasts up to and after the release. Many people were upset over the fact of not getting Ranger Mode without pre-ordering, buying the first-run copy in the month of release, or paying $5.00/4.00 euro, for the DLC. Even more so, it was widely discussed that, unlike the Ranger Pack DLC in Metro 2033, the extra difficulties had originally been designed within the game and then removed for DLC sales. A number of fans and vocal members of the game-community alike further complained when Deep Silver's promotional advertisements stated that the Ranger Mode was "the way the game was meant to be played" - questioning why, if it was the genuine version of the game, it was not bundled with the standard product. An official response by Huw Beynon explained that content had been a mandatory requirement for a pre-order bonus, and rather than remove story elements or missions from the game, they opted to remove an extra difficulty setting, knowing that fans who would most be interested in the setting, would most likely be pre-ordering the game regardless. Furthermore, much of the Limited Edition controversy pertaining to frequently frowned upon microtransactions could be attributed to the fact that the pre-order bonus had to remain unchanged from the bankrupting THQ's initial policy, lest thousands of Limited Edition pre-orders from multiple vendors have to be refunded for another offer designated by Koch Media.

Downloadable Content
There are four main add-ons for Metro: Last Light. Gamers who purchase the Season Pass will receive these at a discounted price - as well as a powerful new shotgun, the Abzats.
 * Faction Pack: Includes three new and original single-player story missions that expand on the Metro: Last Light universe. The pack was released on the 16th of July (17th for the rest of the world) for the US.
 * Tower Pack: The pack features unique solo challenges for Metro veterans. The pack was released on the 3rd of September (4th for PS users).
 * Developer Pack: The pack boasts a fully stocked Shooting Gallery, the AI Arena, the Metro Museum and a bonus solo mission - The Spiders' Nest - offering some new tools for dealing with an infestation of the skittering Spider mutants. The pack was released on the 17th of September and the 18th for PSN users for the rest of the world.
 * Chronicles Pack: Features three original single-player missions that cast the player as four of the game's standout characters - Pavel, Khan, and Anna - and explore their side-stories form Artyom's. The pack was released on the 16th of October.

As well as the four main DLCs, there is the aforementioned Ranger Mode available for download.

​ There is also the option to purchase the RPK-74 for use in the main campaign and Tower and Developer DLCs, though it is not included in the Season Pass.

Pre-Release Media
Following the announcement teaser were E3 2011's media releases, during which a trailer and several pieces of concept art had been released along with a small (non-video) walkthrough given to journalists. A twelve-minute gameplay demo had been released, detailing Artyom and Khan's (who would later be replaced by Pavel in the game) infiltration into the Fourth Reich, as well as several other interviews.

In the weeks before E3 2012, THQ produced a four-minute-long live-action short outlining the general panic of when the bombs fell.

At E3 2012, it has produced numerous new videos and interviews outlining new characters, supernatural segments, and the possible return of vengeful Dark Ones.

In early December, a multitude of interviews were released along with short gameplay segments detailing several metro stations, including Venice; a large station with many canals running through it. Weapon customization was detailed, with retailers selling a myriad of attachments for all weapons, including night-vision sights, silencers, muzzle brakes, and laser sights.

In March 2013, a new trailer was released, titled "Salvation". It depicted poor, restless citizens of various stations in their normal lives in the Metro. It then changes to the subject of the Fourth Reich, showing crowds hailing their commander, the unnamed Führer. Multiple clips of Nazi soldiers training themselves were shown, as well as two soldiers executing prisoners with Kalashes. A short scene is shown in which six men are barricading themselves with riot shields of some sort. A seventh man comes in from between them and sprays fire around with a flame thrower. At the very end, a young boy is shown in the reflection of what appears to be a Dark One's black eye.

Metro: Last Light Redux
Metro: Last Light was remade, along with Metro 2033, for the next-generation consoles and PC. Metro: Last Light Redux was released on the 26th of August 2014 for the US and the 29th for the EU. It was later released for Nintendo Switch on the 28th of February 2020.

Trivia

 * During the early official trailers, the song "Machine Gun" by Portishead was used.
 * On May 26, 2012, a news reel of gameplay footage was released on Gametrailers.com, but was quickly removed. Fortunately for fans, it had been copied and uploaded onto YouTube.
 * Multiplayer that was originally in development for Metro 2033 was put on hold once again. 4A Games made a decision to concentrate on the single-player campaign first. Developers claim that it might be released as Free-To-Play (F2P) Downloadable Content (DLC) afterwards.
 * OXM (Official Xbox Magazine) said in its preview that the game has a comparison with Half-Life 2, which is understandable since Metro: Last Light's old publisher THQ said that it rekindles memories of Half-Life 2.
 * On the PC version of Metro: Last Light, a successful Alt-Tab can be used to skip the normally, unskippable logo sequence.
 * The flooded station of Venice is extremely similar to a location in Piter and the character of Korbut is almost twin-like when compared to an antagonist from Dark Tunnels. These are some of the many ways that Glukhovsky and 4A Games were inspired by the works of authors from the Universe of Metro 2033 book series.

Bugs

 * If you load a save checkpoint where you are in state of not wearing a gas mask or if you enter an area that requires a gas mask without wearing the gas mask (like in "Contagion" or "Spider Lair" DLC level) and then you press the filter changing key (e.g. the default "T" key in the keyboard), the suffocating will stop. If the suffocating triggers again, pressing the filter change key will stop the suffocating again, this action doesn't consume the filters at all. If you put the gas mask on, it will remove the glitch. To re-enable the glitch again, either reload from checkpoint where you aren't wearing a gas mask or exit and re-enter the gas mask area again without wearing the gas mask. This glitch will make you like having unlimited filter. For the "Kshatriya" DLC level, in the beginning the glitch won't work, you need to put on the gas mask at least once to enable the glitch, you can do this immediately in the base.
 * The game has a severe bug where sometimes after quitting the game and reloading the save checkpoint, the enemies will become frozen and they will not be able to move or attack. Using knockdown on the enemy will make you frozen as well. Or sometimes the game will keep crashing when loading the checkpoint. If this happens, the save might have been corrupted and the only fix is restart the chapter. To avoid this bug, either do not quit the game until you finished the chapter (return to main menu is fine) or when the auto-save indicator is showing, do not interrupt it (like quitting to main menu or reloading last checkpoint) even when the indicator had just gone, wait a few more seconds if you want to do that as the saving process might still be running.
 * In Redux version, many weapons have misaligned laser sight dot issue with the Laser Sight attachment, such as Bigun, Hellbreath, Tikhar, Valve, Revolver, etc. The range of the misalignment varies between weapons, but Bigun and Hellbreath are having the biggest laser sight misalignment range which makes the Laser Sight attachment useless for them.