During a recent gameplay demonstration of Last Light, 4A detailed three important pillars to its development.
Keep+What+Works
The moody atmosphere of Metro 2033 resonated with many gamers. Set 20 years after a nuclear war, survivors have taken refuge in the Moscow Metro system. Each station has turned into its own city state and many extreme ideologies have emerged including Neo Nazis and Communists, causing conflict. Mankind's outlook is bleak, life expectancy is short, and there are mutants out to make it even shorter. Last Light is a direct sequel to 2033 and will return gamers to this blighted aftermath. You again play as Artyom, a tortured soldier tasked with stopping a civil war in the Metro.
Metro 2033 wasn't just a first-person shooter. Like in survival horror games, ammo was scarce and you had to be very selective how you spent it. It could literally be spent, too, as ammunition was also the game's currency. There were stealth sections that mixed up gameplay, although they were some of the more frustrating parts of the game. You can expect Last Light to include this mix of gameplay styles – see below for planned fixes.
These different gameplay mechanics will be better explained in Last Light than they were in the original Metro, but 4A says it isn't dumbing the game down.
Fix+What's+Broken
When Metro 2033 worked it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it didn't always work. During stealth sections, if you failed to execute your target and merely wounded them, every guard in the area would immediately be alerted and know your exact location.
Glitches also got in the way of our enjoyment. We'd get stuck in walls, enemies would become invincible, and sometimes the game wouldn't register when we tried to change equipment.
4A is working to fix all of this. How, exactly? Good question. We haven't gotten a chance to play Last Light, yet, so this is just a promise from the developer for now. 4A is also adding an online multiplayer component – a feature the first game lacked.
Make+It+Look+Amazing
The first Metro was very pretty. 4A plans to push PC hardware to its limit with Metro: Last Light. It also wants the sequel to be the best-looking game on consoles when it is released (look out, Crysis 2!). From the gameplay demo I've seen, I'd say the developer is off to a great start. A chase scene on a train was particularly beautiful, with maybe the most realistic looking cloth I've ever seen in a game being pulled and stretched by the wind.
If Metro: Last Light is the best-looking game around, keeps the moody atmosphere we love, and fixes those damn stealth sections, we'll be playing next year, for sure.