Metro Awakening is a game from Vertigo Games, a developer that has worked on other VR shooters so they are not strangers to the VR scene. It is a full-fledged VR Metro game that takes place in the same world which was created by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. The game is available on pretty much all mainstream VR platforms, unlike some other games. It is a big Metro experience that takes place in the VR format.
The developers have successfully gone all in and created an authentic VR experience for the most part. Developers have gone for a good Metro experience and have done a relatively good job. Gameplay wise it is relatively simple. The game also has some flaws so it is not all smooth sailing. For fans of Metro who also happen to like VR stuff then this is the best you can get and should give it a go if they get a chance. All of this brings us to the question, Is Metro Awakening worth it? Let’s find out.
The Background
Metro games take place after a nuclear apocalypse. People are now living in the Metro underground in Moscow. People are living in subway trains, tunnels, and anything else they can find. There is the danger of raiders pillaging and radiated monsters roaming all around. This time around you play as someone other than Artyom. Unlike the mainline Metro games, you play as a voiced protagonist known as Serdar. He is a doctor living with his family in one of the settlements. His child died some years ago since the death of their child his wife is not in the best of condition. She has now gone missing and now it is up to you to find her.
It is surprising how much Metro Awakening focuses on the story. Different characters you meet will have a lot of stuff to talk about. There are cut scenes in the game and you will be listening to dialogues on the radio while roaming around. There is character depth to the game and a lot of explanation. How much you like these ideas is up to personal taste. There were moments when I wanted the characters to be done with what they were saying. It is all up for personal taste so your experience might be different. Characters talk a lot on the radio, making you want to skip ahead and get to the action.
General Gameplay
Metro Awakening is at its best when it comes to gameplay. Part of it is the reason how the game has adapted to the survival horror nature of the Metro games. This time around, you have to pull the bag from the left shoulder to see the mission objective, a compass, and other equipment that is hanging from your backpack. There is a gas mask that you can pull and use along with some filters. You also have your lighter and your battery charger. It is all the stuff that has become an identity of Metro games over the years.
All of it has been done in a good way. If you want to turn on the headlamp, just take the hand to the forehead and click. When out of battery pull the charger from the backpack and charge it up. Condensation that appears on your gas mask after wearing it for a while. Condensation can be whipped out by just whipping the face. Metro Awakening does a good job from a VR standpoint. The game shows that it understands Metro and projects it to the players. So if you are into Metro games then it will feel right at home.
A lot of it is carefully implicated that rages from how you power up doors to the use of a ladder to climb up and down to how you heal yourself, all of it is easily accessible. Metro Awakening also has a VR setting to customize the game as per your needs.
Combat
Shooting is one of the major parts of the game and it takes some time for you to get used to it. The shooting is not a cakewalk by any means and you need to be precise while shooting. There will be a lot of missing shots in the beginning. Enemies jumping on you from shafts can be a nuisance. Shooting is at best when fighting against human enemies and bigger monsters. Gunfires are intense and they have that survival horror desperateness to them.
Metro Awakening is not easy so it can even be hard on normal difficulty. The feedback and the flash of weapons are powerful especially when in the dark. Since you don’t know how much ammo you have at any given moment, you have to reload the weapon instinctively which makes each reload satisfying and important. You might be in an intense encounter and the weapon will run out of ammo you will then scramble to reload and look through your stuff. You might even scramble to get a weapon from a fallen enemy.
All of it makes you feel like a person living in the post-apocalyptic metro who is trying to survive while taking down enemies just to see another day. That is when the game is at its best. The feeling of desperation and survival is what makes it such a good one. The theme of survival is evident throughout different aspects of the game.
Stealth
If you want to save some bullets and have a better time then stealth can be useful. The stealth is not balanced which makes it unpredictable at times. Enemies might even detect you while you are fully hidden. It is not a matter of skill but rather the game doesn’t have parameters of stealth and detection. Stealth is thrown in without actual implementation.
You can throw different stuff to distract enemies and you can also take down enemies using stealth kills. Just go behind them and hit them on the head which can seem goofy at times. Landing a punch also takes effort because you can miss a lot in Metro Awakening. This could have been done better because as things stand, it is not accurate.
Controls
There are some control issues with the game and it is not as smooth as other big and recent VR games that we have seen. It can feel a little out of place. You might want to store a filter and instead, you will use it. So it has some problems. Pulling a weapon over the shoulders and pulling the sidearm from the hips requires multiple pulls, which can be frustrating.
The things you do in Metro Awakening get generic after spending some time with the game. There is some creative stuff thrown in the mix but it’s far and between. A lot of it feels flat with the environment not having much variety and the characters not having many details. Characters just feel devoid of light and you can’t form a connection with them.
Verdict (Is Metro Awakening Worth It?)
The moment-to-moment gameplay is fun. When you are walking in a dark hallway and hear a monster howling, while you frantically search for it in the circle of your flashlight that’s when the Metro Awakening truly shines. Just getting lost and circling back to the path gives you the experience of total darkness. The sense of total darkness is done in a really good way. Even if moment-to-moment gameplay and scare don’t hit the same level as mainline Metro games, it is the atmosphere that keeps it interesting.
How good the story is also depends on the player so if it is not that good for me it can be a blast for you. It is a game that can be a good recommendation for VR stuff so maybe try getting it on sale. It might not hit the same highs as Batman: Arkham Shadow or Half-Life: Alyx but it is good for VR games. Compared to other generic VR games, it is quite good. For fans of the Metro series, there are things to like here.
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