We’re going to go over all 4 Metro games in order of release. This gem of a survival-horror series was originally adapted from a novel of the same name, and the adaptation was remarkably faithful. Through some artistic miracle, the pages of Metro 2033 translated perfectly to the video game world, and the rest is history.
We’ll walk you through all the Metro games in order of release, giving you a bit of information about each one. All of the games we talk about here are incredible and worth playing – so if you’re interested in the series, make sure you start at the beginning (or the remakes of the beginning, at least).
Metro 2033 launched in 2010 with major critical success. It was a rare case of a game adaptation of a book. In this case, the book Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky. It was a remarkably faithful adaptation, at that, translating the book’s horror elements to the screen perfectly.
The horror survival gameplay of Metro would set the tone for the rest of the series, and remain a strong point for each installment later down the line. Furthermore, as we progress further through the Metro games in order, the quality of the games proportionally increases – each entry is better than the game that came before it, which is remarkable when you consider how well-received Metro 2033 was.
Metro Last Light
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
While Metro 2033 focuses heavily on the monster-horror elements of Glukhovsky’s world, Last Light leans further into the human-horror elements of the post-nuclear Moscow subway. The plot revolves around rival factions, established to mimic the Russian and German superpowers of World War II.
Despite this, Metro Last Light is still a true-and-true survival horror game, perhaps in part because it is also based on a novel – the sequel to the novel that inspired the first game. What’s worth noting is that despite the general praise for both Metro titles thus far, constant criticism has been aimed at the series’ technical performance.
Metro Redux
Release Date: August 25, 2014
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
Just one year after the release of Last Light, 4A games came to us with a remake of both that game and the original 2010 Metro 2033. These games had been built from the ground up in the latest generation of the 4A Engine at the time, overhauling not only performance but graphic quality, too.
While it wasn’t perfect, the Metro Redux package addressed many of the criticisms aimed at the original titles and fixed them. If you’re trying to get into the Metro games today – this is where you should start.
Metro Exodus
Release Date: February 15, 2019
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia
After the release of Metro Redux in 2014, the Metro team over at 4A went quiet. It was five years before we would see the next installment in the Metro series, and what an installment it was. As well as being the most recent of the Metro games in order, Metro Exodus is arguably the best of the bunch, too.
Exodus trades in the claustrophobic, psychologically terrifying darkness of the Moscow subway for the wide-open expanses of post-war Russia. Admittedly, this does take away that horror element that the first two games did so well. In its place, though, is an incredibly engaging open-world survival game still packed with plenty of horror, granted it’s no longer front and center.
Conclusion
That’s every single one of the Metro games in order. This is an incredible game series – and a practically unheard-of case of a book-to-game adaptation. Regardless of if you’re a horror fan or not, you ought to give them a chance.
You can pick up Metro Redux relatively inexpensively if you catch it in a sale. It’s well worth a couple of bucks, if nothing else.
