Metro 2033, the first in 4A Games' series of post-apocalyptic Russian stealth shooters, is available for free on Steam until March 15. (Note this is the original version rather than the 2014 remaster.) At the same time, the rest of the series is on sale, both in a franchise bundle and individually, with Metro 2033 Redux available for 80 percent off, Metro: Last Light Redux 80 percent off, and the trilogy's finale Metro Exodus 66 percent off.
The premise of the Metro series, which is based on novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky, is that survivors of a nuclear holocaust have created underground communities based around the stations of the Moscow Metro. Some have kept the political philosophies of the old world, with a war being fought between Stalinists and neo-Nazis in the tunnels while bandits hunt everyone for bullets, the Metro's new currency. Then there are the mysterious Dark Ones, who seem to threaten everybody.
Some players prefer the original version of Metro 2033 for its darker look and slower pace of things like weapon-switching and looting, but the Redux version has the advantage of being made in Last Light's engine, with less loading screens and better textures, and it features the sequel's weapon customization as well.
We came down in favor of the remake in our review of Metro 2033 Redux at the time, with reviewer Jem Alexander saying, "I'm not talking a little texture upgrade here, I'm talking new meshes, new animations and reworked environments. Metro 2033 Redux is Metro 2033 tweaked and polished to a high standard; this feels like the definitive version of the game 4A originally wanted to make."
Still, free is free.
