Is Metro Awakening VR Really That Good? + Quest 2/3/3S Comparison (Review)

[@sixtacos]

Affiliate link for 10% off Metro Awakening VR: www.meta.com/affiliates/9Q5XdSNMA Disclosure: I earn money on included affiliate links. Purchases through the affiliate links above at no additional cost to you. Supports the channel!

[@chavsny1578]

Wait what, this game is on Quest 2? Gawd dam then it's not optimized for the Quest 3. Thanks for saving me the money.

[@DevVRAR]

They should Update the Quest 3 Version properly

[@sixtacos]

They'll probably will, at some point as this release and with the game engine is exactly the same as AS2. In addition, update v71 brings a 10% GPU clock speed increase for developers to work with.

[@MikevomMars]

Couldn't notice sharper textures with the Q3 version. Another case where developers were too lazy to do a proper Q3 version? 🤔

[@sixtacos]

Yesterday, I played the PCVR cross-buy version and this title is very much still targeting Quest 2. PC has increased poly count, real time shadows, and increased particle count. But, it has low res textures throughout. In the end credits it mentions using Unreal Engine 5 to make this title. I have a 3080ti and the bare minimum spec is a 2070 with 8GB of VRAM. I don't think the developers at Vertigo Games are inherently lazy. Targeting PCVR, PSVR2, and Quest is an undertaking. These titles are still subsidized by Meta, and it makes no sense for them to spend more when Quest is still in it's infancy. Although I imagine a Quest 3 upgraded version is coming later to increase sales marginally at some point.

[@Neeb-tt9hn]

Thanks for the 10% off code I’m going too play the crap out of this game

[@tokyogamer5825]

I noticed the cpu level on the quest 2 is at 5 and on the quest 3 its at 4, couldn't they reach a higher resolution while still getting 45fps(90fps asw) on the quest 3/3s?? Im sure there is headroom.

[@sixtacos]

I did try with QGO and SideQuest to increase the framerates you mentioned. But, it does stutter at times in intense moments. Not a developer, but I'm sure they could push the game a bit more in terms of resolution on Quest 3. With OS update v71, Meta increased the GPU's budget for developers to work with. As mentioned at Meta Connect 2024 with Batman and I think Red Matter 2 as well not sure. As those titles compared to Metro use 10% more GPU performance via OS optimizations. We'll probably see a slight increase in Quest 3's resolution for this game as Arizona Sunshine 2 got that treatment. That is once v71 is in the general release channel as I'm still on v69 on my Quest 3S. Combined with targeting Quest 2 and AppSW it allows them to get a better compute budget to increase certain visuals, but I doubt we'll see a higher framerate. As they're still working with thermal constraints with Meta, and the device is running off a damn battery.

[@stevegeimer]

Great Review. Thanks for the comparison showing all there is to know. I am downloading the Game right now (using your affiliate link of course), so thanks for the 10% discount aswell. Greetings from germany. 😊🎉

[@RussBlake80]

Don't listen to him. It's just ok. Arizona sunshine is a better time than this.

[@sixtacos]

Nice! Let me know your general impressions when you try the game. I usually lurk in the comments here and there.

[@TheSunnySuttons]

Like Batman, they should have made this for the Q3 only and not the Q2. Just another game with so much potential but falls short.

[@chrisbent5734]

Game looks like pixelated ass with super low resolution AND foveated rendering AND ASW on Quest 3. Refunded imediately.

[@Wat3rCoCk]

buy quest game optimizer. Increases resolution in all quest games

[@SuperMcFluffyPants]

Seeing as its another Vertigo game, where they've put a lot effort into their engine for AS Remake and AS 2, part of me looks at this as like just their Moscow Nighttime version of the other games. Swap protagonist, swap location, diffenent narrarive but does it just feel too familiar, nothing new about it? I guess I'll need to see for myself

[@sixtacos]

Have you tried the game yet?

[@LooseyGooseyGander5]

Very overrated, too much diologue, very slow going, refunded my purchase.

[@MartinzW]

That's the game's selling point. It's a proper story driven game. You can also run through it but it gets a little scary if you play it for first time. Finally a game with depth compared to arcady stuff out there.

[@lanceobe6801]

Steam reviews not good

[@RussBlake80]

This game isnt the hype people are making it out to be. Has dull and copy pasted level design, its boring, slow, narrative driven with fake russian accents in your ear the whole way through the game. Textures look terrible. Gets boring fast. The good moments are rare. Its a slogfest. Forcing myself to play it as i bought it. Too far in to get a refund. I see why they made the intro 45 mins now. So you cant get a refund.

[@sixtacos]

I mean, the game is a bit rough around the edges. As I agree and mention in the video, the structure is a copy-and-paste of the same Vertigo Games single-player formula, narrow, and a bit mediocre in terms of the story. It's a slow ambient burn. However, on both playthroughs, I genuinely liked every moment. I was a bit more engaged with this title than Batman. And even with the mediocre or bad depending on how you see it. I would love to see more of these types of games. I think Meta has 3 or 4 more planned with Vertigo Games. You can still request a refund even if you have over two hours of playtime. Depending on who's on the other end, give Meta support a good reason, and they'll give you an accidental charge refund for one-time use. Make one up if you really dislike the game.

[@RussBlake80]

@sixtacos there's no way you were more engaged in this than batman, that game was sooo good, action packed, great story, and so well executed in comparison to metro. Batman did have a few drab moments but overall was so well executed. Metro does nothing new, or better than games that have come before it, like walking dead, alyx, storm lands (now that's a great game) even into the radius has a more robust physics system than this game. Metro is like where going backwards, if we're talking about just standalone then it is one of the better releases, but by no means a representation for the future of VR. It's mediocre at best.

[@sixtacos]

Didn't mean to downplay the success of Batman. Don't get me wrong Batman is still on my personal GoTY VR spot. The reason why I was able to get into Metro Awakening VR more than Batman is the game-breaking bugs. And apart from the start, it holds your hand less when you approach the ending. Plus you can turn off tutorial hints in the settings. After I uploaded my impressions video it had a pretty positive response from Batman. Great combat, story, voice acting, audio, and graphics. However, for the last 4 hours, I had to constantly reload the last checkpoint for certain sequences not triggering. I had multiple game crashes and points where I could no longer progress. And I had to start another save entirely. The intro where you save the cultist from the cop in the beginning. Hitting the cop wouldn't register and this was after the first patch went live. It took me 2 days longer to complete the game because of the constant app crashes and restarts.

[@andrebillups4079]

@@RussBlake80I actually agree with him I’m more engaged with this one than Batman too. If you call this game slow then Batman is really slow besides the combat moments which is same for this game. I think some of you just like continuous action games like wave shooters/fighters and rouge likes and that isn’t this game. This game feels like a Metro game and that was it’s intended purpose not to be something else and it achieved that goal same for Batman it achieved the goal of feeling like an Arkham game.

[@RussBlake80]

@sixtacos AHH yea the bugs are rife with that one. Hopefully camoflaj sorts it out soon as that does take away from it. I've only had a few bugs luckily. Where the tool to cut the jail cell bars didn't spawn, and also the first boss didn't fall through the floor so had to reload. Bar that it's been fine apart from audio dropouts here and there. They are pushing it a bit though, all the different mechanics. The in game cutscenes all running at 72hz no reproduction. There's alot going on in this game. I'm metro i had crashes and also NPCs were invisible but could hear the dialogue so metro isn't faultless either. And with regards to hand holding metro doesn't really do that, apart from lead you down a linear path, with some exceptions making you have to think. One thing it's got going for it is the horror side of things, some moments do get intense when your in the dark and you don't know when something is gonna jump out at you. However as you progress near to the end these moments are not as tense and you can kinda predict when the jumpscares are gonna happen. Metros not a bad game, I feel it's more of a wasted opertunity, with no upgrade system, no outdoor areas, and refused assets throughout, plus the AI is a bit naff. They could have done a little better. But I suppose it's better than no metro game.