The second Metro entry is a FPS that masterfully blends survival horror, stealth, and action in a post-apocalyptic Moscow. Picking up where Metro 2033 left off, it immerses you in the tunnels and ruins of a devastated world, with striking environmental detail, haunting lighting, and a palpable sense of tension at every turn. The game’s story is compelling, driven by morally complex choices that shape its ending, while its characters are surprisingly well-developed for the genre.

Combat is tense and deliberate, rewarding careful planning and resource management, though the game still allows for more action-oriented playstyles. And although using a "stealth x non-stealth" shooter approach at the time was becoming old by the time of this release, this one is masterfully implemented. You have tons of options to approach the "full-stealth" playstyle, and sometimes this is the only viable option, depending on the difficulty level you choose to play this.

You even face a couple of bosses along the way, nothing over the top but they add a nice change of pace from the regular gameplay rythm. While linear in design, the tightly crafted levels and atmospheric storytelling make it a standout experience, particularly for people who appreciate a gripping narrative combined with moments of genuine fear and suspense. The art direction, sound design, and attention to survival mechanics elevate Metro: Last Light beyond a typical shooter into a fully immersive world, this one is a must play for those who like single-player story shooters to any extent.

With Metro: Last Light I got pretty much what I expected - Metro 2033, but bigger, prettier and more varied. I'm a long-term fan of post apocalyptic settings, stealth and story driven action games, so I liked that series a lot and looking forward to see what's new in Metro Exodus, but will make some pause. Moreover I doubt that Exodus will run really well on my Mac.

That was my first playthrough of Last Light and my friend who's a fan of the series and completed all Metros multiple times advised me to instantly play on the hardest difficulty and he claimed that the game was developed to play this way and this level of survival that appears with it. Turned out that it's not completely true and he should've told me something more about that. There is no HUD at all which is cool in terms of adding a realism and that you need to check the time on the wrist watch that's left before you need to change the filter of a gas mask, but that's all pros and there are cons:

1. in most cases you don't know what you're picking up - you just hear a sound that something is picked and that's it;
2. the only way to know how much ammo you have (except for those that already inside a weapon's magazine) is to open journal (push and hold M, then clic RMB);
3. you should know beforehand that you're able to knock out foes instead of stabbing them with a knife, because the game usually tells that with a caption, but as I already said - there's no HUD at all; and this affects what ending you'll eventually have;
4. there are rare QTEs in the game and when that happens... you don't get any notifications that you need to push something; usually I understood that it's QTE after I died and the next time I mashed E and LMB hoping that it'll work.

There's also one possible issue that's unrelated to HUD: there's 2-3 fights when if you don't have guns with extended clips, you'll have really tough time and most probably will need to start over a chapter. And I hope that if that happens, you'll have enough money to buy it. Luckily that friend told me about that before I got in that fights because in the beginning I liked to play stealthy with a silenced revolver.

Aside from that this things the hardest difficulty is really adds to survival-vibe and keeps you on your toes, especially at times when you need to use a gas mask. You need to understand that on this difficulty constant looting is mandatory because you just won't make it without collecting a lot of ammo, filters and money. And when you're short on gas mask filters, you need to loot pretty fast.

I'd recommend to try that ranger survival hardcore difficulty on a second playthrough.