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Metro 2039 has been revealed by by developers 4A Games, describing how the game was shaped by the Ukrainian-developers experience of Russia’s invasion. The game was shown off with an eerie cinematic trailer and gameplay tease, and it scheduled to release this winter (or summer here in Australia) coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
With Ukrainian origin, and the dev team split between Kyiv and Malta, 4A Games have been developing the game admidst the Russian invasion. Besides impacting production — 4A Games mentioning having to down tools to shelter from missles strikes and drone attacks — the invasion inspired the game’s focus on “choices, actions, consequences, and the cost of securing a future.”
As The Stranger, the games takes you deep into the Metro tunnels beneath Moscow where underground factions have fallen under a single banner led by a tyrannical new Fuhrer: the legendary Spartan, Hunter. Promising a life on the suface, he subjugates the populace with propaganda and misinformation; the connections to current events very much apparent.
The game is described as a “handcrafted, story-driven single-player FPS campaign” with a “claustrophic immersive atmospehere and psychologial horror” all of which are on full-display in the six-minute-long reveal trailer. Despite the lens in which 4A Games apply to the souce material of Dmitry Glukhovsky’s original book series, 4A Games insist it’s a “classic Metro story” that’s “unmistakably Metro.”
“You play as The Stranger, a recluse haunted by violent waking nightmares, forced to undertake a harrowing journey back down to the Metro, a place he swore he would never return to. The Stranger will be a fully voiced lead protagonist, making a notable step towards deeper immersion in METRO’s iconic atmospheric storytelling.”
In the showcase, 4A Game spent some time discussing what they call “frozen stories” which is essentially detailed environmental storytelling. Walk into a room and you’ll likely find clues as to what’s unfolded in the space prior.
The showcase ends with a gameplay teaser showing off these detailed environments and the tense, heart-pounding mutant combat awaiting fans in this latest installment.
The game is the first major series entry since 2019’s Metro Exodus, which we scored 7/10 praising its stunning visuals and realism. Metro 2039 is set for release this summer here in Australia, across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
