In my sojourn through the post-apocalyptic wastes of Russia in Metro Exodus, I can't help but think of competitive cooking show Masterchef. No, Chef Ramsay isn't holed up in a makeshift bunker of a TV studio after the knife-wielding contestants took criticism the wrong way. Rather, Metro reminds me of the philosophy of UK hosts John Torode and Greg Wallace: a simple formula must be executed to nothing less than perfection, but the ambition of a dish that involves many complex moving parts mean that certain flaws can be overlooked.
Like the chocolate fondant, the bane of budding Masterchef champions worldwide, Metro Exodus is a game that could have gone very wrong indeed. It's not without issues and frequently messy, but the sheer swagger developer 4A Games shows in defying genre boundaries and accomplishing each of its occasionally disparate goals - in a way that just about works - is almost overwhelming.
Metro Exodus is a crafting-focused survival game, a heartwarming character study, and an atmospheric horror title. It also effectively becomes Wolfenstein for a bit because, well, why the hell not? Where the Redux remasters of the previous games, 2033 and Last Light, featured separate survival and shooter modes, Exodus does both at once, and wonderfully. All of these elements are somehow knitted together into one of the most bizarre and thrilling train journeys I've ever experienced. It can be baffling but it's irrepressibly brilliant.
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