Metro Exodus gets back on track for two expansions
Next stop: End of the line
Lovely as Metro Exodus was, the extremely Russian post-apocalyptic FPS came (optionally) bundled with a sealed mystery vault of goodies in its season pass. Now, 4A games have finally revealed what's in the box, and it thankfully doesn't sound too painful. There are two expansions on the way, the first offering a more classic linear Metro story, and the second adding another open-world sandbox zone to explore, and both put you in the shoes of new characters. The first expansion - The Two Colonels - is out this summer, and the second - Sam's Story - launches in early 2020. Below, details and possible spoilers if you've not finished the main game.
The first expansion, due out this summer is The Two Colonels, and puts you in the shoes of Colonel Khlebnikov, a character briefly mentioned in the main game. It'll be a linear, tense adventure in the style of the first two Metro games, and send you into the dying city of Novosibirsk, a year before the events of the main game. On a mission to reuinite with his son for New Year's Eve, Khlebnikov will have to delve into some claustrophobic and dark environments, but will at least have a flame-thrower to clear the way. That probably means atomic hell-spiders, so buckle up.
The second expansion, due next year, sounds rather more ambitious. Sam's Story casts the player as the former US marine, now high-ranking Ranger. He's in search of a way back to America, and his mission takes him to the port city of Vladivostok. Unsurprisingly, the city isn't doing too great - I'm hopeful that 4A can deliver some tasty open-plan urban decay. As described, it sounds similar to one of the main acts of the original game, and interestingly takes players to a location explored in one of the (as yet untranslated) extended universe books in the Metro series.
Metro Exodus is currently on sale on the Epic Games Store, discounted down to £27.49/€34.99/$34.99. You could get the Gold edition, but that more than doubles the price - I'd recommend waiting until we know if the expansions are any good. It's all published by Deep Silver.