Metro 2033 is the best FPS I’ve played since Half-Life 2. How’s that for a bold opening statement? Let me preface this entire review with a confession: I may be slightly biased. I’m a big fan of post-apocalyptic games like Fallout, so Metro 2033 had already been on my radar for quite some time. Yet (like most of my games) it took me a long time to get around to actually playing it. When I did, I was blown away by its depth, atmosphere and beauty.

Yes, you read that last one right: beauty. How is that a game set in the dilapidated tunnels of the Moscow Metro could ever be beautiful? In fact, how could it even be a decent game? Wouldn’t it essentially be a corridor shooter? That’s an obvious risk, and while corridor shooters aren’t necessarily bad games, it’s an overused cliché that is often a sign of lazy game design.

That’s not the case in Metro 2033. The developers clearly have a good understanding of the potential limitations of the setting, and have worked hard to give each of the metro tunnels its own personality. The game’s pacing is also excellent, so you don’t stay in the same area for too long. In fact, some of the game’s most detailed set-pieces are only visible for a few seconds as you pass through on a railcart.

There’s a pervasive sense that the developers have crafted every inch of the world in meticulous detail. A good example of occurs right at the start of the game, as I pass through the shanty buildings constructed from scrap on an old station. As with most FPS games, there are hundreds of doors that you can’t go through. I decided to investigate some of them, and while most simply made a rattling noise, I was shocked when one door opened a sliver to reveal a tired Russian fellow.

“Who is that? Artyom? Look, I’m tired. I’ll catch up with you later.”

As he gently closed the door in my face, I realised that I had never seen anything like that in a game before. Doors either lead somewhere or nowhere. I’ve never seen one used to make a world feel real.

The game also knows how to deliver atmosphere. When you first venture out into the dreaded metro tunnels, you’ll have a companion to show you the ropes. Apart from the lacklustre voice acting, these companions are excellent in every way. They protect you, explain things and guide you onwards to your goals. They don’t get in the way. You feel like a two-man team, willing and able to deal with anything that gets in your way. Until you’re forced onto the surface, and the game cracks its knuckles and gets down to delivering some atmosphere.

The first time you visit the surface, you need to put on a breathing mask. These take filters that last around 15 minutes. There’s no on-screen timer, but you can check how long it has left by pressing a button to make your character look at his watch. You won’t need to do that though, as there are several effective indicators of how long a filter has left. The mask itself obscures the edges of your vision, and you can hear your own heavy breathing as you move. The more you exert, the heavier your breathing becomes. As the filter wears out, the mask fills with condensation and your breathing gets more and more laboured. It’s an effect that works extremely well to make you feel vulnerable, and it’s well-matched with the hand-wound torch that is your only source of light in the early game.

There’s a lot to keep in mind when you first reach the surface. There are flying monsters, scurrying beasts and human scavengers that you have to worry about. There’s ammo, filters for your mask and power for your flashlight. The surface feels too large after the tunnels. Danger could come from any angle, instilling an acute sense of agoraphobia. The corpses of other rangers, only a few metres from the safety of the Metro, did nothing to calm my fears.

It’s here that the game separates you from your companion, forcing you to go alone into this terrifying unknown. It was only when I was separated from my companion that I realised just how effectively this game had dragged me into its world. I felt alone, afraid and vulnerable in a way that no other game has ever managed. It’s a trick that would only work once, and Metro 2033 doesn’t try to repeat it. Instead it repeatedly comes up with new ways to get under your skin and draw you into its world. For example, in one level you find a young boy is the only survivor of a horrible attack. Instead of having him as a companion, your character carries him on his back. You immediately become slow and heavy, and form an attachment to the lad as he whispers tales about the tunnels into your ear.

This game is not underrated by any means, and it deserves the critical acclaim it has received. However, I don’t think the game gets the recognition it deserves for its level design credentials and companion NPCs that you don’t want to shoot in the face for blocking doors. In my opinion this game is a must-play FPS deserving a spot in the hall of fame alongside games like Half-Life 2 and System Shock 2.