Metro 2039 has finally been revealed, born from years of hard work, and it’s available this Winter. 4A Games has revealed the premise and a bit of gameplay, alongside the new protagonist, Stranger, and confirmed that it’s once again relying on its own engine to build the game.
“To build that truly Metro experience at the level of atmosphere and detail we aim for, we rely on something we’ve invested in for decades now,” said co-creative designer and lead audio designer Pavel Ulmer. “Our own engine and tools. 4A Engine is purpose-built to make the games that we want to make. If we need to build a new feature or do something in a specific way, with our own engine, we can just make it. We’re limited only by our vision.”
Executive producer Jon Bloch also noted that the team gets to “take advantage of the strengths of every game in the franchise before it.” That includes ray tracing, which was featured extensively in Metro Exodus.
“This time we have focused on rebuilding our implementation of this technology to bring a more tuned and performant experience that is still nothing short of stunning and hauntingly beautiful.” Creative director Andriy “mLs” Shevchenko said the tools allow creating a world that’s “as dense, realistic, and believable as we can imagine.”
“They allow us to make Metro feel tangible. You can walk into a room, and it behaves like a real place. Nothing is prefabricated. Everything is unique and grounded.”
This aspect has defined the series pretty well thus far, but Metro 2039 is taking it to a whole new level, courtesy of “Frozen Stories.” You could walk into an environment, and it’s “clear a person lived there.” There might be bags near the door, spilt tea or an “unfinished card game” right next to a corpse and an unloaded gun. Based on the shells nearby, it seems they were too late to survive against whatever attacked them.
The goal is environmental storytelling without dialogue, pushing the player’s imagination “further” while immersing them. They also “give those who are curious many opportunities to explore and learn more about the world of Metro.”
Metro 2039 will launch for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, though pricing has yet to be announced. A brief gameplay snippet is available, showcasing much of what fans have come to know from the franchise, including the telltale wristwatch and the return of Nosalises. Check it out here.
