Is Metro 2033 Scary?

Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter survival video game. It was developed by 4AGames and published by THQ in 2010. The story is based on Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novel ‘Metro 2033’. The game is set tunnels of Moscow after the nuclear war destroyed the human civilization on the earth. This has forced the survivors to live underground and protect themselves. The surviving humans now have to encounter other human and mutant enemies.

Players always wonder, Is Metro 2033 Scary? Although the game is categorized as scary action, it lacks the majority of the scary part. The scary sound effects and jumpscares are so bad that they aren’t even comparable to that of Outlast. We’ll see a complete breakdown of Metro 2033 Scary side.

The game is played from a first-person perspective, where the players control the character named Artyom. Artyom has the responsibility to save his home station from the dangers lurking around the Metro.

The sequels to Metro 2033 are Metro Redux, released in 2013, and Metro Exodus, released in 2014.

Currently, Metro 2033 is available on Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Linux, OS X, and Stadia.

Background Story of Metro 2033

Metro 2033 has a very detailed background story which makes it more interesting. The story is told through a linear single-player campaign, and some important plots are shown during the cutscenes.

The plot is based on the novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky, where a nuclear war destroyed the earth in 2013. All nations, including Russia, are destroyed. A handful of survivors hide in the Metro system of Moscow. The air in many areas becomes heavily irradiated and is impossible to survive without a mask. This forces the players to wear gas masks, which gives a sense of Claustrophobia even while exploring the open world. Twenty years after the war, in 2033, this Metro System is now attacked by mysterious creatures called Dark ones. Artyom, a 24-year-old male survivor that the player control, has taken responsibility for saving his hometown. Later in the game, Artyom experiences Hallucinations induced by the Dark Ones.

The game has two endings, depending on the choices the players make throughout the game.

The Canonical Ending: Artyom fires the missiles to kill the Dark Ones, but only to realize that the mysterious creatures wanted peace and all the human deaths were in self-defense.
Alternate Ending: Artyom destroys the Lazer guidance device and realizes that the Dark Ones were actually attempting to make peaceful contacts through the Hallucinations.

However, the alternate Ending is only possible if the player does positive acts throughout the game, for example, helping fellow humans or not scaring the DARK Ones in the Hallucinations.

Comparing Metro 2033 with other games, it is not that scary when it comes to the storyline. Yes, the game indeed has some big jumpscares, but they are not much effective. The game progresses through dark tunnels in the night environment to add the effect of scariness. The spider nest which is the main scariest thing in the game is not even comparable to minor things from Outlast.

In any horror game, audio is an important factor to make the end-user feel the surroundings. In Metro 2033, this audio part is completely ignored by the developers and makes it even harder for players to experience horror.

Jumpscares in Metro 2033 Scary (Spoiler Alert)

There aren’t many jumpscares in the game, but there are few scenes that creep out many. The game manages to create a very Metro 2033 Scary atmosphere, like the sounds of mutant creatures snarling and moving around. Here are a few jump scares in the game:

Common Librarian: found only in Moscow state Library. These gray skin creatures are no harm unless Artyom attacks first. They will walk away if Artyom stands his ground, looking down.
Black Librarian: Found underground. They are a bit more aggressive; however, the players can avoid them by starting down.
Rats: They will often pop out of their holes to bite.
Lobsters: When the player knocks his boat into the Lobsters, they will get angry and spit or bite the player.
Sandmen: On the beach. They will come out of nowhere and try to punch the players
Spiders: All-round underground and will bite in the butt.

Scary Gameplay of Metro 2033

In the Ruins of Moscow, the survivors have to fight enemies in order to survive. These enemies can be killed with a variety of firearms. These arms can either be scavenged from the bodies of the dead enemies or purchased from vendors in exchange for bullets. Bullets are used as currency in the game. Here is a list of a few weapons found in the game:

Revolver
Assault Riffles
Shotguns
Pneumatic crossbow

The players can employ stealth to evade the enemies or even kill them silently by throwing a knife or shooting them with a suppressed weapon. In case the player gets hurt or is bitten in combat, they can either wait for the Health to recharge or use a medical kit to heal themselves immediately.

Some areas may be heavily radiated, and thus the players must wear a gas mask in order to explore that area. During the exploration, the gas mask will be gummed up with various substances like mud splashed from a nearby puddle of blood from an enemy that was killed. The gas mask thus attracts the player’s attention deeper into the game. And hence, the gas mask is said to be crucial to Metros immersion.

FAQs

A few FAQs are answered below:

Is Metro Exodus a Horror Game?

The video game describes itself as a first-person shooter horror game. However, there aren’t many jumpscares that will give nightmares. In comparison to the first two games, Metro Exodus is not at all scary. So if you are not a big fan of horror games but want to play Metro 2033 anyway, Metro Exodus will be a good start.

Is Metro Last Light Scary?

Even though there aren’t many jumps scares in the game, the game successfully manages to create a scary atmosphere. It depicts all the terrifying results of a nuclear war. Upon deeper thought and consideration, it does make the ming more and more restless.

Metro 2033’s story is interesting and well written. The gas mask makes the players feel claustrophobic and restricted. The background details are impressive, which makes the players feel cluttered. Overall, the game perfectly balances the scary atmosphere, the storytelling cutscenes, and the intense combat.