Metro Awakening Preview: The Closest To The Apocalypse You’ll Ever Want To Be

Metro Awakening is an upcoming VR game that expands on the well-established post-apocalyptic franchise with an all-new, original story. It’s expected to be released before the year is out, giving players on PC, PlayStation, and Meta Quest the opportunity to explore a harrowing, mutant-ridden adventure from a terrifyingly close perspective.

I had the opportunity to play a solid trial of Metro Awakening at Gamescom in August. If I hold my hands up, it was one of the first VR games I’d ever played, but days after I experienced Metro Awakening, I’d invested in a Meta Quest 3.

Do with that information what you will.

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Deep, Deep Down

Metro Awakening is set in 2028, around seven years before the events of Metro Exodus, the last main game in the series that was released back in 2019. Players assume control of Serdar, a survivor of the nuclear apocalypse and now a resident of Moscow’s dank, horrifying subway ecosystem.

As Serdar, players will venture through the underground catacombs and tunnels, searching desperately for his wife in a race against time to save her life. It’s a quintessential Metro adventure rife with mutant creatures, slim-to-nil resources, and darkness and danger lurking around every turn.

The first thing that struck me as a long-time Metro fan was the authenticity of the game. It has been compiled by Vertigo Games, and the team has done a fantastic job representing the inherent intensity of a Metro game in VR form. From the moment I passed through the game’s tutorial section and was plunged into the metro system of Moscow, I was immersed.

On the artistic front, it looks remarkably similar to Metro Exodus, right down to the clarity of the visuals. I’ve played a few VR games since then but nothing has managed to come close to the sheer atmosphere presented in Metro Awakening. It has been compiled so well that the version I played could have been packaged up and released to the market then and there.

Next-Generation Horror

If you’ve ever been creeped out by some of the more eerie elements of the Metro series, prepare to have your timbers well and truly shivered in Metro Awakening. I was jumpscared by mutants, crawled on by giant spiders, and forced to confront a suffocating darkness with nothing but a flickering torch and a homemade lighter in my hands.

Everything from inventory mechanics to how you use weapons and equipment feels intuitive and natural in Metro Awakening. I got to grips with it after little more than a few minutes, and the attendant at the booth was surprised I’d essentially never played a VR game before.

I can’t stress how true to the franchise Metro Awakening remains. It helps that it has always been an immersive FPS series, but the VR perspective takes things one step further, planting you as close to the post-apocalyptic world as you’d ever want to be. I found myself probing every nook and cranny, opening every box and locker, and constantly checking my weapons and equipment to make sure I was in tip-top shape.

I haven’t been able to confirm how long the game is, but I’d assume it’s at least a few hours long. Beyond the launch of the game, I’m also not sure what’s coming next, but as soon as I have that information, I’ll happily share it. I’m hoping it doesn’t end the base game, because Metro Exodus had some fantastic expansions.

If you’ve been waiting for a solid new VR shooter, don’t sleep on Metro Awakening. It’s phenomenal.

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