German Publisher Deep Silver (Saints Row IV, Dead Island) are appropriately crowing about the success of Metro 2033 sequel Metro: Last Light. The latter title has managed to outsell its predecessor’s total in US retail sales during just the first week of its release, though they have not released exact numbers. Last Light tells the continuing story of nuclear war survivor Artyom and his travels through the undergrounds of the Moscow subway system, with events taking place one year following the conclusion of the events in Metro 2033.
Across all platforms, worldwide, Last Light‘s first week sales have beaten the first three months of 2033‘s sales.
This is certainly good news for both Ukrainian developer A4 and fans of the series– there is a slate of DLC already planned for Last Light, the first two of which are additional single-player content (expanded story and locale), scheduled to release in June. A subsequent DLC promised is aimed at developers– it’s probably a good guess that it may contain SDK elements and map or level editing tools.
Metro 2033 was unusual for a game as it was based directly upon a novel, one written and published in Russia in 2005 by author Dmitry Glukhovsky. The author worked with the developers on Last Light, and while it is a sequel to the game Metro 2033, its story is entirely unrelated to the Metro 2033 novel’s sequel Metro 2034. The Metro series combines elements of the supernatural (ghosts and otherworldly beings) with typical post-nuclear fare (mutants, bandits, radiation and, y’know, lots of skeletons).
The games have been widely appreciated for their rich storytelling and gameplay innovations. The original game was largely HUD-less and required players to use in-game clues to monitor status (e.g., it had a key mapped specifically to look at your watch– vital when counting down the minutes until you must replace your gas mask’s filter). Last Light has softened up on players, though a downloadable “Ranger Mode” pack brings the classic hardcore play of 2033 to Last Light.
When your in-game wristwatch isn’t counting down how much longer you can breathe, it actually shows the real-world time– not game-world time.
Metro: Last Light was released on May 14th in North America. There is also talk of a Playstation 4 version, but developers have only said it will not be a launch title.