History VideoGame / Metro2033

''Metro 2033'' is a FirstPersonShooter with SurvivalHorror elements based on [[{{Literature/Metro2033}} the novel of the same name]], made by Ukrainian developer 4A Games and released in 2010 for the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. Set in Moscow twenty years [[AfterTheEnd after a devastating nuclear war]], much of the action takes place BeneathTheEarth, as humanity now shuns the surface wasteland in favor of living in the remains of the UsefulNotes/MoscowMetro system. The story features the 20-year-old [[PlayerCharacter Artyom]], who embarks on a journey to solicit help from the [[TheOrder Rangers]] before his home station is overrun by the mysterious and unstoppable "Dark Ones".

* ArtificialStupidity: The A.I. of human enemies for this game was widely mocked, as they often do things like run back and forth between cover points at random without actually stopping to ''use'' the cover to shoot at anything, even when being shot at. This problem seems worse in the PC version than the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 version. Averted in the ''Redux'' version, but only if they know where you are. Considering most of the against-human combat can be done stealthily, it may seem like this the whole game through, though.

* NightmareSequence: Several times as the plot progresses. And just like in the book, Artyom eventually recieves more and more control over his body during those, progressing from just watching at unfolding events to breaking from the nightmare on his own volition.

* NoSwastikas: The Fourth Reich Nazi faction's symbol is a big runic "C" instead of any actual Third Reich-related imagery. This C is the Moscow Metro sign for stop/no entry, symbolizing the Nazis' attempts at getting rid of all ethnic groups other than "pure Russians," as well as suspected mutants. Beta version Nazis sported [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110817192038/metro2033/images/d/d7/Reich_soldier_alpha.jpg a three armed swastika]] used in the book.

* CoolGuns:
** The AK-74M and VSK-94 are as close as you're going to get with real weapons (aside from a rare woodland camo and worn-down wooden handguards instead of plastic ones that were present in the [[http://goo.gl/7Lg73 Beta version]]).
** The Kalash 2012 is highly reminiscent of the FN P90 due to the stock and feeding system. It does have a number of glaring flaws, however, like a lack of an ejection port or cocking handle.
** Considerable effort went into making the homemade weapons plausible. The Duplet shotgun is heavily based on weapons produced in basements during the Seige of Sarajevo, while the Bastard's unusual feed system is inspired by the rather obscure WWI-era [[http://www.forgottenweapons.com/medium-machine-guns/fiat-revelli-m1914/ Italian Fiat-Revelli M1914 heavy machine gun]].

* JerkassHasAPoint: A paranoid communist officer at Armory station can be seen ranting to his men about how there are Nazi spies sneaking into the station from the tunnels and the surface, and demands that all new arrivals be detained for questioning. While he's almost certainly wrong about there already being spies, he's actually right to be concerned about the surface, as it's later revealed the Nazis have established outposts up there.

* JerkassHasAPoint: A communist officer at Armory station can be seen ranting to his men about how there are Nazi spies sneaking into the station from the tunnels and the surface. While he's almost certainly wrong about there already being spies, he's actually right to be concerned about the surface, as it's later revealed the Nazis have established outposts up there.

* KickTheDog: The Red Line Communists execute a soldier who found a secret way into the Nazi base, charging him with desertion.

* NightVisionGoggles: Both highly realistic and highly effective.
* NightmareSequence: Several times as the plot progresses. And just like in the book, Artyom eventually recieves more and more control over his body during those, progressing from just watching at unfolding events to breaking from the nightmare on his own volition.
* NintendoHard: The game is not easy in any case, but Ranger Mode pushes the difficulty right into the absurd.

* CuffsOffRubWrists: Right after [[spoiler:Artyom escapes the communists]] in Arsenal Station.

* JoinTheArmyTheySaid: [[CannonFodder Troops]] on the train to Frontline. Mentioned word for word by Miller as well.

* NoHealthcareInTheApocalypse: The game downplays this trope. Individual stations have hospitals that seem relatively functional.

* TakingYouWithMe: Boris (the Ranger, not the ushanka-wearing caravan leader) and Pavel use this against mutants. See Do Not Go Gentle.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: There is exactly one named female character, and she's a minor NPC. Oh, and also a prostitute. Who steals all your money if given the chance.

* ToAbsentFriends: Bandits at the Dry station drink to the memory of their friends... which the player realizes were the bandits encountered with Bourbon between Riga and Market.
* TooAwesomeToUse: Military-grade bullets, which are used as currency. After about three quarters into the game, though, they lose this status, since there are no more shops after Polis.
* TookALevelInBadass: Artyom and the player take several throughout the story, going from getting your ass kicked in almost every encounter to fighting on an even level with the resident {{Badass Normal}}s.
* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Good luck operating that crane the first time before the Biomass smashes it to pieces.

* TakingYouWithMe: Boris ([[NamesTheSame the Ranger, not the ushanka-wearing caravan leader]]) and Pavel use this against mutants. See Do Not Go Gentle.

* StealthBasedMission: It's not actually required, but there are a few levels where stealth is the obvious solution and easiest way through. Two of them give an achievement for making a PacifistRun, but one also has an achievement for taking the [[KillEmAll exact opposite path]].

Along the way, Artyom faces danger from not only the Dark Ones, but also the "normal" [[NuclearNasty mutated wildlife]] that prowl the tunnels, unpredictable and deadly electrical [[RealityIsOutToLunch anomalies]], the [[DeathWorld hostile environment]] of the surface and, of course, unfriendly humans (from bandits to [[DirtyCommunists militant Soviets]] and [[ThoseWackyNazis resurgent Nazis]]). Oh, and there are ''[[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]]''. You see the silhouettes and hear the screams of people who ''aren't there''.

* DarkIsNotEvil: But you only see it if you manage to get the "Enlightened" ending.
* DeadlyGas: D6 is filled with it. Artyom has to climb the crumbling catwalks and kick-start the ventilation system to clear it out.
* DeadpanSnarker: One of the soldiers in Frontline, whose interruptions are very much contrary to the Commissar's grandstanding.
* DiegeticInterface: The game doesn't rely on a typical {{HUD}}. Damage causes your vision to red out, while low air / expended mask filters makes it go blurry. The original version had a button for looking at your watch (which shows both the current real-world time and the time left before you need to replace your gas mask's filter, and has a sensor for ambient light level, to help you sneak), while another button brings up your journal (showing you your current objectives and a compass). Your lighter serves both as a source of light and as an objective pointer, its light flickers towards your task under a non-existent air flow. The only non-diegetic part is your weapon selection and ammo counter, and even then, on most weapons you can see how much ammo you have left without looking at the HUD ammo counter. You have an ammo counter except on Ranger Hardcore, where you have to check your journal or your wristwatch in order to get a definite count.
* DifficultButAwesome: The Helsing. You have to keep it pumped, which limits its effectiveness against multiple opponents as damage drops dramatically after the first few shots on a full reservoir. The arrows it fires are both hideously rare and expensive, and also have a tendency to drift at longer ranges, limiting it to close quarters only. On the other hand, you just shot a dude in the face with an arrow and the guy behind him didn't notice. Ammo is retrievable, so long as you don't shoot it somewhere you can't get to. At higher pressures, the Helsing can kill virtually any human opponent in one shot, even through their armour. Although not nearly as useful against swarms, it can also kill most mutants in one shot as well. It is particularly useful against Librarians, who tend to soak up dozens of shots from other weapons, but only require a few arrows to take down.
* DirtyCommunists: The Communists, called the Reds, are definitely presented in a negative light.

* AerithAndBob: The Moscow subway is full of people with common names such as Boris or Peter. And then there is a prostitute Snezhanna. Her name is changed to a simple Nikky in the English dub, however.
** Snezhana is actually a legitimate, although rare, Russian name, meaning "snowy". There are more that play the trope completely straight, but in most cases it's subverted as half the characters are known only by their nicknames.
** Moreover, Snezhana is exactly the kind of corny, faux-fancy name that (equivalent to) "white trash" Russian parents could give a girl - or that a prostitute could invent for herself as an exotic moniker. It's not a "stripper name" like Nikki or Candi, but very, very close.
** Khan and Hunter are better examples since Khan is not a Russian name and Hunter's (nick)name is in English even in Russian version,while his fellow Rangers use names/surnames common (Miller, as Melnik, Vladimir etc.) or at least not eye-brow raising (Ulman - Russified German/Ashkenazim/Latvian surname.)

* CycleOfRevenge
* [[spoiler:DarkIsNotEvil]]: But you only see it if you manage to get the "Enlightened" ending.

* DiegeticInterface: The game doesn't rely on a typical digital {{HUD}} --it's [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] Russia, so no PoweredArmor for you. Damage causes your vision to red out, while low air / expended mask filters makes it go blurry. The original version had a button for looking at your watch (which shows both the current real-world time and the time left before you need to replace your gas mask's filter, and has a sensor for ambient light level, to help you sneak), while another button brings up your journal (showing you your current objectives and a compass). Your lighter serves both as a source of light and as an objective pointer, its light flickers towards your task under a non-existant air flow. The only non-diegetic part is your weapon selection and ammo counter, and even then, on most weapons you can see how much ammo you have left without looking at the HUD ammo counter.
** You have an ammo counter except on Ranger Hardcore, where you have to check your journal or your wristwatch in order to get a definite count.

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Three-dimensional shadows that have to relive their last moments forever. Touch one and you will join them.
** Which is in turn a nod to the source material, where it's suggested that the nuclear war ''blew up the afterlife'' as well.

* PunchClockVillain: Most of the Communist and Fascist soldiers enlisted for food and a warm bed, or for the money, or to keep their families safe. Very few of them actually ''believe'' in the political message their chosen faction is espousing.

** Which is in turn a nod to the source material, where it's suggested that the nuclear war ''[[UpToEleven blew up the afterlife]]'' as well.

** ''Redux'' even allows for [[SerialEscalation quadruple-barreled shotguns]] and [[UpToEleven revolver shotguns made entirely from bicycle parts!]]

* SinisterSubway: Where EverythingIsTryingToKillYou too, even the [[UpToEleven ghostly remnants of the subway itself]].

* RodentsOfUnusualSize: Watchers and Lurkers.

The world is [[CrapsackWorld bleak]] and [[ScavengerWorld resources are scarce]]; weapons are mostly [[MacGyvering cobbled together]] and the trading currency of choice is pre-war military-grade ''bullets'', giving intrepid DisasterScavengers (and the player) a choice between taking on threats with substandard ammo or literally ''shooting money''.

* KnifeNut: On the harder difficulties, it is advisable to conserve ammo by using your knife where possible.

-->'''Artyom'''