If you’re a fan of first-person shooters with a touch of horror dabbled in, you’ve no doubt heard of 4A Games’ Metro titles. Of course, these were around since 2010 with Metro: 2033 which was followed by Metro: Last Light in 2013. The two games were then remastered into Redux versions in 2014 and then the most recent title, Metro Exodus was available in 2019.
So what’s the reason for bringing this game up again!? Recently, Sucker Punch Productions’ upcoming Ghost of Tsushima recently showed an example of how players use the wind to navigate through the world, as well as numerous other in-game features.
In light of this fancy style of wayfinding being showcased and marveled at by fans, the global brand director at Deep Silver, Huw Beynon revealed that the Metro games have been using a similar system for years.
Fun fact; Artyom’s lighter flame in the Metro series also does this (and has done for a decade). https://t.co/m5r4mRGhlx https://t.co/X8Sh3zT75q
— Huw Beynon (@Bi50N) May 21, 2020
The video linked in the tweet, which can be found below, shows off a recording from Metro: 2033 from back in 2013. The game doesn’t feature much of a HUD, but when the player brings up a pad, holding a lighter near it, you can see the green line on the compass indicating the direction of the objective.
What’s more, the flame flickers in the direction of the objective, which is showcased in the video by holding the lighter next to the pad.
It’s certainly a fancy way of showing the player where to go without cluttering the HUD with directional markers, but it can be used in an accessible way.
If you check out Steve’s video on the Ghost of Tsushima feature, he mentions how he really likes the wind effect, but hopes players can set a sound to hear the wind in addition. Thankfully, a lighter is more constant than wind and certainly brighter.
