The Two Colonels DLC; my take on it

[NOD Flamer]

As my review states, this DLC is a much welcoming addition to the game. Because it's a true return to roots experience, just with more story to it.

I disliked Exodus as a Metro game, for it's lack of Metro gameplay (i hated that desert and the tree hugger map so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ much).

I hope the next DLC will be bigger and will also play out in the Metro as a setting. And to bring balance to the DLC, i hope that one will be more action driven just like the Bunker mission (maybe a bit too much action).

All in all i'm happy with the DLC and it's def worth the price tag.

[Hoshie]

The next one is going to be a big open level set in Vladivostok, so no, it won't be in the Metro setting as I'm fairly certain that Vladivostok doesn't have a subway system. Personally, I really enjoyed the open world stuff in Exodus, because I'm a big fan of the STALKER games and this felt like a return to their roots (since so much of the 4A team initially worked on that project). It's also where I felt Last Light shined the most (in the open exploration hubs).

As for the DLC itself, I thought it was a bit phoned-in. It was literally a corridor shooter with no real strategy to approaching the tactical situations. Having to sit there and pump the flamethrower after every encounter on the hardest difficulty also felt annoying. However, I did enjoy the story a lot. The characters were interesting and the moral dilemma choice (and the different outcomes later on) was really interesting to see. The 'zeleniy' confiscations were also a really interesting take as I feel like it mirrored the food/property confiscations by the Soviets in the 1920s/30s. The entire situation, as well as keeping everything secret til the last second felt very Sovietesque.

I really wish they would do MORE DLC for Exodus, like they did for Last Light. There is definitely enough new stuff in the game to take on a lot of different angles, but for some reason they decided on only 2 DLCs :/

[NOD Flamer]

Originally posted by Дядя Жопа:

The next one is going to be a big open level set in Vladivostok, so no, it won't be in the Metro setting as I'm fairly certain that Vladivostok doesn't have a subway system. Personally, I really enjoyed the open world stuff in Exodus, because I'm a big fan of the STALKER games and this felt like a return to their roots (since so much of the 4A team initially worked on that project). It's also where I felt Last Light shined the most (in the open exploration hubs).

As for the DLC itself, I thought it was a bit phoned-in. It was literally a corridor shooter with no real strategy to approaching the tactical situations. Having to sit there and pump the flamethrower after every encounter on the hardest difficulty also felt annoying. However, I did enjoy the story a lot. The characters were interesting and the moral dilemma choice (and the different outcomes later on) was really interesting to see. The 'zeleniy' confiscations were also a really interesting take as I feel like it mirrored the food/property confiscations by the Soviets in the 1920s/30s. The entire situation, as well as keeping everything secret til the last second felt very Sovietesque.

I really wish they would do MORE DLC for Exodus, like they did for Last Light. There is definitely enough new stuff in the game to take on a lot of different angles, but for some reason they decided on only 2 DLCs :/

I like stalker too, but stalker is not Metro even though a portion of the devs worked on it. I think Metro should always focus on Metro and the above world should be secondary. Otherwise it's not really Metro anymore (atleast to me).

And yes I agree, the DLC had no strategic element to it. But that's also kind of logical when you're fighting worms and slugs. The only strategy was the flamethrower, which was effective.
I personally didn't mind pumping the flamethrower, as the game gave plenty of upgrades for it. And if played correctly one could defeat the librarian without needing to pump even once.

And playing through the DLC I figured out real quick that it was a story driven DLC, not a gameplay driven DLC. Some may like it and some may not, but for 8 bucks I don't mind it.

I am bumped too there's only going to be 2 DLCs, especially since I disliked half of the game so much.
You would think with all that TenCent money they would've done something cool for Exodus... But maybe the next DLC is going to amazing, who knows?

[Hoshie]

Well, I figured the Metro stuff was going away eventually, since Glukhovsky's 2035 novel ends with the whole conspiracy that we start Exodus with (although with some stuff I'm glad the devs left out). Maybe I'm just sick and tired of the Moscow metro, to be honest when the game first took me into the Novosibirsk lines I was ecstatic, since it's quite a lot different in how it evolved compared to Moscow.

I draw such parallels to STALKER because of the team behind Metro, but also in so many of the similarities between the two. The anomalies, the now twisted nature and its beasts, the stalkers going to the surface to recover supplies, the faction wars, the ongoing life and corruption in the corpse of the Soviet Union. I'll always see the two in the same vein.

The combat with the beasts was pretty underwhelming for me in the DLC, since I find it a lot more interesting in the Volga/Caspian levels. I can approach the mole rat colonies or watcher lairs in different ways with different weapons at my disposal. I can molotov the area, then enter with a shotgun. Or snipe from afar with a crossbow, then dispatch attackers with throwing knives. There's none of that in the DLC, just left click + forward/back. The combat against the rebels segments were pretty much hold out for X amount of seconds before a cutscene kicks in. It's a story heavy DLC, yes, but Metro has always woven story in with the combat. Especially when you sneak around and hear all the different conversations, or pick up notes in combat areas that give you an idea of why the area is the way it is. I just felt that they could have done better, since the DLC for Last Light was so much more than I expected.

As for Epic's exclusivity money, I've yet to see any game actually gain features because of it. The money doesn't seem to be used as crowdfunding/game expansion funds, but just straight revenue. My guess is that the majority is getting dumped straight into publisher's pockets. However, I do wonder if this quick infusion of cash is what prompted the devs to start working on the next game so quickly. Would be interesting to hear about.