Metro Awakening VR – Review

The game Metro 4A Games impresses with its personal story and environment, but above all technical complexity. So when it was announced that the next installment in the series would be a virtual reality experience, it was no surprise that expectations soared. Unlike other Metro games, Metro Awakening is the brainchild of long-established virtual game developer Vertigo Games, so the post-Moscow nuclear war underworld is well taken into account. Or is it?

Before the events of Metro 2033, Sedar, a medic returning from a mission, learned that his wife had run out of anti-anxiety medication. This was already causing problems in the community, so for the sake of the public and his wife, Sedar began to look for more drugs outside the safety net, where a deadly danger was waiting in many method.

Here’s a hint:

Metro Awakening doesn’t hold back too much from the story. Living underground, fighting mutants, and waiting to die is a grim business, and players can see and feel it at every turn. The characters try to find hope wherever they can, but the fate of the characters ensures that the game will not make you feel good. Partly for this reason, Awakening feels like a heavy experience. It’s always dark underground, and even the few light sources you have to repair or recharge every few minutes to see ahead. Meanwhile, the clear air outside means a crazy Geiger counter, followed by rapidly developing blurry eyes and nausea. The balancing act of being cooked alive in broad daylight or bitten by monsters in the shadows takes its toll.

Experience the thrilling struggle for survival through the eyes of a hero. In tight environments, you can move freely by teleporting or using your virtual hands to move forward through different challenges in a simple way. Progress is balanced between encountering monsters and solving small puzzles, but most of the time is spent in empty corridors and building ruins, which is rather silly.

Technically, Metro Awakening is well maintained. The character’s hands follow the movements of the controller precisely, which is nice since they are used for flicking things in the game. Among other things, players must turn valves to close them, roll chargers, crank doors, and load weapons, including handling magazines. The action is fluid and there is plenty to do, but sometimes repeating the same things can be difficult. In particular, it is logical to charge the headlamp by fiddling with the charger, but after hours of play, it is very difficult to recharge every few minutes. In addition to the handling of weapons, the shooting is also as realistic as possible. This basically means that shooting from the hip is impossible. It is almost hopeless to hit a target, especially a slightly smaller target, if you are not aiming correctly through grain or sights. Even on the easiest difficulty level, facing multiple enemies makes it a challenge. While I appreciate realism in games as much as in movies, part of the reason I play games is for escapism and entertainment. Real life, at least while playing, is slow and ultimately boring.

Here’s a hint:

The game’s visuals are spot on. There are a lot of details that bring the environment to life and make the Moscow subway feel atmospheric. Although lighting is used wisely as part of the game, the world is very dark. Constantly traveling through the darkness and walking through death is on his mind, even if the corpses and monsters you meet look cool. The animation is well done so that every hand movement looks believable. The game runs smoothly on the PlayStation 5 with no noticeable loading gaps, but after less than an hour of free travel, the nausea is self-evident. With Teleport, on the other hand, it’s hard to keep up in combat, so it’s a tough choice.

The game’s soundtrack is polished. The effects are believable and varied to keep the atmosphere alive. The various rays and cracks of the ruins of the underworld and the sickening screams of the monsters succeed in creating tension and fear. The soundtrack has a real frustration and melancholy brought on by the hardships of life, and the characters have a believable Russian sass that fits the world beautifully. The music is dark and mellow, of high quality but minimal, keeping the mood heavy and melancholy so that the mood does not become too light.

Metro Awakening is an odd case. Expectations and enthusiasm for the game are high, and technically everything is as it should be. The graphics are amazing, the gameplay is smooth, and the world is interesting, but there’s still something off about it. A dark and gloomy gaming experience can quickly take its toll, especially when physical nausea is present throughout. While you can do a lot with your virtual hands, the virtual experience feels a little artificial: like playing a regular FPS game with a virtual joystick. Additionally, walking around empty corridors for too long and playing in lifeless environments can be tiring. Strangely, the feeling didn’t match the game I was getting, and the whole experience left me feeling weak.