Well they just had a sale on this franchise at Steam for a great price and I bought 3 of the titles, 2033 Redux, Last Light Redux. and Exodus. You can tell it's an older title, but it has been remastered, and the narrative, environment, and fidelity* is quite good as you navigate through the Tunnels of Moscow (vicinity). Did anyone recently start playing? So far I'm like it. Playing on PC. Some of these titles have Mac versions.
* OK, nothing close to Cyberpunk 2077 graphic fidelity, but honestly that is a recent standard. Not too long ago, I was playing at the level in this game which can be carried by narrative and situations.
Metro Exodus- Thumbs up!
My Tips so far 16Jan22 (currently playing in the Caspian Sea zone):
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1. Check your journal regularly, Left Click to flip it.
When you first exit the Aurora, you'll receive a map from Colonel Miller. Your map is automatically updated with your primary objectives and some optional ones, but one of the most useful parts of it is hidden on the back.
You can turn your map over to read Artyom's journal, which is also updated regularly. These journal entries tell you much more about your next objective than just its location. You can double-check your goal, who you'll be working with, and the circumstances of the mission. That last one is especially important, as some journal entries will advise you to avoid killing, approach stealthily, or watch for specific sub-goals. Even if you know where to go next, it's worth stopping to check your journal before every big mission.
2. Use your binoculars to scan for points of interest
Krest really is a goldmine of intelligence. Meeting him not only lets you access a compass (more on that later), but Krest himself will also give you a pair of binoculars when you find him. You can use the binoculars to scope out what lies ahead, confirm enemy locations, and mark it all to your map. If you scan over an optional objective using the binoculars you’ll hear a click, and holding it will automatically make a question mark appear on your map (try zooming if it doesn’t ‘pop’). So be sure to stop and take in your surroundings every once in a while.
3. Sleep to change the time of day
The seasonal weather in Metro Exodus looks great and adds a lot to the world, but the dynamic day and night cycle is far more useful. You can jump between day and night by sleeping at the beds found in various safehouses, and it's worth picking the right time of day to suit your next objective. You're harder to spot at night, so if you're planning on infiltrating a bandit camp, rest until nightfall. On the other hand, mutants are more active at night, so if you're trekking through some open territory, make it a daytime journey so you can see where you're going and what's coming your way.
4. Craft the compass after you meet Krest
Not long after you enter the icy Volga, you'll meet an engineer named Krest. He's holed up in a crane overlooking a mutant-infested warehouse, but despite his circumstances, he's managed to squirrel away quite a lot of materials and machinery. His humble abode is also equipped with a proper crafting bench, and that bench should be your first stop after meeting him, because it will allow you to craft and install the compass attachment for your brace. The thin red needle on this compass always points to your current primary objective and it's easy to see on your arm with the rest of your HUD, so it's incredibly handy to have when you're out exploring.
5. Not everyone is an enemy
The world of Metro Exodus is a hostile one, but there are some genuinely good people out there, and I'm not just talking about Krest and Katya. You'll run into refugees and other passive NPCs out in the wastes, and as long as you don't start any trouble, these folks will leave you alone. So before you open fire, always check people with your reticle to see if they're enemies (red reticle), friendlies (green reticle), or neutral (yellow reticle). You can also holster your weapon before approaching them to show that you aren't looking for a fight, and many NPCs will thank you for this simple show of peace.
6. Watch for these early upgrades
You'll naturally acquire new weapons and attachments as you progress, but some of the most impactful upgrades are for your suit itself. You'll improve almost every part of your kit throughout the game, and you can get three of best pieces right in the first area, the Volga. Before you head to the Caspian Sea, be sure to grab these gizmos, all of which are found in the early, lower half of the Volga:
Enhanced flashlight battery: in a shed next to the safehouse northeast of Krest. The safehouse is on a tiny island surrounded by mostly shallow water.
Metal detector: in a small house in the southeast corner near a broken crane. Look to the west of where you find the teddy.
Night vision goggles: in the final room of the Tsar Fish's warehouse .
7. Use silenced weapons whenever possible Stealth has always been a big part of the Metro games, so this tip might be kind of obvious. That said, you really can't overestimate the value of a suppressor. Even silenced weapons aren't totally undetectable, but compared to normal weapons which attract every mutant and bandit in earshot, they're a godsend. Most weapons, including shotguns, can be fitted with a silencer, so always check for one at your crafting bench.
8. The Tihkar rifle is your best friend
Speaking of life-saving weapons: your trusty Tihkar rifle will carry you through just about everything. It's the only weapon that you can craft ammo for on the go, and the steel balls it shoots are relatively cheap to make, making it highly economical. It's also remarkably effective once you get some upgrades for it. A fully charged headshot will one-shot most mutants and bandits, and it won't make as much noise as a sniper rifle or shotgun. You have to keep both its pump and ammo topped off, but if you take care of the Tihkar, it will take care of you.
9. You can mod your guns in the field
You need a crafting bench to clean your guns and craft ammo, but you can change the attachments on your weapons using the tools in your backpack. So if you find a better magazine or a new scope out in the field, stop and equip it immediately. You can also swap things out to change your set up to better favor stealth, range damage and so on.
10. Go for stealth KOs whenever you can
It's always better to stealthily knock enemies unconscious rather than stab or shoot them. Knocking them out makes less noise than executing them, and it won't negatively affect your karma. Enemies you KO will never wake up either, so there's no real upside to killing them. Not only that, if enemies see that you've knocked out many of their comrades, they'll be more likely to surrender, allowing you to knock them out. Playing peacefully is the key to success. It saves ammo and preserves your karma, so take it slow and stealthy whenever possible, especially if you want to get the good ending - and you do, because it's a great finale.
11. You're more accurate while crouching
After a few hours and a few dozen whiffed headshots, I started to wonder if I could up my accuracy. Using a scope with higher zoom helps, but the easiest way to make your reticle more stable is to crouch. Obviously, you don't want to plop down when you're back-pedaling away from a snarling mutant, but if there's some distance between you and your target, crouching is the way to go.
12. Grab a weapon with a new ammo type if you're running low
Just as you can equip weapon mods you find in the field, you can also pick up and use guns dropped by enemies. This is especially handy for juggling ammo types. There are four types of primary ammunition, and while you can only use two weapons at once, you're always accumulating ammo for all four types. So if your shotgun is empty and your sniper is running low, grab an auto rifle off a defeated enemy and dip into your reserves of rifle rounds. If that runs out, grab a loose pistol and remember: you can swap in all your attachments from your pack at any time.
13. Shoot armored dudes in the legs
The first time I encountered a fully armored bandit, I put literally every bullet I had into him and absolutely nothing happened. As it turns out, taking their kneecaps out with a shotgun from behind does the job, as it often does. You can't stealth kill these guys, but it's worth sneaking up on these guys so you can get at their legs.
14. Quick save all the time
This is another obvious tip for stealth games, but it's also easy to forget: quick save before and after every major fight. If you take a needless amount of damage in a simple encounter, blow your cover by alerting some guards or mutants, or accidentally use your last precious medkit - not that that happened to me, nope, definitely not - you're probably going to want to reload your last save. Likewise, if you nail a difficult fight only to die to something stupid shortly after - again, I can't imagine who would do that - you'll be kicking yourself if you didn't quick save.
15. Eavesdropping can be very useful Stealth games always seem to feature talkative guards, and Metro Exodus is no exception. Fortunately, it's not all propaganda and babble. Some of the best dialogue in the game can be found in random conversations, not to mention some of the most helpful. You can learn more about your surroundings by listening to enemy conversations, and some guards will even unwittingly tip you off to new objectives. If you hear anyone chatting while you're sneaking around, stop and stay a while. You might hear something useful.
* OK, nothing close to Cyberpunk 2077 graphic fidelity, but honestly that is a recent standard. Not too long ago, I was playing at the level in this game which can be carried by narrative and situations.
Metro Exodus- Thumbs up!
My Tips so far 16Jan22 (currently playing in the Caspian Sea zone):
- 0117: Karma- There is an invisible karma system in this game. Things like don't kill people who surrender or you may get "the bad ending". And also talking to people with your gun tilted down (H) is good vs pointing it at them, really? Maybe. I've not looked ahead to see just what the bad ending is..but the second link says it's bad. I can't say how bad it actually is, and don't know if the article tells you, cause I stopped reading before the end. I do know I have an in-game wife I would prefer no harm comes to her.

Metro Exodus Beginners Guide – Karma Points, Maintaining Equipment, Survival Tips
Our Metro Exodus Guide will help you with all of the tips and tricks that you need to know while playing the game. These will greatly help you navigate

- 0116- Save game location (PC)- CDrive/User/UserName/Saved Games/Metro Exodus. Metro Exodus is a game where IMO you really want to keep copies of your save games each day so you have the ability to go backwards. The only thing the game saves long term are the chapters/levels, (not certain, might be wrong about starting the chapter at the beginning, have not tested my chapter theory), but my impression is if you want to go back to the day before, it's a lot less work than re-starting a chapter at the beginning when you are near the end of it.
- 0116- new When you go to the Terminal (Caspian Sea final stop) for the fuel truck, no need for a sniper rifle, you're much better served by the revolver (silenced which has many more rounds than either of the shotguns), a shotgun, and the assault rifle or the Tikhar. It’s very possible that you are committed once you hit the area just before hitting the bridge inside the facility, where I went through a door that locked behind me. The revolver with a silencer on it is easily good for a couple of stealth kills. And there is a heavy gunner up there, molotovs and incendiary rounds (if you chose Tikhar) continue to be effective against them. Oh, yes talking to the Baron (when he offers to talk) is much less work than running into that segment shooting.
- Flying Demons-Avoid don’t waste bullets on them. Killable, don’t know...
- Guns- Once you see a weapon (Pick it up?) you’ll be able to access it from the workbench on the train even if you left yours somewhere out in the field.
- Finding gear in the wilderness-You have two choices when you look at a gun laying on the ground E to swap it for what you are holding, or R to strip components, and get engineering parts for crafting. If you drop a gun that has been fitted out, you can look at it and use R to strip it of upgrades.
- When you take out the guy in the crane (Caspian Sea)- You can get him without a sniper, but you’d better take his sniper rifle if you are not carrying one, because you’ll have good use for it to use it to get off the crane.
- Load Incendiary ammo on Tikhar- On PC hold TAB to select the weapons, then R to switch between one and the other. Besides throwing molotovs, Incendiary ammo is effective against mutants, and the heavy gatling gun guys.
- Scorpians/Spider Things in the Bunker- Shine your light on them will not only keep them at bay, but also burn them and they will die. Otherwise you’ll shoot up a lot of your bullets killing them.
- Throwing Stuff- You hold C to pick what you want to throw grenade, molotov, knife. Use the wheel. But then be careful because if you tap C you’ll throw what ever you picked previously to throw when maybe you meant to pick something else to throw.
- Your Light Indicator- Stealth is a big deal. Are you visible to others, in other words are you in the dark? Important when wearing Night Goggles. This light is blue and when it’s on, your visible, when off you are not. https://steamcommunity.com/app/412020/discussions/0/1798529872641515825/
- Find the first Workshop in Volga- cross the bridge heading the way the train is going, slide down to the right side of the track to a road bed, and find it in the end of one of the turned over train tracks facing you as you walk East. There will be some watchmen (pack dogs) there to kill. Head shots work nicely withy your air rifle. https://www.shacknews.com/article/109863/where-to-find-a-workbench-in-metro-exodus
- Journal- The journal in this game is kind of sucky. There is no quest journal, just your current quest. In the meantime, eventually you get a Map (M) and with the map open if you Left Click, it will flip and show the current objective but it won’t show side quests like Find Teddy and Get the Guitar. However once those are mentioned, you’ll see them on the map.
- Give the Guitar and Teddy bears to their quest recipients? Yeah real high priority stuff there, but they are the only side quests I've seen so far... https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xboxo...ers/508191-how-do-i-give-the-guitar-to-stepan When I had them and came back to the train and talked to the people associated with the quest, they asked about the items.
1. Check your journal regularly, Left Click to flip it.
When you first exit the Aurora, you'll receive a map from Colonel Miller. Your map is automatically updated with your primary objectives and some optional ones, but one of the most useful parts of it is hidden on the back.
You can turn your map over to read Artyom's journal, which is also updated regularly. These journal entries tell you much more about your next objective than just its location. You can double-check your goal, who you'll be working with, and the circumstances of the mission. That last one is especially important, as some journal entries will advise you to avoid killing, approach stealthily, or watch for specific sub-goals. Even if you know where to go next, it's worth stopping to check your journal before every big mission.
2. Use your binoculars to scan for points of interest
Krest really is a goldmine of intelligence. Meeting him not only lets you access a compass (more on that later), but Krest himself will also give you a pair of binoculars when you find him. You can use the binoculars to scope out what lies ahead, confirm enemy locations, and mark it all to your map. If you scan over an optional objective using the binoculars you’ll hear a click, and holding it will automatically make a question mark appear on your map (try zooming if it doesn’t ‘pop’). So be sure to stop and take in your surroundings every once in a while.
3. Sleep to change the time of day
The seasonal weather in Metro Exodus looks great and adds a lot to the world, but the dynamic day and night cycle is far more useful. You can jump between day and night by sleeping at the beds found in various safehouses, and it's worth picking the right time of day to suit your next objective. You're harder to spot at night, so if you're planning on infiltrating a bandit camp, rest until nightfall. On the other hand, mutants are more active at night, so if you're trekking through some open territory, make it a daytime journey so you can see where you're going and what's coming your way.
4. Craft the compass after you meet Krest
Not long after you enter the icy Volga, you'll meet an engineer named Krest. He's holed up in a crane overlooking a mutant-infested warehouse, but despite his circumstances, he's managed to squirrel away quite a lot of materials and machinery. His humble abode is also equipped with a proper crafting bench, and that bench should be your first stop after meeting him, because it will allow you to craft and install the compass attachment for your brace. The thin red needle on this compass always points to your current primary objective and it's easy to see on your arm with the rest of your HUD, so it's incredibly handy to have when you're out exploring.
5. Not everyone is an enemy
The world of Metro Exodus is a hostile one, but there are some genuinely good people out there, and I'm not just talking about Krest and Katya. You'll run into refugees and other passive NPCs out in the wastes, and as long as you don't start any trouble, these folks will leave you alone. So before you open fire, always check people with your reticle to see if they're enemies (red reticle), friendlies (green reticle), or neutral (yellow reticle). You can also holster your weapon before approaching them to show that you aren't looking for a fight, and many NPCs will thank you for this simple show of peace.
6. Watch for these early upgrades
You'll naturally acquire new weapons and attachments as you progress, but some of the most impactful upgrades are for your suit itself. You'll improve almost every part of your kit throughout the game, and you can get three of best pieces right in the first area, the Volga. Before you head to the Caspian Sea, be sure to grab these gizmos, all of which are found in the early, lower half of the Volga:
Enhanced flashlight battery: in a shed next to the safehouse northeast of Krest. The safehouse is on a tiny island surrounded by mostly shallow water.
Metal detector: in a small house in the southeast corner near a broken crane. Look to the west of where you find the teddy.
Night vision goggles: in the final room of the Tsar Fish's warehouse .
7. Use silenced weapons whenever possible Stealth has always been a big part of the Metro games, so this tip might be kind of obvious. That said, you really can't overestimate the value of a suppressor. Even silenced weapons aren't totally undetectable, but compared to normal weapons which attract every mutant and bandit in earshot, they're a godsend. Most weapons, including shotguns, can be fitted with a silencer, so always check for one at your crafting bench.
8. The Tihkar rifle is your best friend
Speaking of life-saving weapons: your trusty Tihkar rifle will carry you through just about everything. It's the only weapon that you can craft ammo for on the go, and the steel balls it shoots are relatively cheap to make, making it highly economical. It's also remarkably effective once you get some upgrades for it. A fully charged headshot will one-shot most mutants and bandits, and it won't make as much noise as a sniper rifle or shotgun. You have to keep both its pump and ammo topped off, but if you take care of the Tihkar, it will take care of you.
9. You can mod your guns in the field
You need a crafting bench to clean your guns and craft ammo, but you can change the attachments on your weapons using the tools in your backpack. So if you find a better magazine or a new scope out in the field, stop and equip it immediately. You can also swap things out to change your set up to better favor stealth, range damage and so on.
10. Go for stealth KOs whenever you can
It's always better to stealthily knock enemies unconscious rather than stab or shoot them. Knocking them out makes less noise than executing them, and it won't negatively affect your karma. Enemies you KO will never wake up either, so there's no real upside to killing them. Not only that, if enemies see that you've knocked out many of their comrades, they'll be more likely to surrender, allowing you to knock them out. Playing peacefully is the key to success. It saves ammo and preserves your karma, so take it slow and stealthy whenever possible, especially if you want to get the good ending - and you do, because it's a great finale.
11. You're more accurate while crouching
After a few hours and a few dozen whiffed headshots, I started to wonder if I could up my accuracy. Using a scope with higher zoom helps, but the easiest way to make your reticle more stable is to crouch. Obviously, you don't want to plop down when you're back-pedaling away from a snarling mutant, but if there's some distance between you and your target, crouching is the way to go.
12. Grab a weapon with a new ammo type if you're running low
Just as you can equip weapon mods you find in the field, you can also pick up and use guns dropped by enemies. This is especially handy for juggling ammo types. There are four types of primary ammunition, and while you can only use two weapons at once, you're always accumulating ammo for all four types. So if your shotgun is empty and your sniper is running low, grab an auto rifle off a defeated enemy and dip into your reserves of rifle rounds. If that runs out, grab a loose pistol and remember: you can swap in all your attachments from your pack at any time.
13. Shoot armored dudes in the legs
The first time I encountered a fully armored bandit, I put literally every bullet I had into him and absolutely nothing happened. As it turns out, taking their kneecaps out with a shotgun from behind does the job, as it often does. You can't stealth kill these guys, but it's worth sneaking up on these guys so you can get at their legs.
14. Quick save all the time
This is another obvious tip for stealth games, but it's also easy to forget: quick save before and after every major fight. If you take a needless amount of damage in a simple encounter, blow your cover by alerting some guards or mutants, or accidentally use your last precious medkit - not that that happened to me, nope, definitely not - you're probably going to want to reload your last save. Likewise, if you nail a difficult fight only to die to something stupid shortly after - again, I can't imagine who would do that - you'll be kicking yourself if you didn't quick save.
15. Eavesdropping can be very useful Stealth games always seem to feature talkative guards, and Metro Exodus is no exception. Fortunately, it's not all propaganda and babble. Some of the best dialogue in the game can be found in random conversations, not to mention some of the most helpful. You can learn more about your surroundings by listening to enemy conversations, and some guards will even unwittingly tip you off to new objectives. If you hear anyone chatting while you're sneaking around, stop and stay a while. You might hear something useful.
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