Metro Redux, a two-game collection that includes the remastered versions of critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic first-person-shootersMetro 2033andMetro: Last Light, is available on Nintendo Switch as of now. 2010’sMetro 2033and 2013’sMetro: Last Lightjoin a plethora of games that are being ported over to Nintendo’s hybrid system following its overwhelming success with consumers. However, not all Switch ports are of good quality;Ark Survival Evolved, WWE 2K18,andOverwatchare among some of the worst Switch ports. On the positive side, some companies have seemingly solved the porting-puzzle as bothDoomandThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunthave very solid Switch ports. I’m happy to report that withMetro Redux,two more competent ports join the Switch’s ever-expanding library.
[pullquote]“WithMetro Redux,two more competent ports join the Switch’s ever-expanding library."[/pullquote]
For newcomers to theMetroseries, the games are based on post-apocalyptic novels by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Moscow’s surviving civilians live underneath the city in old subway tunnels, where they take shelter from dangerous mutants roaming the gloomy radiated world. They’ve created makeshift towns beneath the surface but must wander into the dangerous subway tunnels to travel between encampments. It’s a world where everyone is motivated by self-preservation and will go to any means to achieve it; meaning that along with mutants, armed bandits are lurking in the dark tunnels.
Above all else, theMetrogames are survival games. This means your ammunition is more important than ever because aside from being your primary form of defense from mutants, it’s also your form of currency. Each bullet you waste on a cave-dwelling bandit brings you further away from purchasing a weapon upgrade or a med-pack that could help keep you alive.
Graphically these ports are very-solid;Metro 2033looks better than I remember it looking during my brief time with the game on PC. Aside from graphical performance, I was happy to see that the game offers many different sensitivity settings. Personally, I found the standard sensitivity far too slow and limiting in combat. However, 4A Games offers options to change sensitivity while aiming, while walking, and offers an inverted camera option. This isn’t to say that these ports are without their issues. In order to sprint, you must push down the stick; this felt buggy sometimes because my sprinting speed was determined by where my finger was when I first started pressing down.
While the Switch ports are very true to the originalReduxversions of the games, that isn’t all good news. Issues that were present in the original versions of the games are still present here; this is a port, not an improvement. That means enemies clip into the floors and walls. Enemies clipping is nothing new toMetro;however, to someone like myself who is inexperienced when it comes to playing shooters with sticks, it leads to some deaths feeling very unfair.
My biggest gripe with these ports is definitely the loading times. Every Switch port seems to take a hit somewhere;The Witcher 3: Wild Hunttook that hit to its graphics, andMetro Reduxtook it to the loading times. The average loading time between areas or chapters is probably around 60-90 seconds. However, the main character, Artyom, has voice-acted monologues during these loading screens, which are important to the story and take up the first 40 or so seconds of each loading screen, making them slightly more bearable. Ultimately, I think that longer loading times–although upsetting–are a small price to pay for high-quality graphics on Switch ports. But on that same page,Metro Reduxreleased in 2014, so I wasn’t expecting it to need these long loads, even on the Switch hardware.
[pullquote]“Metro Reduxon Nintendo Switch is an amazing opportunity for newcomers to drop into the tunnels laying under Moscow’s ruins."[/pullquote]
The atmospheric horror elements, and intriguing plot that originally made theMetrogames stand out still exists. When I first triedMetro Reduxyears ago on PC, it lost my attention after a few hours. It’s a slower-pace shooter, and not what I was looking for at the time. On the Nintendo Switch, I found myself quietly sneaking through the menacing shadows of the metro and finally playing the titles to completion.Metro Reduxon Nintendo Switch is an amazing opportunity for newcomers to drop into the tunnels laying under Moscow’s ruins.
Developer 4A Games has come close to mastering atmospheric survival-horror shooting games with theMetroseries, making it no surprise that they’ve been remastered and made available on essentially every platform. Realistically,Metro Reduxon Switch provides an identical experience to the PC, Xbox One, and PS4 versions, only with longer loading times. Therefore, If the Switch is your console of choice, and you’ve yet to giveMetro Reduxa shot, there is no better time than now tojump into the tunnels.
BothMetro 2033andMetro: Last Lighttake place before last year’sMetro Exoduswhich just recently released on Steam after a year of Epic Games Store exclusivity. It will be interesting to see ifMetroExoduseventually finds its way onto Nintendo Switch, and if it ever does, we will be covering it here on DualShockers.
