The test
Released two years ago, Metro Exodus could have rested on its laurels. After all, the Epic Games Store exclusive has long since ended, the Steam, GOG, PlayStation, and Xbox versions have been available for a while, the game has achieved both critical and commercial success, and its two major DLCs (The Two Colonels and Sam’s Story) were released in August 2019 and February 2020 respectively. However, retirement time has not yet come for the 4A Games hit, as the Ukrainian studio is offering us a major graphic update.
Moreover, the changes are so important that we should rather speak of a parallel version than of an update. Metro Exodus and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition are indeed two completely separate programs, which should be downloaded separately. We will see that the form has changed significantly, but basically nothing has changed. The adventure is strictly the same as before, and our 2019 test is therefore at your disposal if you want a reminder about the latest adventures of Artyom and his gang. Note that the owners of the first version of the game have absolutely nothing to pay to get the second, which will automatically appear in their favorite launcher. On the other hand, fishermen may have to open their wallet to update their hardware configuration. The entry fee is extremely high, as Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition is the first game to require a ray tracing compatible graphics card. In other words, you will need at least a GeForce RTX 2060 or a Radeon RX 6700 XT to enjoy the sublimated version of Artyom’s adventures. This is explained by the total integration of ray tracing in the game engine, and the abandonment of old technologies (pre-calculated lights, ambient occlusion …), which previously simulated effects which are now calculated in real time. .
Concretely, the scenes benefit from a much more realistic lighting, where the slightest light source (torch, bulb, candle…) bounces “to infinity” on the various objects of the environment. In the 2019 version of Metro Exodus, even with ray tracing enabled, only the first bounce of each ray was taken into account. In 2021, we are therefore entitled to brighter scenes (when they should be) and more contrasted. Shadows are more believable and more dynamic. Ray tracing is so precise that the hue of the light rays varies depending on the objects on which they are reflected. This effect may be subtle, but it results in an increasingly convincing image. Of course, ray tracing reflections are also part of the game. No exaggerated mirror effect here, we are above all entitled to metallic objects which regularly catch the light and to aquatic surfaces which correctly reflect the landscapes.
RAY TRACING BUT NOT THAT
If ray tracing is undoubtedly the star of this Enhanced Edition, other improvements also answer the call. Thus, the game now benefits from 4K textures, while the options welcome a slider to change the field of view. Metro Exodus is also becoming compatible with VRS (Variable Rate Shading) technology, which consists of lowering the quality of certain areas of the image that are not very important, in order to gain slightly in performance. However, players who want to improve fluidity in a really noticeable way will be better off looking to DLSS. Let us quickly recall that this technology makes it possible to calculate the image in a lower resolution before upscaling it to the desired final resolution. Version 1.0 of 2019 gives way here to a much more successful version 2.1, which sometimes makes it possible to gain several tens of images per second while maintaining high image quality. As this proprietary technology belongs to Nvidia, it is unfortunately not possible to use it with a Radeon card. Logically, this effect will also be absent from the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, since both consoles include an AMD graphics processor. These two machines will also have to ignore ray tracing reflections, but will however retain all of the other improvements, including the various ray tracing effects dedicated to lighting. However, be warned: you will unfortunately have to wait until June 18 to be able to enjoy Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition in your living room.
