The Metro franchise has made a name for itself in the post-apocalyptic game genre, and there are good reasons why it stands out in the FPS and survival horror gaming communities. The first title in the franchise, Metro 2033, was released in 2010 and laid a foundation for its developers to build realistic gameplay elements. Specifically, the Metro series manages to balance immersive gameplay, linear map design, story, and atmosphere, and these tools would likely be used in the next title as well.
Creators of the Metro series, 4A Games, has already confirmed that it's working on another Metro game. Not much is known about what direction the series will take in terms of story or gameplay, but 4A has stated that it will try to incorporate a multiplayer function to the Metro universe.
How Metro Created an Immersive Post-Apocalypse
Part of the success of Metro 2033 was due to how its survival elements were complemented by immersive gameplay. Ammunition, med packs and gas mask filters are scarce in Metro, which helps incentivize the player to explore the dark, bleak environment. Many popular survival horror games use this form of player motivation, such as the Resident Evil series and The Evil Within. Though maps in the first two games were mostly linear, they still had small areas off the beaten path that held lore and resource materials, and allowed for stealthy approaches to get around enemies. These elements create a perfect atmosphere for survival horror fans, however, the series goes a step further to make the player feel as though they’re actually in the game.
Metro uses immersive game mechanics in a subtle way, but they show how much thought 4A put into the game’s design. For example, gas masks can be damaged and eventually broken in combat, and the player has to manually change gas mask filters to avoid radiation damage. Small details like this add a layer of realism to the Metro experience, and all three Metro titles use them in different ways: the player has to wipe the grime from their visor in Metro: Last Light, clean weapons in Metro Exodus and manually charge batteries for different gadgets in all three titles. These mechanics create a gameplay loop that strikes a delicate balance, allowing the player to experience realistic maintenance and resource management, but without being so demanding that they interrupt gameplay or become a nuisance.
The Future of Metro Games
Every iteration of the Metro series introduced new ideas to gameplay and environment. The latest title, Metro Exodus, had mechanics that allowed the player to customize weapons on the fly, and even experimented with more open-world maps. Both of these features were popular with fans of the series, and the next game could potentially bring back these elements in a refined way.
The multiplayer function proposed by 4A Games could introduce a new dynamic to resource management, perhaps encouraging players to gather and share resources and work together to complete objectives. This function could also influence map design to become larger, allowing players to explore or work on separate objectives towards a common goal. Multiplayer dynamics like these have been used in other popular survival horror games in the past like the Left 4 Dead series and Hunt: Showdown.
It’s also possible the Metro series will follow a new main character in the next game, considering the climatic ending of Metro Exodus that followed the series protagonist, Artyom. The Metro series is based on novels of the same name written by Dmitry Glukhovsky, though both the game series and the literature it’s based on have experimented with different protagonists. New main characters could fit well with a multiplayer function in Metro by introducing a wide cast of characters for multiple players to choose from. In fact, Metro Exodus has already shown a willingness to follow protagonists other than Artyom in both its DLCs: Sam’s Story and The Two Colonels.
Gamers will likely see further refinement and implication of Metro's immersive gameplay, and 4A Games could display how these elements could work with a multiplayer format. It’s hard to say when a new Metro game will arrive, but hopefully 4A Games has news to share sooner rather than later.
Metro Exodus is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
