Lol!! I did end up having some long game sessions. I thought I started on a day off in the middle of the week, and finished Sunday. It was one of those games that doesn’t let go. That’s one way I measure if it’s good or not.
Glad you've enjoyed it as much as I have. I was starting to feel like I was going crazy singing its praises while nobody else said a word! It would be such a terrible shame for that game not to get all of the love it can get! It's so good.
It's not a revolutionary game, I guess, but it takes what it does to a level most never reach. And it has a really unique charm with the meticulously-crafted settings, endearing characters, and interesting story. The gameplay is similarly engaging and nuanced. It's a place I frequently find myself wanting to come back to. Mind you I think I've probably put in many more hours than you at this point... but as you said that's a good indicator of something good.
Can't undersell the fantastic visuals. On a technical level it's nothing too new. It comes down to the execution, which is almost deceptively complex. The visuals appear effortless but upon examining closer, you can see that they're as tactically-assembled as a ship in a bottle. That aside, I would be here all day going over all of the fundamentals that it just nails. I gotta hand it to 4A... they really know their stuff. They know what they can do and how to use it to the max. Oldschool, brick-by-brick graphical techniques, sort of like how back in the day devs had to calculate everything to look good to make up for lacking graphical capabilities. 4A does that here, only the graphical capabilities of today take it over the top. I think it approaches the best we can do with the methods we have at this time. This game, I would say, is consistently "great" graphically... like maybe the base graphical level isn't earth-shattering, but they're always very good and that is the minimum it gives you. The core system that holds it all up is extremely well-honed - never left to just 'run free'. More reliably so than most games. And then... scattered very, very generously throughout the whole game are points of absolute, pinnacle-level excellence. Every time I start up the game, it feels like a series of moments that make me say "Oh my god, this game looks so good. Look at this. This shit is crazy-looking!" It never seems to get old for me. Other people watching me play have been similarly impressed.
The lighting really sets the tone. Just oozes atmosphere and style. The weather/ToD system in particular is something else. The skies really get me... so often they just seem to coat everything in "awesome." Like when the sun is rising over a twisting, sprawling cliffside... you are in a place where it hasn't risen over yet, just basking in twilight, while just ahead of you is a point where the sun pokes out and soaks everything in magnificent yellow-orange radiance and you can see that line where the rays are cut-off by the cliffside towering over you. Just takes your breath away. They're probably just ordinary godrays, but the way they're intentionally implemented in that exact, obviously anticipated circumstance makes it very special and impactful. And so many of these profound little moments of beauty are completely unique. They make you think "...it can do that?!" It's sort of like how some folks say there must be a god because how would we have so many things like [unexplainable thing] otherwise? You just know it's intentional with the frequency and the level of impact it consistently delivers. Somehow the game is set-up to just always throw those seemingly-unimaginable "right place - right time" moments at you. Always golden hour in Metro. Just when you're ready to take a break, you'll have another one and play for another hour.
Like, in a lot of games, much of the dynamic weather/light elements are sort of just 'random.' They designate a bunch of parameters and just let em go universally. The same sets of conditions come and go as they please, anywhere. In Exodus, they instead chose to pre-configure an impossible-to-ascertain set of different 'specialized' lighting/weather scenarios that are very intently set up to give maximal impact, even going so far as to designate certain conditions to ONLY appear in certain areas. Like, down to the level of "if the player is here looking here and the sun is there and the clouds are there, we need to tweak this, this, and this so that it does that." It sounds absolutely ridiculous to assert but the reality of it is staggering. To do it on such a deeply preordained, location-by-location basis, and make it look completely emergent is absolutely brilliant. I might even call that revolutionary, in spite of what I said before. The exteriors in this game really stand out for that effort, oftentimes ONLY for that effort. *Talk* about polish, man. It took me a while of playing the game to realize why it always looks abit *too* perfect. They look like exteriors, but they're actually set up from more of an 'interior' mindset. The conditions are very 'built-up' in the best way possible. They just did it in a way where it's diverse and complex enough to not get repetitive, but redundant enough as to not be always trying to outdo itself.
The upside to this is that no matter where/when you are, everything always works visually and frames-up perfectly without ever really showing the same spectacle twice. The downside is that it probably takes a butt-ton of work to do right!
I always appreciate the attention to detail when it comes to how light behaves. It goes to a crazy level sometimes. If you pay attention, you can see how certain effects are specific to locations in order to make them stand out. Like in the Caspian, there is a tower-roost where reflections go up to some next-level shit. You stand under a tattered cloth waving rather tumultuously in the wind - it's partitioning a big doorway to the sun-kissed balcony. And looking down at your gun as you stand under it, you can actually see, in great detail, the reflections of that cloth's intricate movements flapping in the wind - from the tears on the edges to each hole torn out of the middle. And behind that you can see the reflection of the actual sky above you, with clouds rolling by, and the cliffside behind you partially obscuring it. It looks almost too real... so minor and yet you can't not see it. Anywhere else, guns reflect ambient light from the sky and objects, but you never see any real details in them - just diffused light. Even if it is especially lovely in this game... it is simple and common. I've tested it. They specifically added that extra complexity intentionally there. That's just one example that shows how much time and effort was dedicated to getting the visuals perfectly tweaked. There are so many eye-catching little things like that and it keeps every little place you go to fresh and memorable. It's everywhere.
The level of polish to the visuals is impressive all-around. Everything is set-up purposely, as opposed to just flipping the "OMGAMAZINGGRAPHIKKS" switch for everything. I think what really completes it is just how dynamic everything is. Light sources, shadows, objects, and entire scenes are alive with ambience and movement, just as much as our Artyom is with his head bobble and diverse action-triggered camera movements. If you think the screenshots are amazing, seeing the game in motion will really blow your mind. Just stand in one place and look at everything. It comes to life, no matter where you are. To list the subtle moving details I've found would make this post twice as long. It's too much to take in at once - multiple playthroughs give you new levels of appreciation for it.
This all adds a ton to what is, in every other way an immersive and meticulous world. As in, even if the graphics were only average on a technical level, it would still look
damned good. So many places look like something out of a movie... everything is in such perfect disarray, but that fact is not conspicuous at all. It's not one of those overly-cinematic, try-hardey games. Everything looks untouched by god and lived-in by people. It just 'is.' Everything is placed in a way that sets you up to see the world much as a master photographer would, with things falling naturally into powerful compositions. Scenes that emerge effortlessly and naturally as you traverse the environment. The "moving painting" cliche really rings true. The way so many different features 'add-up' is really cool. I appreciate the care that went into composition and framing. Nothing looks out of place and it is all very satisfying.
It helps that I love the aesthetic. Wastelands are old news by now, and yet Metro manages to look 'new' to me. All of the environmental assets have their own unique touches to them. But I especially love the designs of the weapons and all of their modifications. Really incentivizes you to get out and explore. They are so friggen cool-looking. I get stuck in the crafting menu, just cycling through them all and marveling at the ingenuity of them. It's the kind of stuff you only ever read about in books. You see the thought that went into them and the stories they tell. That is its own kind of realism.
The gameplay itself is extremely enjoyable, too. The combat generally feels really good, no matter what weapon you use. And the thing is... everything you can use in combat has a unique strategic niche that isn't always obvious. In the end, nothing goes wasted or unneeded. Most games, I shy away from throwable weapons out of preference for shooting... which in a lot of games, a preference is all it is - whether you choose one or the other, things go the same. The sense of strategic nuance is an illusion. You don't really have a choice in how things go down. Or maybe you get strategically significant tools handed to you right as you need them with no rhyme or reason other than to have yet another gameplay element in the mix, a la Zelda.
In this game you can have two very different ways of getting there and one is definitely better, but it's not always the same method coming out on top. Things just get very "loose" for lack of a better word. Can't use the same trick twice. You have to always think on your feet and adapt. Often trying new things can take things from frustrating to unexpectedly rewarding. And then you try to recreate the situation later and you can't. Resting on your own well-traveled FPS laurels will get you into trouble. You have to stop and realize when things are harder than they should be and get creative. Keeps it interesting in that you don't feel like you're fighting the same battle over and over again. Conflicts are actually sort of sparse, but super-memorable.
The exploration aspect was also well-implemented imo. It's just open-world enough to be enticing. How do I put it? It's like... when faced with a chance to explore, you feel like you probably
shouldn't... as though it may be a bad idea, but you really want to, even knowing you can skip it. You see something and you think "HOW do I get at that?" And you realize there are many different ways, all of them mysterious and potentially dangerous. Foreboding enticement. Everything you seek to do is a gamble, as you never know what's going to come next or if it's even worth it. They break the rules with that sometimes. It is always engaging because you really do need to actively be making choices... you can't just wander. Decide what and how to explore carefully. Same with combat, really. You're pressed to think and branch out because there's always a sense of unforeseen consequence. Like any other game, dominant strategy always wins out, but in this game there isn't a singular one. It can change without you realizing. Sometimes you need to stealth, other times you play it straight, but whatever you do, you have to minimize your consumption of valuable resources and figure out the most optimal outcome on the fly. You have to anticipate situations where you'll be stuck trying to turn things around and winding up crippled. Every potential confrontation is a puzzle.
But yeah... the exploration gets points from me. The environments you traverse beckon you to explore and reward you with all sorts of unique sights and secrets. And yet it never feels like you could've just passed something by when you're done. Even with the little nooks and crannies it all feels worth it, even when there's not an upgrade, piece of lore, or even a good stash of resources waiting. The journey itself is rewarding. I don't know how certain games do that. I just know that not many pull it off successfully.
So much to like about the game. I could go on and on. The best thing I can say about it is that a lot of care and thought went into cultivating immersion, from the story, to the gameplay, to the visuals, and even the audio. They make you think, observe, and exercise your sense of agency. You truly feel a part of what you're doing and what is happening to you, and to me that's what makes this genre of shooter great. Atmosphere for days and days and days. And you must always put yourself in your character's shoes - always minding everything around you, tending carefully to what people say (as well as little things you pick up traveling,) and considering all of your choices. You feel the sense of humanity and danger. Limitations and uncertainties. I can't lie, I really tensed up for my first couple of goes. Other times it makes you curious or stirs awe. Keeps you focused, keeps you playing. I've put in some loong nights because of the effect it has there.
FWIW I've been playing the game with raytracing on high for I don't know how long. As of the most recent updates to both game and driver, my 2060's been running it on Ultra settings at 1080/60 and... it's actually holding up? Like, really, really well! I don't know how they did that with the optimization. Previously it struggled worse (though not nearly unplayably) on the high preset. Now, on ultra, there are a handful of little spots that momentarily tank my FPS hard, but otherwise it is a perfectly smooth 60 FPS, without looking different from before. This is not me saying "Look at how awesome my gear is." It's more a testament to the game.
In a game that goes to such crazy lengths in order to convey a very finely-honed atmosphere, the global illumination adds a ton to the immersion factor. I'm glad that I'm able to run it. It's not even a debate for me. Forget what you've heard - personally, I think this is probably the coolest thing I've seen in a game recently. It adds a lot more to the impression of realism than you realize at first. Over time, it hits you that you've never seen anything like it. There's something a little 'extra' to how the visuals hook you. The biggest difference is in the sense of space and depth. I think what happens there is that when you have traditional, more 'faked' lighting, your brain knows that it's not filling out the space you perceive as it's accommodated to out in the world - it sees how light's behavior clashes with what shapes, contours, and lines 'suggest' it should do and doesn't know which suggestion to take. With GI, even if the lighting still isn't "realistic" it feels more like it's supposed to behave that way. Your brain has an easier time making sense of the more naturally-behaving light, freeing it up to better soak in what it's seeing. Without adding any extra detail, and often even obscuring it instead, global illumination makes every scene look more... 'complete'
That probably reads like woo-woo foo-foo nonsense and maybe it actually is. Just speaking to my experience. I think GI is much more important than the raytraced reflections or shadows as far as impact goes. That shit is going to be huge one day. It corrects little things that are hard to actively go in and tune on the developer end. But just because they're hard to pick out doesn't mean they don't make a huge difference in the overall impression. I can honestly say I had no idea how much of a difference it could make at first.
Only a couple of complaints over RTX in this game. The noise is pretty bad sometimes, especially on water in the distance. The other real major problem is that from certain directions, some rays inexplicably disappear. Other times, you'll be looking out at the water, with the sun in front of you, and the shadows of objects close to you and high up are "backwards." As in... the sun will cast hard shadows off of those objects forward
away from you as though the sun is actually behind you, when it's the shadows that should be behind you. Picture this... you are standing on a hill overlooking the ocean. The sun is in front of you, off on the horizon over the sea. Much closer to you is an electrical tower. The reflection of the sun on the water will be obscured by mysterious shadows being projected onto the water from off of the tower, like somehow there is a second sun somewhere behind you.
I have screenshots to show all of this. Problem is... I've been playing this game for weeks on end and just mashing the screenshot hotkey. I probably have around 1000 to sift through. No joke! For me this game is "Woah. Hold on... damn that looks cool," the game. At some point I will try to pick some to share. I'm thinking maybe somewhere around... 100?
Only kinda joking there... it's REALLY hard to choose just a few!
I'll stop... for now. But seriously guys, if you actually read some of this, you can be my friend. But as your friend I implore you to PLAY THE GAME. How tragic is that launch debacle to sully a work of art such as this? Shit like this is meant to be cherished and lauded and instead we've got publishers doing dumb shit and people bitching about an effin' launcher. Who has time for that bullshit! Life is too short to pass up a really good game. What if you die before it comes out on Steam and never get to play? Imagine if you had spent more of the time before your untimely demise talking about how good the game is and enjoying the unique experience it offers instead of fixating on a negative technicality and missing out. I'll admit that I don't think what they did with the launch was a good move, but just sayin...
I replayed it a few months ago. It was 13 hours for me on hard.
