Metro 2039 has no heroes. It trades hope for revenge, and I’m all for this new direction

Metro Exodus spent much of its time proving this series could survive outside the Moscow Metro. Artyom was always a dreamer and hoped for a better world for the people of the Metro. And despite everything, hope seemed to prevail if you made the right choices in Exodus.

So why is Metro 2039 drawing me back in? It’s not just the name and the setting that’s worth its weight in gold, no. It’s the fact that it takes the bleak world of Dmitry Glukhovsky’s Metro series and takes us deeper into darkness. 4A Games dropped a new Renegade gameplay trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live, this time putting the new protagonist, The Stranger, in the spotlight once again.

We see him moving through the independent Sevastopolskaya station, where he explored the irradiated Moscow and fought mutants and humans alike. But the latest travel shows us brutality firsthand, reminding us that Artyom is gone. Thinking about the DNA the original Metro 2033 game shared with GSC Game World’s Stalker, this is exactly how I want my Metro.

The tunnels have learned a few tricks from Exodus

The big new location, Sevastopolskaya, was seen again in the new Renegade trailer. 4A describes it as an independent station being slowly destabilized from inside by propaganda and alcohol while Novoreich-backed Raiders put pressure on it from outside. The Stranger visits while chasing information connected to his mysterious target.

Aside from just looking pretty, the entire game feels more interactive, and by that extension, more immersive. Something small like the breaching tool that was used by the Stranger adds to new gameplay mechanics. Similarly, a new UV light can expose hidden mutants, repel flying Insectalis, and uncover codes used in environmental puzzles.

While I loved wandering through sprawling large environments in Exodus, Metro 2039 appears to be bringing that curiosity back into tighter spaces. The new Shatun pneumatic rifle looks appropriately Metro too. Its power depends on keeping the weapon pumped, giving you another mechanical thing to worry about while something horrible is trying to eat you.

Something strange is still lurking down there

Everything about the trailer that caught my eye was related to The Stranger. He wears Spartan armor, yet 4A describes him as a traumatized man focused almost entirely on his own mission rather than saving everyone suffering under Hunter’s Novoreich regime. One line summarizes him rather efficiently:

The Spartans were wolves in helmets. But I’m something worse.

Then comes the part that really has me curious. As Hunter’s propaganda repeats its call that the enemy must be destroyed, the voices of the Dark Ones join him. The trailer stops short of explaining what that means, leaving another supernatural thread hanging over The Stranger’s violent waking nightmares. Unlike before, the Dark Ones don’t look like they are just mysterious; they seem outright hostile.

I was already impressed by how much stranger and more eldritch its post-apocalyptic setting had become. This trailer makes the gameplay side equally promising. Metro 2039 launches in February 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox on PC. An exact date hasn’t been announced.