Just prior to the re-release of Metro Exodus on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, Screen Rant was invited to a preview of the game and all of the fascinating facets that helped give the game a proper upgrade. Metro Exodus was already a great looking game, but when compared side by side with this enhanced version, it looks wildly dated. It’s amazing what the team at 4A has accomplished in just a couple short years with this re-release of Metro Exodus, managing to really squeeze a lot of power out of these new consoles before they’ve barely even began.
Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 both run the game at 4k/60FPS, while the Series S runs it at 1080p/60FPS. Although some may be hoping for 120FPS on these consoles, it’s still pretty impressive it’s getting 4k/60 simultaneously. There is some dynamic upscaling, so it’s not native 4k, but it’s a beauty nonetheless. The biggest reason is because the game had a huge visual overhaul with its lighting thanks to things like ray-tracing. Lighting is more natural and visually rich in comparison to the prior version and this was extremely noticeable when press were shown a scene that was lit by fire.
The colors produced by the fire are far less artificial, shadows are more realistic, and it really helps bring the scene to life with the light source acting more appropriately. The ray-tracing in Metro Exodus goes beyond just simple reflections; it’s creating a much more dynamic looking game. It enabled the developers to light the game more easily and much more accurately, all thanks to the power of current-gen console technology. 4A even boasted that this is the most comprehensive ray-tracing experience on a home console while also running at 60FPS.
Beyond the game changing lighting techniques, Metro Exodus is upgraded in just about every other technical department. The game loads in under a minute, and features an impressive level of detail and fidelity that would’ve previously only been seen in the PC version. 4A noted that this new version of Metro Exodus runs comparatively at “very high” graphical settings whereas the last-gen version was more akin to medium PC settings. It’s no secret that these new consoles are future-proofed for things like 8k gaming at some point, but it’s incredible to see developers really unlocking this level of potential so soon.
It was also noted that because of the work done on this port, the team was able to develop tools and techniques that have tremendously helped their ability to create content. 4A can now create and iterate more rapidly, giving more time back to the developers to explore creative ideas without worrying about eating up precious resources, which will no doubt allow 4A to build a far more refined and innovative Metro game due to being less restricted. There’s no indicator as to when the next game will release, but if this is what the team was able to accomplish with the port of Metro Exodus, a full fledged game built from the ground-up with all of this new knowledge and extensive range of tools will likely be great.
Metro Exodus on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S is a free upgrade for owners of previous-gen versions. Screen Rant attended a preview presentation for the purpose of this article. Screenshots in this article are still from the previous-gen version of the game.
