Metro 2033 is a 2010 first-person shooter survival horror video game developed by 4A Games and published by THQ. The story is based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel of the same name, where survivors of a nuclear war have taken refuge in the Metro tunnels of Moscow. The player controls the silent protagonist Artyom, a man who must save his home station from the dangers lurking within the Metro. In the game, the player encounters human and mutant enemies, who can be killed with a variety of firearms. They must also wear a gas mask to explore areas covered in nuclear radiation, both underground and on the surface.
Metro 2033 was the debut title for 4A Games, whose founders had experience working on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl at GSC Game World. Glukhovsky chose 4A Games to adapt his novel due to the studio's location in Ukraine, and their expertise in developing first-person shooters. Glukhovsky gave the studio much creative freedom. 4A Games focused their efforts on storytelling and atmosphere, intentionally avoiding any multiplayer gameplay to achieve their goal. The game was powered by the studio's own proprietary 4A Engine. It was first announced in 2006 as Metro 2033: The Last Refuge.
The game was released in March 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. Critics gave the game positive reviews, with praise for its horror elements, detailed environments, and interesting plot. However, the game was also criticized for its bugs and artificial intelligence. Metro 2033 was profitable for THQ, selling more than 1.5 million copies by June 2012, though the publisher felt that their marketing efforts were rushed. A sequel titled Metro: Last Light was released in 2013, with Deep Silver acquiring the publishing rights from THQ after their bankruptcy. A remastered version titled Metro 2033 Redux was released in 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The remastered version was also included as part of a compilation titled Metro Redux containing both Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux. A third installment, Metro Exodus, was released in 2019.
Gameplay
Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter video game. It is predominantly set within the tunnels of the Moscow Metro, though some sections take place on the surface, in the ruins of Moscow. The story is told through a linear single-player campaign, and important plot moments are shown during cutscenes.
The human and mutant enemies can be killed with a variety of firearms. The game features traditional guns like a revolver, assault rifles and shotguns, as well as more inventive weapons like a pneumatic crossbow. In firefights, human enemies take cover and flank the player, while mutant enemies stay in the open and try to bite or maul them. Alternatively, the player can employ stealth to evade certain human and mutant enemies or kill them silently. This can be achieved by using a throwing knife to kill an enemy from afar, or shooting an enemy with a suppressed weapon. The player can recover health by waiting for it to regenerate, or by using a med-kit to heal themselves immediately. The game features a minimalistic heads-up display (HUD). Gameplay information is presented to the player via audio and visual cues. For instance, they must inspect their weapons to see if they are about to run out of ammunition and therefore have to reload.
Since the game has elements of the survival horror genre, the player often has little ammunition, and must scavenge for supplies from caches or dead bodies. An essential supply is pre-war 5.45×39mm ammunition, referred to in-game as "military grade ammunition", which is also the main currency in the tunnels. This ammunition can be traded for weapons and upgrades, or used directly as stronger bullets than other scavenged ammunition. As most of the tunnels feature little to no light, the player can use a flashlight to explore dark areas. However, the flashlight needs to be charged with a battery charger in order to stay effective. The player must also use a gas mask to explore areas affected by radiation, both underground and on the surface. The gas mask can be damaged in combat, which forces the player to find a replacement. The player's survival also depends on constantly replacing their air filter, which they can monitor by inspecting Artyom's wristwatch.
Throughout the game, there are certain moral choices that can be made. If the player is compassionate to the people living in the tunnels, such as giving the homeless some military grade ammunition, they may be able to watch a different cutscene at the end of the game. These moral choices are never explicitly mentioned, and it is possible to play through the game without knowing of their presence.
Synopsis Setting
Metro 2033 takes place in the city of Moscow, Russia 20 years after a global nuclear holocaust in 2013. Moscow has become a wasteland filled with killer mutants and irradiated air and is uninhabitable for humans without protective gear. The surviving population now lives in the Moscow Metro, which is described as a labyrinth of railways, tunnels, and bunkers. Inside the metro, food, water, and supplies are scarce which lead to the formation of factions; Most notably the "Hanza", the "Red Line", and the "Rangers of the Order". The metro is dilapidated, with some places even requiring a universal charger in order to activate certain gates or switches. Other areas of the metro are also irradiated and filled with water or debris. Some areas contain anomalies or the supernatural which can cause psychic damage towards those that approach those areas. On the surface, the city is desolate, air and water are contaminated with radiation, and nearly everything is covered in ice and snow. While uninhabitable to humans, the surface is home to many mutants, especially the Dark Ones. The overall tone that the game tries to encapture is a grim and melancholic feeling, as well as displaying the miserable lives of people who have survived the great war.
Plot In 2013, nuclear war devastated the Earth, wiping out billions of lives. Among the affected nations is Russia, including the now-desolate wasteland of Moscow. A handful of survivors manage to hide in the Metro system, salvaging spare parts and growing mushrooms for food. Animals such as rats or bears have mutated into horrific monsters, while the air in many areas becomes heavily irradiated and impossible to survive in without a gas mask. There is a constant state of war between Stalinists and Nazis, while opportunistic bandits seize hostages and supplies in the metro tunnels. The Rangers emerge as a neutral peacekeeping force within the Metro.
By 2033, the northern station of VDNKh, now called Exhibition, is attacked by mysterious creatures called the Dark Ones. An elite Ranger named Hunter asks for support from a 24-year-old survivor named Artyom (Russian: Артём), the adopted son of the station commander. Before leaving to track the Dark Ones, Hunter gives Artyom his dog tags and tells him to present them to his superiors in Polis, the "capital" of the Metro.
The next day, Artyom signs on as a guard for a caravan headed to Riga, a neighboring station. Along the way, the crew is incapacitated by a psychic attack, but Artyom is not affected. After the caravan reaches safety, Artyom meets Bourbon, a smuggler who offers to take him to Polis. The two make their way through several stations and tunnels, and even pass through the surface of Moscow itself, before Bourbon is killed by bandits. A traveler named Khan then rescues Artyom. After escorting Artyom through haunted tunnels and an embattled station, Khan advises Artyom to meet his contact Andrew the Blacksmith, who lives under the control of the Red Line, a Stalinist regime. With Andrew's help, Artyom sneaks out of Red Line territory but is subsequently captured by their enemies, the neo-Nazi Fourth Reich.
Artyom is rescued from execution by two Rangers, Pavel and Ulman, before Pavel eventually dies escorting Artyom out of Reich territory. Now travelling alone, Artyom comes across a group of survivors trying to stop a mutant horde from reaching Polis. Although they fail, Artyom manages to rescue a young boy before they escape, and the defenders help Artyom reach the surface. There, he reunites with Ulman, who takes him to meet Miller, the colonel of the Rangers in Polis.
The Polis governing council ultimately refuses to help Exhibition. But Miller tells Artyom his back-up plan: a missile silo known as D6 that could destroy the Dark Ones' hive in the Botanical Gardens. To find a way to D6, Miller tells Artyom to meet him at the Moscow State Library to search for a map. As he makes his way to the library, Artyom is forced to continue alone while avoiding mutants. He eventually finds a map and flees with the help of both Miller and Ulman. They recruit Artyom as a Ranger, who joins an operation to locate and reactivate the D6 command center. After their success, Artyom and Miller climb Ostankino Tower to install a laser guidance system. Soon after, Artyom experiences a vivid hallucination induced by a Dark One.
After the hallucination, there are two possible endings depending on the player's choices throughout the game. In the canonical ending, Artyom allows the missiles to fire, destroying the Dark Ones. The alternate ending gives Artyom the choice to destroy the laser guidance device, citing a last-minute realization that the Dark Ones were using the hallucinations to make peaceful contact. This ending is only available if the player has performed certain compassionate acts, such as helping fellow humans and not fleeing the Dark Ones in various hallucinations.
Development
Metro 2033 was developed by Ukrainian studio 4A Games, founded around 2005. The founders had worked at GSC Game World, previously Ukraine's only major game studio, and creators of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. After the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Andrew Prokhorov left GSC due to disagreements with management, helping to found 4A Games as director. GSC's chief executive officer also fired the entire art team after S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was released, and nearly all employees came to work at 4A.
The game is based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel of the same name. Glukhovsky was inspired by the books of Roger Zelazny and Ray Bradbury, as well as the first Fallout game. Years before Glukhovsky was offered a book publishing deal in 2005, he uploaded the manuscript of the novel to his personal website, leading a number of game studios to approach him for a potential adaptation of his work. Glukhovsky was open-minded about studios creating new chapters in his Metro series, describing this as "as much of an honor as getting the book screened and turned into a movie", and hoping that this would grow the audience for his fiction. He also felt that a game adaptation would allow him to focus on other projects, leaving the Metro universe in the careful custody of other artists.