‘Metro Awakening’ Trailer Shows Off First 7 Minutes of Gameplay Ahead of Release This Week

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To throw an extra bit of fuel on the fire, developer Vertigo Games released a trailer showing off the first seven minutes of Metro Awakening gameplay, which is headed to all major VR headsets this week.

Coming to PSVR 2, SteamVR and Quest 2/3/Pro on November 7th, the story-driven single-player adventure promises to be one of the biggest VR releases this year. And it certainly looks the part, at least from the new trailer that shows off the game’s early narrative, which is folded into its first combat tutorial.

Wading through your beleaguered but very alive underground community, you make your way down the metro tracks to join an expeditionary force after a recent mutant attack. The fight is brought to you sooner than expected though, giving you a chance to take over a fixed machine gun position and mow down a horde of beasts while balancing the gun’s barrel temp.

With the mutants decimated, a coordinated attack at the South Entrance draws urgent attention, requiring you to clear out the once bustling community of the new threat and blow up the entrance to stem the tide of incoming mutants. Addled from the resultant explosion, you make the difficult decision to shut the community’s internal airlock, condemning two of your fellow metro dwellers to a certain fate. A third-person cutscene concludes the action, as you see yourself slump over in defeat to the screams of your surely doomed comrades.

To be fair, these first “seven minutes” seems to cut out a lot of the stuff you’d expect a first-time player to do, like explore the protagonist Serdar’s room and play with musical instruments, look at your photos and peruse all of the objects on your desk. You’d also expect players to eavesdrop on some of the lively conversations going on as you more completely explore the underground base before the attack that ravages it.

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That said, series author Dmitry Glukhovsky’s fingerprints are all over this opening scene, which isn’t a surprise since he’s collaborating with Vertigo Games to create the game’s narrative, which is set before the events of Metro 2033 (2010).

While you’re waiting for the November 7th launch, make sure to check out our hands-on with Metro Awakening from September, which dives deeper into the game’s visual quality on Quest 3S, its immersive mechanics, and realistically snappy weapons.

You can also pre-order on PSVR 2SteamVR headsets, and Quest 2/3/Pro, priced at $40 for the standard edition, and $50 for the Deluxe Edition, which includes cosmetic items, such as skins, accessories, and more, as well as access to a game’s concept art gallery.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Still no shadows in the PSVR2 version ? That's concerning. Really hope the PCVR version will have them.

  • Michael Speth

    The game looks great, pre-ordered on PSVR2. Characters actually have animated faces unlike the masked humans silly faces of Behemoth (bc devs too lazy to create human face models).

    • VRDeveloper

      You need to stop being such a PSVR2 fanboy and recognize that Meta is actively contributing to making VR a profitable market. Look, it's okay if we don’t have top-of-the-line graphics at this stage. These are still the early generations of VR consoles, and with time, we’ll have more powerful chips. The real priority right now is making VR affordable for the wider public. This approach allows us, as developers, to generate enough revenue to create quality games.

      Having a high-end product with great graphics is pointless if it’s priced out of reach, making the market unsustainable. I don’t mean to offend, but whenever I see these console wars, I feel that many don’t understand it’s not a competition between the two systems—they’re actually in completely different categories and
      support each other in various ways.

      PSVR2 showcases the kind of graphics we’ll see in the future, while Quest 3 highlights how accessible and versatile the next generations of VR can be—a truly all-in-one VR gaming system. So, learn to appreciate Meta’s role and contribution.

      Without Meta's work, I can assure you that Sony wouldn't even consider making a PSVR3.

      • Michael Speth

        Meta has literally retarded VR. Proof: Asguard's Wraith 1 vs 2's graphics.

        VR was going fine without Meta buying Oculus. The biggest detrement to VR in general was the release of the Meta Quest 2 and simultaneously everyone was unpresidently emprisoned in their homes.

        Sony had developed PSVR1 well before the Quest 2 released. To claim that Sony would ditch VR unless Meta Released their trashfire Quest 2, is a really dumb and unprovable argument (I guess expected from a meta fanboi though).

        Meta isn't in the business of VR, they are in the business of AR/mixed reality. The only reason Meta is willing to lose billions per month is because they want you attached to their future AR headsets.

        The only way to addict people now is price. Because if they sold their headsets at profit, nobody would buy their trash. Meta has harmed VR Gaming and will continue harming due to their motivation which is not bringing great gaming content but instead further enslavement.

        • VRDeveloper

          Yes, I agree with some of the arguments you've laid out, for example: I also think Meta is ashamed of the gaming audience. Whenever they market a product, they use a middle-aged woman rather than a 'traditional gamer.' Most gamers are men, but they keep insisting on using middle-aged women, precisely because they're embarrassed of the gaming community. And they know full well that women will likely be the majority when it comes to adopting XR technology; it’s something we men tend to be more averse to — technological change.

          But when you act like this, looking only at the numbers and denying that they’ve created a profitable environment where it wasn’t profitable before, you end up seeming like a denialist fool. I’m just trying to say that, even with the negatives, everyone is benefiting in the end.

          SteamVR isn’t going anywhere, and any company can choose to make games for it at any time. So why doesn’t anyone? Games with crazy graphics, etc.? Simple: before Meta, VR was so expensive that there wasn’t a big enough audience. Meta understands how to grow the audience, and whether they move towards only XR in the future doesn't matter.

          The point is, they’ve already created an affordable product that we can plug into a computer, and they’ve made the system open-source. If any company wants to make a more premium VR console, they will. And if any company wants to launch a PCVR game nowadays, they might be able to because the Meta Quest’s numbers have greatly influenced Steam’s user base. Stop being a fanboy. Sony abandoned VR and the developers. You sound like an addict defending crack. Wake up.

          • Michael Speth

            "But when you act like this, looking only at the numbers and denying that they’ve created a profitable environment where it wasn’t profitable before, you end up seeming like a denialist fool."

            Meta loses at least 1 to 2 billion per MONTH! They have already lost 12 Billion this year! How is losing 12 billion dollars a 'profitable environment'?

            It isn't a profitable environment so you are the fool making such foolish claims.

          • brandon9271

            I think he means profitable for DEVELOPERS. Afterall, software is the key. If I were developing VR software, you can bet your ass I would target the Quest because of the larger audience. Only a fool wouldn't

          • Michael Speth

            "Only a fool wouldn't" Yet there are PC and PSVR2 exclusives.

            Perhaps it is the fools targeting meta and believing they will make bank when they find that the primary audience on meta is children playing tag without any money.

            Then those same fools that target meta have to change their overall game design in order to accomodate the mobile trash hardware and then wonder why their sales on PC/PSVR2 aren't good when their game looks like trash.

            Behemoth doesn't have faces – they lazily cover them up because they are targeting meta trash hardware.

            Now imagine Zelda Breath of the Wild but with Behemoth graphics – BotW would not be nearly as good of a game with Behemoth garbage graphics.

            Nintendo is really great at making games look good on limited hardware. Skydance simply doesn't have the talent or skill, so they make a game that looks graphically bad – like mud. It reminds me of the graphics of Asguard's Wraith 2 – just brown everywhere.

          • brandon9271

            It's funny that you mention Breath of The Wild, because the hardware in Quest 3 is orders of magnitude above the Tegra X1 in the Switch. A game like Breath of the Wild could run on the Quest.. Hell, you could probably EMULATE it on the Quest. lol You really do sound like a fanboy. You're cherry picking some lazily made Quest games and acting like the entire platform is shit. Look, I hate Facebook/Meta just as much as the next guy, but I try to be unbiased. Quest 2/3 make up over 50% in the SteamVR hardware survey. That's because wireless streaming on PC is pretty awesome. Meta is helping VR whether you want to admit it or not.

          • Michael Speth

            BoTW runs great on the Switch but to play it in VR on PC, you need a good graphics card (superior to the garbage meta headset).

            Meta's headset is garbage because meta doesn't even try to sell it at cost let alone at profit. Meta is admitting they are selling something that isn't worth the material costs. That is the definition of garbage.

            Regarding Quest 2/3 PC – the experience is not nearly as good due to Meta requiring you to go through their OS (no 'direct' connection). This introduces latency and artifacts (even over a cable).

            That is because the Quest2/3/3s is not designed to be a good PC Gaming Headset. It is designed to attract people into Meta's Meta verse to enslave them in the future – filtering out everything they see and hear.

            Meta is harming VR regardless if you admit it nor not.

          • VRDeveloper

            Exactly, you get it, I'm talking about them having created a favorable environment for us developers. I would never create a VR game if I didn't see other devs becoming millionaires with VR.

          • Mateusz Jakubczyk

            First, you're confusing losses with investments (which also mostly concern the recently presented AR Orion glasses), and second, it's not VR that's losing money on this, because VR is gaining by developing.

            In comparison, Sony is afraid of losing money, which is why it's not investing in VR anymore and abandoning PSVR2, which is kept alive mainly thanks to Quest, because 3rd party studios making games for it (as the most profitable platform for them) sometimes decide to release a port for PSVR2. So by hating on Quest in this way, you're shitting in your own VR nest :P

          • mirak

            You could say as well that meta killed competition.

      • Mateusz Jakubczyk

        Someone please tell Mr. Michael Speth that he is writing total bs and is once again making an idiot of himself – unfortunately he blocked me and I can't respond to his troll crap :D

        Like this for example: "VR was going fine without Meta buying Oculus" – Meta (Facebook) bought Oculus in 2014, two years before the birth of the consumer VR market, so no, VR wasn't going fine without it :P

  • kakek

    Kinda disapointing.

    Models and texture are great. But the animations of the creatures are not great, specially death. And no dynamic shadows at all, not even on characters.

    • Michael Speth

      If you are disappointed with Metro, than you must be absolutately destroyed when looking at Behemoth. They don't even use human faces let alone attempt to animate faces.

      • kakek

        I haven't looked at recent videos. But I'd rather have good body animations and dynamic shadows than facial animations.

        • Michael Speth

          You don't get either with Behemoth. The combat looks really bad in Behemoth – I think people are simply too hyped to realize the last gameplay trailer exposed the garbage game that is Behemoth.

          I was initially hyped for Behemoth too — but the last trailer really made me change my opinion.

          • kakek

            OK. But also, this was a new about Metro. Not sure why you bring up behemot.
            I feel liek you want to vent on the game for some reason ( maybe good ones ) but you should probably wait for the next news about it.

          • Michael Speth

            I just started playing Metro and it really feels like a AAA game.

            No AAA game is complete without release day bugs. There are some bugs on PSVR2 (like sense controller triggers locking after the machine gun scene) and also the sense controllers rumble tickets ever so slightly peridically. I have reported these issues to Vertigo Games, no idea if they will fix them any time soon. The controller ticketing is very ignoing.

            I think Metro is making good use of PSVR2's superior technology like integrating headset rumble. Something Meta plebs won't get to experience.

            Mura. This is one area if the game is designed correctly, you won't really see. However, there was a scene that was completely black without any light sources and the mura was really evident. I don't understand why but if there is even a little light on 1 part of the screen, mura doesn't show. My guess is that due to the multi-platform testing, they didn't focus too much on PSVR2 because that one scene where everything is black – they would have fixed it by putting a light source some where. – just another causulty of Meta Garbage making games worse.

  • The quality seems pretty high

    • Sofian

      What are you smoking?

  • pixxelpusher

    This looks great and can't wait to play it. Proper FPVR with great looking interaction and gameplay similar to what we've come to expect from gold standard VR experiences like Half-Life Alyx. From what I can see no immersion killing graphic overlays or prompts on what to do like some other recent games have done. Even though it is linear I hope there's some room for exploration too. This is how FPVR should be done.

  • mirak

    I never played an Oculus exclusive, therefore so far did without it.

  • Sofian

    Quality in the video is nowhere close to those first 3 screenshots.
    Deceptive marketing, they won't get my money.

  • Clifton Heaivilin

    Game does not represent trailers or demo game play. Texture pop in, poor textures at that. Clipping, crashes/freezes. Almost no interaction. Gun angle wrong, no adjustment. The bar is set high with HLA. This game doesnt come close despite what reviews say. Character models lack richness, bland. Robotic animations. Surfaces are flat, again, not like what was previously shown. Played on Quest 2 steam VR. 5408×2736 at 72Hz. ODT ASW disabled, no frame loss. MAX(ultra) in game settings, scaling 120%. Run on a 7900 XTX GPU, 32gb ram, Ryzen 9 5900X at 5Ghz. Runs smooth, looks like crap. The only positive was the audio. I hope the devs patch it soon. I wanted to like this game. Left with disappointment.

    • david vincent

      Well yeah that's a just a mobile game with added dynamic lightning.
      but the game and the ambiance are pretty good otherwise, graphics are not everything in a game.