Release Date: August 29 (Europe), August 26 (US)
Platforms available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: 4A Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: First-person shooter
Post-apocalyptic wastelands are well-trodden ground in gaming, but Metro 2033 and its sequel Last Light delivered a fresh take on nuclear hell.
The Metro titles bear all of the hallmarks of standard doomsday fodder, from their irradiated ruins to the deadly mutated lifeforms that inhabit them, yet developer 4A Games placed its stamp on these concepts and made them their own.
Metro 2033 and its follow-up are more than your average shooters. They're tales of humanity's resilience and potential to endure against seemingly insurmountable odds; and if you missed the train the first time around, Metro Redux is the perfect way to hop aboard.
This compilation brings together both games in one enhanced package - fully optimised for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and high-end PCs - complete with a spattering of bonus materials.
The Metro games whisk you away to a dark near-future Russia, where the remnants of humanity dwell in underground train stations, bullets serve as currency, and eerie mutated creatures roam the irradiated ruins of the former Soviet Union's major cities.
Both titles struck a balance between tense stealth segments and blistering gun fights, coupled with the palpable sense of claustrophobia that comes with spending so much time in dark, subterranean corridors.
This option to dictate the pace in accordance with your preferred play style broadens the appeal of Metro Redux to fans from one end of the first-person shooter spectrum to the other.
This is all unchanged in Metro Redux, but the collection builds on the experience with more than just graphical enhancements.
Players now have a choice between tackling the games in either the strategy-centric Survival mode - where ammunition and resources are scarce - and the all-guns-blazing thrills of Spartan mode.
This option to dictate the pace in accordance with your preferred play style broadens the appeal of Metro Redux to fans from one end of the first-person shooter spectrum to the other - a clever move on 4A Games' part.
With Metro 2033 now running on the latest version of the 4A Engine graphics engine, the visual criticisms of the original no longer apply. For instance, brighter lighting and more detailed character models make enemies less difficult to spot against the backdrop of a darkened tunnel.
Although this tweak compromises the sense of dread by lighting up some of the game's darkest places, we feel this sacrifice was made for the greater good.
Retrofitting the game with numerous features found in Metro: Last Light, such as user-friendly equipment wheels and musical cues to alert players of incoming foes, makes a significant difference and brings it more line with its superior sequel.
Metro 2033 and Last Light were already two of the most diverse and atmospheric shooters out there, so bringing them together as an enhanced collection was always going to be a winning move.
While the enhanced Metro Last Light is undoubtedly superior to the original, some of its faults remain unaddressed, such as its annoying penchant for throwing endless mobs of monsters at you in the open areas.
We found these segments tiresome and drawn out the first time around, lacking the balance of the delicate stealth escapades that bookend them, and they're no more palatable here.
Metro: Last Light hasn't undergone the same sweeping changes as its predecessor, and nor did it need to. Its visuals are noticeably sharper on current-generation consoles than on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but it shines brightest on a top-end PC.
The second instalment places a bigger emphasis on exploration and gives players more opportunities to explore the irradiated ruins of the overworld, giving it a greater sense of scope.
Obviously, this remains unchanged in the Metro Redux edition of the game, but with every piece of DLC bundled in, the updated version is definitive.
Metro 2033 and Last Light were already two of the most diverse and atmospheric shooters out there, so bringing them together as an enhanced collection was always going to be a winning move.
Although both games are thematically grim at times, we thoroughly recommend Metro Redux to both series newcomers and fans of the original titles.
