Metro Redux unites a comprehensively overhauled Metro 2033 and its sequel Metro: Last Light in an excellent first-person survival horror package that's stuffed to the mutated gills with genuinely creepy stealth gameplay and a gripping story that sees protagonist Artyom make his way through the mutant-infested Metro deep beneath post-apocalyptic Moscow – and across the irradiated ruins of the city itself – as he scrambles to save humanity and discover the secret behind his bond with the mysterious Dark Ones.

Originally released all the way back in 2010, Metro 2033 has been hugely enhanced here with improved enemy AI, stealth and combat mechanics and all-new visuals to bring it more in line with the experience provided by its shinier, bigger-budget follow-up. It's a series of enhancements which sees these two games flow almost seamlessly into one another, and what a pair of games they are.

Metro Redux Review - Screenshot 1 of 2
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

In our full review of Metro 2033 Redux, which you can find right here, we described it as "a top-class first-person shooter/survival horror game... Artyom's desperate, haunting voyage through the irradiated remains of Moscow is every bit as engaging today as it was when it first released back in 2010 and this Redux version benefits massively from overhauled AI, gameplay mechanics and visuals. In terms of first-person shooters or survival horror games on Nintendo's console, this is one of the very best."

Metro: Last Light Redux may not quite hit the highs of the original cult classic that preceded it but it comes pretty close, as we said in our full review which you can find here. "Metro: Last Light Redux is another strong entry in the Metro franchise that adds plenty of big-budget bombast to Artyom's adventures but truly excels when it decides to stick to the more slow-moving, methodical stealth action of its predecessor. It may not quite hit the highs of Metro 2033 and is dragged down in places by some ill-advised boss battles and a few too many hands-off, on-rails moments, but, overall this is an excellent first-person survival title... that's an absolute must-play for FPS and horror fans."

The games themselves then are undeniably top-notch stuff, but it's the phenomenal job that 4A Games has done with this Switch port that's really got us excited. Both Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux run at a flawless 30FPS in both docked and handheld modes; we didn't notice a single wobble in that framerate during our time playing through both of these titles. In terms of resolution, docked sees the game at 1080p while in handheld it aims for 720p.

Metro Redux Review - Screenshot 2 of 2
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

There's the expected nips and tucks with graphical details and textures here and there and some really clever use of dynamic resolution scaling to keep that framerate rock solid – especially in handheld mode – but all of these measures are almost entirely unnoticeable due to the dark nature of most of the levels and areas you find yourself playing in. 4A Games handled this port in-house and it has been extremely clever in how it has managed to deliver this Redux package in such glorious form on what is, essentially, a mobile platform.

The only problem we did encounter during our time with Metro Redux were a handful of levels, in both games, that took somewhere in the region of around a minute to load. This isn't ideal obviously, but once you've loaded into a level, respawning after death is pretty much instantaneous and really we feel like this is a pretty small price to pay for a port that delivers so much in every other respect.

Conclusion

Metro Redux is a top-notch first-person survival horror package that delivers countless hours of thrilling stealth combat all wrapped up in a superb story. These are two of the most atmospheric games you'll likely play set in a beautifully detailed depiction of post-apocalyptic Russia. 4A Games has delivered a port that stands shoulder to shoulder with Alien: Isolation as the very best we've seen on Switch so far – an almost flawless experience which should absolutely be right at the top of any FPS or survival horror fan's must-buy list. This is essential stuff.