GENERAL
As someone who has played the previous metro games and completed them both several times, I was curious how this game would end up being considering such deviation from the actual Metro as we know it.
But I am happy to report that the game is actually very good, its maybe not in a metro but its on a train and it spans several large areas that can be explored as you like albeit in a somewhat linear direction, you at least can go about your business on your own time and solve situations stealthily or guns blazing.
GAMEPLAY
Money or as we recall military grade bullets no longer factor into this game, now you collect and breakdown items for resources, specifically parts/metals and chemicals. From these you can craft items like ammo and clean your weapons which can get dirty and become less effective. Also armor and gear upgrades to find and install which makes exploration really worth while.
Also exploration for collections is another way to make the most of the maps and beautiful graphics.
Crafting in the game is fun, using a backpack in the field to make the most basic things or mods to weapons is a good system and then of course the work stations themselves which allows you to overall and keep weapons clean.
Sometimes the interface isn't always the most user friendly, game could use onscreen markers maybe or some sort of onscreen compass with custom way-points which could be useful but not needed
PERFORMANCE
The sounds are great also and the game has a lot of dialogue which is really performed by a solid bunch of actors, most of them the same voices as in the previous games.
The game performs rather well for me, playing it on ultra settings rather smoothly with a 1080GTX at Full HD which is more than enough for me.
Loading times can be a little lengthy but at least they are rather quick when you need to reload a checkpoint or usually a not too distant quick save.
STORY
Again effects and graphics are brilliants and the story is compelling if not simple, its characters are complex enough and you get sucked into the game early and it keeps you wanting to continue playing.
I am a gamer that has more than 20 years of gaming under the belt, I have grown bored with most games and these days I feel I have the attention span of a 5 year old but Metro Exodus has woken up the curious kid in me again who just cant wait to get back on and see what happens next.
For me this is the best installment of the Metro franchise purely on the story, but adding all the other aspects, the acting, graphics, play style and pace...I can say that the game feels great to play, so much so that its hard to see or even remember if there was a bug or something about that game you didn't like.
BUGS
As for bugs, there are some here and there, some sound glitches, NPC's spinning around on a spot etc. A big no go for me was switching from headset to system speakers, whenever I plugged in my Corsair Void (usb) the game would crash, even when unplugging it, complete CTD.
NPCs are not always the brightest bunch but that are not horrible either. But all in all its a wonderful game that has some really great elements to experience. *hats off to Deep Silver for producing a super game.
Another issue is instability which I feel and is exacerbated when you have to ALT TAB sometimes (since I couldn't get the game to play borderless)
There is the odd stutter especially in the forest level, could just be me, though I had no issues of much note before, here however a sudden movement or sound or something would cause (while turning usually) the game to totally freeze up and stall my system so much so that I need to do a hard reset. Again this only happened at the start area mostly of the forest map.
Generally the game drove me forward and such bugs were mostly overlooked.
EDIT: CONCLUSION
I played about 3 or 4 days on and off before I completed the game and while I remain firm its a great game and sure its got a decent amount of content to keep you busy, it just doesn't have enough content for me. The game was done just too quickly, now this is because the main plot of the game is very simple and the story focuses on people, companions, comrades and family, which I do love since I enjoy those kinds of cliches and the game puts you square in the middle of the hero role.
I do feel though that the game and the entire world had actually much more to offer, when I think back now I get the feeling they were making the game and then a manager or shareholder (some big wig) said listen this games got to get out there to make some money, you guys have been developing long enough and then it all kinda just took off flying to get to the end.
This happens toward the last ...hmm third of the game, after the Caspian sea area, up until that point the maps were large and it all felt pretty great, much to do and keep busy with. This is why I personally feel the game could have gone on longer and they could have brought the "compelling" reasons in more gradually.
While there is more than one way to play the game, the game ends in one of two ways essentially, that being a good ending or bad and I don't mean that you were a good guy or bad guy per say, but that the good ending actually is the more favourable one because it is the best ending and leaves the game once again open for more.