Metro 2039 Is Hiding Its Most Promising Asset (Preview)

Video game development is under fire in many ways. Clueless executives are laying off workers at an unprecedented pace. Critically acclaimed games are struggling to meet targets. Teams are shuttering across the industry. Players are mostly flocking to established titles they already know, which limits growth. But at least many developers aren’t under literal siege like the Ukraine-based 4A Games. Metro 2039‘s story was thrown out after Russia invaded the country in 2022 and many of those real-life stories have wormed their way into the game. While born of injustice and misery, the narrative is undoubtedly Metro 2039‘s most intriguing part. But, judging by an early preview of the game, the studio is tantalizingly keeping much of it under wraps.

The main character, who, unlike past Metro protagonists, is fully voiced and thankfully speaks like normal human, is referred to only as “Spartan” in the subtitles. His journey of tracking down the Fuhrer Hunter — a Hitlerian leader of the fascistic Novoreich faction — has noticeable gaps in it, meaning there’s very context for what is going on. There are allusions to kidnapped children at the hands of Fuhrer Hunter and his corrosive politics meant to sow division. The Nazi-like imagery is not at all subtle, and it’s not trying to be.

Metro 2039‘s Story Seems Interesting but Is Being Kept Under Wraps

All of these are prime pieces for a solid story, but they were glued together in such ways as to make it all a little hard to discern. However, that was by design. Head of brand Robbie Cooke noted how the game’s story had been altered for the demo to maintain secrecy. As such, the confusion and vagueness everything was coated in is not necessarily indicative of the final game’s storytelling.

Wanting to preserve an allegedly precious story is understandable, since revealing too much early on in pre-release coverage could spoil or dampen the game’s special moments when it is released in February 2027. But that approach means it is hard to discern how this most promising aspect of the game is going to turn out. Purposely remixing it or omitting parts can’t paint a more accurate picture of the final tale, and that’s unfortunate given how well a more personally charged plot like this rooted in real and ongoing suffering could give the Metro series its best story yet. Furher Hunter’s Vladimir Putin-esque speech full of nationalistic cries and strongman governance was engaging by itself, but it’s hard not to want a little more context.

Metro 2039 Is Going Back to the Tunnels

Context is not as necessary for the more typical Metro gameplay, which appears to be more or less in tact in 2039. Metro has always been a unique first-person shooter series that has prioritized friction more than its peers. Ammo is relatively limited, players have to manage filters and health kits, and the protagonist can’t soak up bullets like Wolfenstein’s B.J. Blazkowicz. Stealth is encouraged, and running into a nest of mutant freaks isn’t always wise.

That much is still true in 2039‘s earlier (if slightly remixed) sections. 2039 isn’t as sluggish as some of its forebears, yet there’s still a certain heft to the game. Enemies appear to be relatively smart and can’t just be charged at. Many guns have lengthier reloads, must be manually pumped up, or require pinpoint precision. It’s a tricky balancing act between reflexes and planning, and this hybrid style is what make Metro’s gunplay more engaging than other mindless corridor shooters.

It’s quite ironic, though, as 2039 is returning more to the confines of the metro. Metro Exodus was quite the sequel for many reasons, one of which was its bold decision to take place mostly on the surface. It would easy to assume 4A would stumble with this more open approach, but 2039‘s hubs were beautifully designed. Instead of a bunch of icons littering the map, Exodus guided players through their curiosity and allowed for more organic exploration. This meant discoveries were more meaningful because they were actually discoveries and also allowed for some emergent anecdotes. A change this radical would appear to go against Metro’s ideals, but it was done so well that is only added to the experience and expanded what a Metro game could be.

With that advancement, it’s a little strange to focus more on the metro. The early part of 2039 contains a incredibly small outdoor hub with various dilapidated shops to pilfer through. Going around and solving the little puzzles they hold inside — often a weapon blueprint or some handy resources necessary to survive the elements — gets a bit at the more exploratory aspects of Exodus. The new blacklight may show a bunch silly hidden drawings of genitals, but its greater and slightly more interesting function is allowing 4A to hide puzzles in plain sight. However, this section was significantly smaller than the maps in Exodus and meant they weren’t as explorable. More intimate maps are rarely a bad thing, as shown by the recent Mortal Shell 2, but there’s not much accomplishment in poking around and looking for scraps in an area this tiny. Perhaps later levels grow in size as the game stops tutorializing its mechanics.

Since Metro 2039 seems to be going back to more familiar, irradiated ground, much of its potential is just out of view. Skulking through the dank underground tunnels for the tools needed to fend of threats of all sizes is not a style other games have cribbed, so there is still some appeal there, but it is a familiar one. Not expanding upon the more open zones found in Exodus is theoretically fine, yet that means 2039 is a little less exciting because it is retreating to something more known.

The most promising aspects lie within its story that looks to be telling a more intimate story stemming from real-world horrors, however, it’s tough to get a bead on any of these threads since 4A Games is understandably being so secretive. Perhaps all this secrecy will pay off in the end, but, as of now, the metro windows are tinted a little too heavily to get a solid glimpse at what lies on the other side of the glass.

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