Developer 4A Games' long-awaited post-apocalyptic sandbox shooter Metro Exodus is now just over a month away - and, as you'd expect, the studio's marketing efforts are rapidly gathering speed. And now, as part of its pre-release publicity pre-amble, 4A Games has unveiled Metro Exodus' lavish Artyom Custom Edition - it's so fancy, in fact, that only ten have been made.
The Artyom Edition is a bit of a Metro fan's dream, stuffed full of collectibles inspired by some of the series' most iconic imagery - and all, 4A explains, are either authentic real-world items or have been hand-made with the help of DB Props at Shepperton Studios.
As revealed in the video above by Dmitry Glukhovsky, author of the Metro novels that inspired the games, the Artyom Edition features a gas mask and filter, a functional Bullet Lighter crafted from a decommissioned shell, a steel Spartan dog tag (engraved with the recipient's name, natch), plus the centrepiece: a fully-functioning, hand-made Nixie Watch - all of which should be familiar to anyone that's experienced the post-apocalyptic thrills of a Metro title previously.
Artyom and pals may escape the sealed, haunted world of Moscow’s subway tunnels in Metro Exodus, but the latest story trailer shows there’s plenty of problems on the surface too. 4A Games may have switched up the environments to include some deep, dank swamps and harsh looking deserts, but the threats are familiar. There’s still a range of weird mutant monsters, and it seems that no matter where you go there’s still going to be Nazis. Ah well, at least they provide a subset of the post-apocalyptic human population you can shoot without guilt. Take a peek at the new video below.
Pretty soon the grim news cycle is going to grind to life again. Only three months until — no! Don’t think about it. We still have a moment here, on the crinkly, brightly coloured waves. Listen to their quiet rustling and think, not about reality, but about games! Yes, lovely, shiny games. We can bury our face right in them. And from that point of view the next 12 months are looking pretty good. Here’s our selection of the games we’re most looking forward to next year.
Metro Exodus comes out a week earlier than announced, on 15th February 2019, to be precise.
The shift in timing means the game no longer launches on the previously-planned date of 22nd February, which would have placed Metro in competition with BioWare's Anthem. Instead, Metro now shares the same release date as two other big games: Crackdown 3 and Far Cry New Dawn (that new one with the neon pink and yet another post-apocalyptic landscape). Talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire! Although judging by what we've seen of Metro Exodus so far, I have high hopes for the title.
Along with the news concerning the shift in dates, we also got a look at the rather chilling opening title sequence for Metro Exodus, which paints a harrowing picture of frozen post-apocalyptic Russia. Looks like we'll all be playing a fun game of "is that a person, or a snowman?"
Wow 2019 is a thing, huh? How are we all doing? Relieved? Bowling a hangover and a nagging sense of trepidation? Maybe you work in retail and, surprise! You were supposed to be at work half an hour ago. Time loses all meaning post-New Year break, doesn’t it? You’re just sort of adrift in a sea of empty Quality Street wrappers. That’s okay. We’re all there too.