Game Name: Metro Exodus, The Two Colonels (DLC)
Publisher: Deep Silver
Developer: 4A Games
Release Date: August 20th, 2019
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
Introduction
This year I played through the whole Metro series and I have to admit, I really loved it. In fact, I really did like Metro Exodus. It was more of a faux open world. You can look around but the story was pretty linear.
You can see my review here.
Here we are a few months later and here is the first DLC for Metro Exodus. Will it continue the quality of the main game? Let us discuss.
Story
You play the character of Colonel Khlebnikov in the city of Novosibirsk. He is a high ranking member of OSKOM. He is the father of Private Kirill which we first met in the main Metro Exodus storyline.
As per the Wikipedia page of Metro Exodus,
The name OSKOM is an acronym, meaning OSobiy KOMitet (Russian: ОСобый КОМитет), that can be translated as The Special Committee or The Emergency Committee, which is a fairly typical Russian name for a civil or military defense organization.
While this is happening, you are seeing Colonel Miller about a year later. He is looking for a map that will show the location of the green stuff. He is going to the Novosibirsk metro station to find the map. You never control Colonel Miller. He is only seen during cutscenes.
Basically the story is a flashback to the previous year's events and Miller represents the current times. I believe the flashback sequences are based on what Kirill is telling Colonel Miller.
The game has 4 parts that indicate how many months before the events with Miller occur. 12 months before, 6 months before, 3 months before and 1 month before.
This is about as much as I can provide as a story without giving too much away.
Metro Exodus: The Two Colonel (Full Play Through)
Bottomline
The first thing that I have to say is that, for this particular DLC, they went a little back to their roots. Before Metro Exodus, the series was known to be played in dark and closed areas. For example, you rarely went outside and you stayed in the metro. It seems that for this they went back to what made the series such a hit in the first place. I guess it was a way of saying thank you to their fans and an homage to the original games.
Since this is from the same engine as with the main game, the graphics look the same. This also means the voices are the same as well. The voice actors are great but the animations are not great. As I had mentioned in my review of Metro Exodus, the voices can be wonky at times. In fact, at the beginning of the DLC, I thought something was wrong with my game and that it had booted incorrectly. The sound and movements were out of sync. Once we got to the next loading screen it was fine, but that should have never passed the QA process.
Due to the length of the DLC, I expected the weapon choices to be limited. However, you really have little choice. You start the game with a flamethrower and you end up with a few guns that you can slightly upgrade. I do understand that crafting would be limited but this was very meager.
One of the biggest positives of the DLC is the story. It is a very well told story. Unfortunately, it did not last too long. The play through as you can see above, was about 2.5 to 3 hours of gameplay max. Even though the DLC was very short, i really felt the connection between Kirill and Colonel Khlebnikov. That is how strong the story telling is. Some other games try for 35 hours and never get me invested in the characters.
In addition to the above, you see a very vulnerable side to Colonel Miller. It is a side that you rarely see during the main game. He is always tough with Artyom and others as he expects the best out of them. This adds another dimension to the game which makes you connect to the characters even more.
Is it worth the pick up. If you do not have the season pass, the DLC is about 8$ USD. I think this is a little too short to justify paying for that. Yes, there is quality there and the price is low for a DLC, but I would say wait. If you do not have the game, wait for the Game of the Year edition and it will be well worth it.
There is a second DLC coming in early 2020 and you will be playing the character of Sam. He is the only American in you crew in the main game. I do hope that they gameplay is at least 10 hours. We have been spoiled with very good DLC in recent years. With The Witcher III and Deus Ex just to name a few.
What do you guys think. Let us know in the comments below.
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