If you were to take someone who’s played his share of shooters, someone who cares about the story between and around the shooting, someone who can appreciate games that offer new takes on familiar experiences, Crysis [3] will feel like a soulless blockbuster to the auteur’s art film of Metro: Last Light.

Metro: Last Light does belong in the company of Half-Life, though. It's an unusual, meticulously detailed shooter inextricable from its environment – making its refuge in the railways of Moscow all the more apt. The survival and shooting aspects engage with what is considered valuable in the world, and both leave ample room for moments of solace, exploration and concise violence.

This sequel plays more like a shooter than its predecessor, but doesn't sacrifice its intricate narrative or creative vision in the process. Masochistic fans will appreciate the harder difficulties that recreate the grueling experience of the original, but no matter how you approach it, exploring Last Light's absorbing world is wholly entertaining.

Despite being a little rough around the edges, Metro: Last Light as a whole package is way better than the sum of its parts and highly recommended for anyone looking for a grown up video game.

Metro: Last Light is not a bad game, but does not reach the level of excellence.

Metro: Last Light is, at the end of it all, a solid game.

The numerous aesthetic accomplishments and mechanical improvements in Metro: Last Light are undone by uneven attention to detail and a lack of player agency.