Metro Awakening VR Preview: Survival horror with VR hit potential
Metro Awakening VR is about to become a real VR blockbuster. In our preview, we describe our first impressions after a 45-minute play session.
At this year's Gamescom, we had the chance to check out some of the great VR games that will be released this year. Besides the enchanting Escaping Wonderland and the potential VR hit Batman: Arkham Shadow, one of the highlights was Vertigo Games' narrative VR survival horror shooter Metro Awakening VR, which will be released on November 7th for Playstation VR 2, Meta Quest 3, Quest 2 and PC VR via Steam and Viveport.
Content
This is what Metro Awakening VR is about
Metro Awakening VR is an origin story from the Metro 2033 universe by author Dmitry Glukhovsky which includes nine novels and three video games: Metro 2033, Metro Last Light and Metro Exodus.
The VR spin-off from Vertigo Games, which is responsible for Arizona Sunshine 2 and After The Fall, among others, begins in 2028 — five years before the first novel. The survivors of a nuclear catastrophe have entrenched themselves in the tunnels of the Moscow Metro, cut off from the surface, where they fight for survival day by day.
You take on the role of the doctor Serdar, who faces the dangers of the metro in search of his sick wife and urgently needed medication. You fight against unscrupulous bandits, radioactive radiation, the omnipresent darkness and the shadows that hide within it.
Darkness, nothing but darkness
After a short tutorial, I end up in a dark subway shaft, which immediately surprises me. The few glimpses of light show me a dilapidated environment with rusty railings, old car tires, rotting wooden beams, and long abandoned rails half buried in the rubble.
When it's too dark, I put my hand over my head and press a button on the VR controller to activate my headlamp. But the lamp's dim glow produces only a small cone of light. What's more, the lamp keeps going out, and I have to recharge it with the hand crank. Although this feels incredibly immersive, it will still put me in one or two stressful situations for sure.
What I realized immediately: If you have the opportunity, you should definitely play Metro Awakening VR on a VR headset with OLED displays. The black levels and color representation of the Playstation VR 2 really benefit the dark environment.
Metro Awakening VR tells the story of Serdar, who wanders through the dark Moscow subway tunnels in search of his sick wife. | Image: Vertigo Games
The backpack as 3D inventory
Since this hostile environment is not exactly blessed with electricity, I need to recharge dead switches with my "Charger". To do so, I reach over my left shoulder and pull out my backpack. Similar to The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, this serves as a 3D inventory.
All items are hanging somewhere on the backpack and I have to find and identify them first. Here, too, Vertigo adds a touch of realism to the game, but it remains to be seen whether this is good for the actual gameplay eventually.
Handling the backpack and the many other interactive points on the body can be tricky, especially in stressful situations. I also have to remember a lot of movement patterns. If I reach over my right shoulder with my right hand, I am drawing a weapon. If I move my right hand to the same place instead, I catch a backpack with all the waffles dangling from it.
So I take out the charger, connect its cable to the switch on the door, and turn the crank to charge it with electricity. On the way to a generator, rats run in front of my feet, and the flickering light creates suspense. Visually and atmospherically, Metro Awakening VR is impressive across the board at this early stage.
Realistic weapon handling
Shortly after restoring power to the rooms, I experience my first moment of shock: I enter a room where a rotting corpse is sitting on a chair and a mutated giant rat jumps through a window with a crash. It lands between the corpse and me, I grab the gun from the floor — the calm guy on the chair won't need it anymore — and have to reload first.
The handling of the weapon is also trimmed for realism, and I have to eject the empty magazine before I can insert the new one and reload — all this while the giant rat is charging at me like crazy. Two well-aimed shots restore some calm.
However, the creature has allowed itself a little nibble and I pull a syringe gun from my holster. One round in my hand and off I go.
As I make my way through the corridors, more rat creatures come at me through small holes in the walls, and I can practice my shooting. In the quieter passages, where I make my way through shafts, ladders and caves, a colleague joins me on the radio to lighten the mood and give me tips on my next targets.
The gunplay in Metro Awakening VR is, as usual from Vertigo Games, massive and trimmed for realism. | Image: Vertigo Games
Sneak or shoot?
Later on, I also encounter human enemies. While I was still able to shoot the oversized rodents without hesitation, I have to be more careful with my fellow survivors. So I scout out their route first, then sneak along a shelf wall and hit the armed villain with my weapon as soon as we are out of sight of our colleagues.
If I'm spotted, however, bullets will rain down from all directions. Sneaking and assassination are the more effective methods in Metro Awakening VR. When it comes to firefights, however, Vertigo makes full use of its shooter experience and impresses with intense gun play, powerful hit feedback, and roaring sound effects.
Radioactivity is another killer that creeps into the Metro. I have to act quickly in contaminated areas. When the Geiger counter starts ticking, the image in front of me slowly dissolves and starts to burn like an old celluloid film — a wonderful effect. Only a gas mask with a working filter or an escape can save me from certain death.
In some sections, it's better to kill your enemies silently. | Image: Vertigo Games
My first impressions of Metro Awakening VR
Metro Awakening VR simply looks great on the Playstation VR 2. The play of light and shadow in the narrow corridors creates an insanely oppressive horror atmosphere. The constant scarcity of resources such as ammunition, electricity, and light also keeps the tension high.
To emphasize the survival aspect, Vertigo relies on game mechanics that are as realistic as possible. While this adds to the immersion, it can also lead to frustration in the long run. For example, when I have to identify the right item in my backpack in stressful situations, or when the grappling mechanics don't always fit perfectly.
Metro Awakening also requires you to memorize a lot of interaction patterns: How do I activate the lamp, and where do I find the charger to recharge it? Which hand do I use for which backpack, and where was the syringe gun again?
But if you internalize this and get involved in the dark fight for survival, you should have a lot of fun with this mix of narrative shooter and survival horror. Whether Metro Awakening VR will be the VR hit that this first demo suggests, we'll have to wait until the beginning of November, when we'll be able to test the final version.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
