The Eurogamer interview with 4A Games’ Metro 2039 producers hit differently than a normal preview. The Ukrainian studio talked about how the war they are living through has reshaped the tunnels, the enemies, and the tone of the sequel. Metro 2039 does not have a release date yet, and for players who want that atmosphere now, seven post-apocalyptic shooters carry the same weight in different registers.
Comparison table
| Game | Best for | Platforms | Playable now | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Exodus | The most direct Metro fix | Steam, Epic, GOG, Xbox, PS | Yes | $29.99 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 | Zone atmosphere, open world | Steam, Xbox, Game Pass | Yes | $59.99 |
| Fallout 4 | Retro post-apocalypse with base building | Steam, Xbox, PS | Yes | $19.99 |
| Escape from Tarkov | Extraction shooter dread | Battlestate launcher | Yes | $47.99 |
| Roadwarden | Text-first low-magic apocalypse | Steam, GOG | Yes | $14.99 |
| Atomic Heart | Soviet retrofuturism, tighter combat | Steam, Xbox, PS | Yes | $59.99 |
| The Long Dark | Cold-weather solitude and survival | Steam, GOG, Xbox, PS | Yes | $34.99 |
Why Metro fans are watching this preview
Metro’s identity is a rare mix in shooters. Cramped tunnels, resource anxiety over 5.45-mm ammo, a moral compass that reads how you treat civilians. The 4A Games team said in the Eurogamer conversation that Metro 2039 leans harder into what the war has done to the world they modelled, both on the Russian side of the tunnels and outside them. Preview writers noted quieter combat, longer stealth passes, and more time above ground than any Metro since Exodus.
Until the game ships, the seven picks below cover the emotional territory: solitude, dread, tunnels, weapon anxiety, moral choice.
1. Metro Exodus, best for the most direct Metro fix
Metro Exodus is the game whose engine and creative team are behind Metro 2039. Playing it on the Enhanced Edition with ray-traced global illumination is the closest a shooter gets to the atmosphere the sequel is chasing. The Two Colonels DLC is essential, and the Sam’s Story DLC pointed at the direction 2039 seems to be taking with above-ground exploration.
Where it falls short: The final chapters lose some of the atmospheric focus of the earlier ones.
Pricing: Enhanced Edition is $29.99, often on sale in the $10 to $15 range.
Available on: Steam, Epic, GOG, Xbox, PlayStation.
Bottom line: The obvious pick. Play or replay before 2039 lands.
2. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, best for open-world Zone dread
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is the Ukrainian shooter that shares half of Metro’s DNA. GSC Game World shipped it in late 2024 after a war-delayed development, and the Zone has never been this dense or this hostile. Anomalies, factions, and a survival loop that punishes overconfidence. It scratches the same itch Metro 2039 sounds like it will chase.
Where it falls short: Some of the launch-week bugs still surface on lower-tier hardware.
Pricing: $59.99 base. Also on Game Pass Ultimate for the PC and Xbox tracks.
Available on: Steam, Xbox, Game Pass.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The most Metro-adjacent shooter that already exists.
3. Fallout 4, best for post-apocalyptic base building
Fallout 4 trades Metro’s cramped tunnels for open Commonwealth wasteland, but the loop of scavenging, weapon modding, and rebuilding a community is a match for the parts of Metro that never had time to breathe. The Sim Settlements 2 mod is what turns Fallout 4 into a game a Metro player will lose two hundred hours to.
Where it falls short: The main story pulls the pace out of the exploration by around the halfway point.
Pricing: $19.99 base. Game of the Year Edition with all DLC sees regular $7 sales.
Available on: Steam, Xbox, PlayStation.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The lighter apocalypse that keeps you settled.
4. Escape from Tarkov, best for weapon anxiety turned up
Escape from Tarkov is the extraction shooter Metro’s ammo economy would be a good introduction to. Every raid begins with a full loadout you might not survive, and the pressure that puts on every corner is exactly the pressure Metro leans on. Ground Zero is now the free-to-play entry point that lets a new player learn the map before spending on the full game.
Where it falls short: The learning curve is punishing. Expect twenty deaths before the first successful extract.
Pricing: Ground Zero is free. Standard edition is $47.99. Higher editions raise the storage and starting kit.
Available on: Battlestate Games launcher (Windows).
Download: Escape from Tarkov
Bottom line: For Metro players who wanted the ammo economy to matter this much.
5. Roadwarden, best for low-magic text-heavy apocalypse
Roadwarden is the text-adventure that reads like Metro if the Metro was a fantasy setting the empire abandoned. It is short, dense, and moral choice is the loop. A three-evening playthrough that stays with you.
Where it falls short: No voice acting, no combat animations. Not for everyone.
Pricing: $14.99.
Available on: Steam, GOG.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The unusual pick for Metro fans who liked the choices more than the shooting.
6. Atomic Heart, best for Soviet retrofuturism
Atomic Heart is the closest post-apocalyptic shooter to Metro in aesthetic without being from 4A Games. Mundfish’s game trades the tunnels for retrofuturist Soviet facilities and turns the combat into something tighter than Metro has ever managed. Enemy variety and boss design carry the middle third of the campaign.
Where it falls short: The open-world segments are the weakest part of the game. Push through to the interior levels.
Pricing: $59.99. Regular sales bring it under $25.
Available on: Steam, Xbox, PlayStation.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: For the aesthetic Metro shares.
7. The Long Dark, best for the solitude Metro rarely lets you have
The Long Dark is the ambient survival Metro’s tunnels imply without ever going there. A cold Northern Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic disaster, no other people for hours, and a survival loop where every calorie counts. Wintermute is the story mode; Survival is the sandbox that keeps players for hundreds of hours.
Where it falls short: Combat is intentionally clumsy. If you want to shoot things, this is not the game.
Pricing: $34.99, often on sale to $13.
Available on: Steam, GOG, Xbox, PlayStation.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The slowest, quietest pick. Which is exactly the point.
How to pick
If what you liked about Metro was tunnels and gunplay, replay Metro Exodus. It is one 4A Games sequel away from Metro 2039 in every meaningful way.
If it was the open Zone atmosphere, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is what you want, and it is closer in tone than any western shooter.
If it was the loop of scavenging and rebuilding, Fallout 4 with settlement mods takes it further than Metro ever tried.
Atomic Heart is the aesthetic pick. Escape from Tarkov is the extreme version of the ammo economy. The Long Dark is what you play alone at night.
Roadwarden is the one that sneaks up on Metro fans. Try it if the moral-choice ledger was the part you remembered longest.
FAQ
When does Metro 2039 come out?
4A Games has not announced a release date. The Eurogamer preview and recent updates suggest 2027, though the studio has been open about the war affecting scheduling.
Is Metro 2039 a sequel or a remake?
The team described it as a numbered sequel that revisits the Moscow Metro at a different point in its post-apocalyptic timeline, with heavy above-ground exploration.
Is Metro Exodus still worth playing?
Yes. It is the closest game to Metro 2039 by a wide margin and it holds up on 2026 hardware, especially with the Enhanced Edition on RTX-class GPUs.
Is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 a good introduction to the series?
Yes, though playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl afterwards is a worthwhile hour of history.
Which of these runs on Steam Deck?
Metro Exodus, Fallout 4, Roadwarden, and The Long Dark are all rated Verified. Atomic Heart plays well but is listed Playable rather than Verified. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 needs FSR to hold 30 fps.
