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1 Rejoice, the Metro franchise returns, but this time with an all-new immersive story. Join us as we dive into the tunnels of Metro Awakening VR! Developed and published by Vertigo Games, along with Deep Silver and Dmitry Glukhovsky we get to grips with the origin story of Khan.
KHAAAAAAAAANNNN…
If you’re a fan of the series then you are going to love this! Designed and written exclusively for VR, this aims to be the most immersive Metro experience yet. How does it deliver? Well let’s take a look.
Gameplay
It’s hard to talk about a VR game without giving away too much of what you will experience. Let’s be honest: You don’t want to have your run-through spoilt by me telling you all about what you are going to do. Instead, I will attempt to be as vague as possible but at the same time give as much information as I can. Jeez, it’s like I’m giving you a tutorial on how to read a review.
Metro Awakening VR sets us in 2028, the not so distant future, with the survivors of a nuclear armageddon existing in the subways under Moscow. All sounds lovely, an idyllic life some might say. Well, that is until the monster breaches the fences and you are forced to flee.
Rewinding a touch, when you first fire up the game, you are given a nice little tutorial. Taking you through all the gameplay mechanics that you will need and ensuring that you have the comfort levels just right. After all, we don’t want our Metro experience ruined by a little nausea. It should be ruined instead by being scared in dark tunnels!
Gameplay Ruined
One of the mechanics you get early on is the head torch. Now when I say to make sure this is charged fully, I mean FULLY! As the battery runs down the light starts to dim, and eventually, it starts to flicker before going out completely. You do not want your light to go out when playing through any section outside of one of the little underground hamlets.
Please bear in mind as well if you are looking to play Metro Awakening VR, there are spiders in there, and they are horrible. The devs are creating an update that brings an arachnophobia mode, but as yet no concrete date has been announced.
Gameplay Improved
As with any VR game, the way that it allows you to be immersed in the world is key. Metro Awakening VR gives you such an amazing experience, unlike anything I’ve ever played. I’m not sure whether it’s the environmental aspects of the game, or whether it’s a franchise that I’m more family with. It just makes the whole experience superb.
The gunplay is brilliant. You get a pistol early on and I have to say this is my favourite weapon. Having to scavenge for all your bullets that you can, adds to the peril. Especially when a monster turns up. Your brain tells you to shoot, but you need to be calm and steady to ensure that you don’t waste a single bullet.
Graphics & Audio
Being built exclusively for VR you might think that the overall visual fidelity might drop. However, you would be entirely wrong. Granted I’m sure that the PSVR2 version looks better than the Quest 3, but the Quest 3 version wowed me around every corner. From the use of lighting to the environments themselves, everything was stunning. Metro Awakening VR is really an indication of what the standalone headset of the Quest 3 is capable of.
Nothing says VR like underwhelming audio, taking you out of the experience with poor audio is prevalent in VR games. Thankfully Metro Awakening VR isn’t one of those games, it has incredible audio. From the sound effects to the voices of each character playing their part. Outstanding.
Longevity
The whole story takes around 7 hours to complete and you will experience so many thrills throughout the game. Of course 7 hours is a pretty long experience for a VR game, so remember to take breaks where you need to! You can also extend that time in the game if you up the difficulty. Although I think that may well induce a few sleepless nights.
Final Thoughts
Vertigo Games have outdone themselves with this one. A great addition to the series and to the Metro Universe overall. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last VR game that we get from the Metro!
Metro Awakening VR receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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