It only took four hours for Metro 2039 to become my most anticipated first-person shooter of 2027. Developer 4A Games has always had this talent for creating singular experiences – solemn descents into hellish landscapes. That’s especially true this time around, as the studio draws us back to the depths of the irradiated Moscow Metro system.
If Metro Exodus was a story of looking for hope beyond the outskirts of Russia’s ruined capital city, Metro 2039 is a return to hell itself. The mutants which stalk the surface have been twisted beyond recognition, as have the uneasy alliances which once connected underground networks of surviving factions. Metro 2039 is a darker, more claustrophobic experience – and all the better because of it.
A lot of questions have been asked of the FPS genre in the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation, and Metro 2039 feels like the answer. Weighty stealth-action gameplay and a truly stunning attention-to-detail come together to create an experience that feels quite unlike anything else. If you’ve been desperate to play a single-player, story-driven shooter set in meticulously-crafted environments then you needn’t look any further.
There’s still so much of the game to be seen before its February 2027 release, but here’s five things I think you need to know about the game while we countdown our return to the wasteland.
5. Exploration is better than ever before
Metro 2039 blurs the lines between the claustrophobia of Metro 2033 and the more expansive elements of Metro Exodus. This fourth entry in the series has a tighter structure, mixing linear storytelling through densely-detailed subway tunnels and wider surface exploration of an irradiated wasteland.
In my playtest I’m able to transition from the underground Sevastopolskaya Station to an overworld that’s packed with distraction – it’s possible to head straight to the main objective, but creeping through decaying structures is well worth my time (and gas mask filters). Resources for item crafting are strewn around the landscape, hidden blueprints can be uncovered which allow crafting of upgrades for your equipment and weapons, and stories frozen in time help reveal more about the world you inhabit.
4. Movement and weapon handling has been improved
The Metro games have always been defined by two elements: the weight of movement and the gratifyingly tactile interactions you have with your equipment. With the absurd fidelity 4A Games has captured here, even the smallest acts – physically wiping debris from the visor of your gas mask, pumping the triggers to power up your kinetic torch, rifling through your backpack to desperately craft medkits and ammunition – fuel total immersion in the space.
Tiptoeing heavily through environments is essential, with even the smallest noise able to bring hell down upon you. Mutants harass in groups, quickly cutting off escape routes; human factions are more aggressive, necessitating use of non-lethal takedowns to thin out a crowd before you have to begin burning through limited ammunition reserves.
3. Combat is absolutely brutal in Metro 2039
The gunplay in Metro 2039 is extraordinary. Combine limited ammunition reserves with a punishing recoil model and you’re suddenly left with combat encounters that feel exceptionally desperate. Each weapon has a unique profile, with meticulous firing and reload animations constantly drawing the eye away from enemies pushing relentlessly to flank and overwhelm your position.
4A Games has clearly improved handling over Exodus, all while adding more destructible cover and a new lean mechanic – perfect for when you’re battling in tight corridors through the hazy green hue of night-vision goggles. 2039 remains a stealth-action game, so there are opportunities for (lethal and non-lethal) takedowns should you avoid detection, but the game really comes to life once firefights erupt.
2. Ammo is your primary currency once again
A return to the Metro means ammunition is back as currency. As you hunt around you’ll come across military-grade ammunition – this is used to barter for items with traders, but can also be used in a pinch to fuel a chattering Kalash in combat. Other changes have been made to bring Metro 2039 more in-line with earlier titles too.
You can once again equip three primary weapons, with a fourth slot reserved for a signature weapon. Aspects of Exodus have been refined too; you have the ability to craft limited items from your backpack while exploring, but you need to find Workbenches to properly equip weapon and suit upgrades, craft key ammo and resources, and clean-up your guns to prevent malfunctions.
1. The horror has been dialed up
If there’s one aspect of Exodus that disappointed, it was how 4A pulled back on the more supernatural elements that defined 2033. Metro 2039 features a new protagonist – a fully-voiced soldier equipped with Spartan armor known only as ‘the Stranger’ – and they seem to have more demons to exorcise than poor Artyom.
In my time with 2039, the returning presence of the Dark Ones has a clear impact on the new horrors that have befallen the Metro system, while unlabeled anomalous zones found in the overworld completely warp exploration. A faint echo of children’s laughter on the wind, dancing shadows in a decaying playground, a kindergarten that the surviving stalkers of the Sevastopolskaya Station warned against approaching… Metro 2039 isn’t afraid of getting dark and truly weird.
Final Thoughts: Metro 2039 makes a great first impression
I was only able to play around four hours of Metro 2039, but if this early hands-on playtest is fully representative of what 4A Games is able to deliver then I do truly believe that we’ll have an early Game of the Year contender on our hands come February.
The attention-to-detail in environments is astounding, so too is the quality of weapon handling and animation. The weighty movement grounds you in a world where all hope is already lost, and the tactile approach to every small interaction builds this overwhelming sense of claustrophobia.
The seven year wait for a new Metro game has been brutal, but its return is impossible to ignore. Metro 2039 is expected to land on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X February 2027.
