Despite the fictitious setting, realism and repercussions were overarching themes during my three-hours with the game. The world above is a toxic wasteland ruled by mutants where only the bravest or most desperate of scavengers venture, but it is also the greatest source of quality pre-blast equipment and military-grade ammunition. You must wear a gas mask at all times. Cracks obscure your view as you take damage and your wrist-watch counts down the minutes left in your filter. Each tick of the hand is an excruciating test when you’re down to the final two minutes of a filter and waiting for a pack of mutants to pass by. Hide safely and let your filter run out, or try to outrun the mutants, you are probably dead either way.

I can’t remember a single fair fight throughout my entire demo. Each battle was against a pack of mutants or a band of raiders, and they always had the upper-hand with booby-traps, turrets, or night-vision. Again, the odds will be stacked against you. 4A Games wants you to struggle and to make hard decisions. Do you use your precious military-grade ammo or take your chances with the knife? I’m the guy who can finish a Resident Evil game with enough ammo to overrun a small nation, and I found Metro 2033 unnecessarily frugal with the bullets. I let A.I. companions do most of the work, fired with precision, and still ended up stabbing my way through the tunnels. On one hand, it fit with the realism and survival motif. On the other, I expect a little more gunpowder in a shooter.

4A Games is truly going out of its way to make a fantastic atmosphere in a decrepit world. You can’t exactly run to the convenience store for batteries, so you have to physically pump a handheld generator to boost your flashlight. Your log and mini-map is a notebook and compass, and you might want to flick your lighter on for a better view. Few games delve so deeply into such minute details, but Metro thrives on them.

I am a post-apocalyptic aficionado and Metro 2033 just made my watch list.