Metro: Last Light Diaries Part Seven

This is my ongoing exploration of the Metro games, played in release order. I will chronicle my playthrough of each title in turn and discuss any recurring themes and noteworthy events. This time I continue Metro: Last Light Redux.

Surviving shrimps, nosalis and Communists, I had finally received my reward - a night in bed with Anna…

Waking to a doctor shining a light in my eyes, we were informed that we were definitely not infected by whatever virus the Communists had spread throughout the peaceful station next door. However, as I left the quarantine room, I passed many who weren’t so fortunate.

After listening in on several conversations, I found myself in a decontamination airlock with a scientist and one of the Hanza officers. Apparently the virus was a variant of ebola, but thankfully the infection rate had quickly declined from dozens to only two new cases. Once out of the airlock, I had to push through a crowd to get to an exit, though I didn’t really know where I was going. A soldier ushered me through, while others were left waiting unable to pass. Someone made a break for it, and was shot in the process.

Since there was nothing I could do, I carried on until I met up with Khan. He had been with the soldiers who had saved Anna and I earlier, and bid me to follow him. We were going after the child Dark One, so that I could save it. My orders were still to murder it to hell, but I was open to talking before shooting it in its face.

Khan led me through a back tunnel, and into the River of Fate, via a nosalis fight, and a phone call with my dead mother. We were attacked by more nosalises before we reached the actual river, and Khan gave me a ton of talk about needing to think about the Dark One, and the River of Fate would take us to it.

As I plunged into the river, I was sucked down, and wound up on the rooftop where I watched the missiles rain down upon the Dark Ones last year. Khan jumped off of the roof, and suddenly we were in the ruins of their home. We chased the child Dark One, before the river took us to the freak show train, which was on fire. The Dark One ran from us, and as we reached the end of the train, the bridged collapsed and Khan threw me down after the Dark One.

Waking underwater, but certainly not where I entered the river, we climbed back onto dry concrete, and heard a train running closeby. The River of Fate had taken us close to the freak show train! We hopped onto a rail bike and took off after it.

It seemed that the Communists had had the same idea, as they were also after the train. I shot several of them before we pulled alongside it - where more Communists were already aboard, firing at us. Once they were dead, we hit a curve in the track and I leapt aboard, trusting Khan to not let me get too far alone. I shot at the Communists who were eagerly firing at me, making my way towards the front of the train.

Suddenly, the train ahead of me exploded, and I went arse over teakettle, gaining another concussion for my efforts. I awoke to the Dark One giving me its hand to help me up, which triggered a flashback.

Once more as a child, the adult Dark One who had saved my life showed me my mother, and life before the apocalypse. When things snapped back to normal, the Dark One spoke to me, telling me that I was not alone. Back as an adult, the child Dark One collapsed next to me, saying how it was alone because of me. I picked it up, and headed for the surface.

Out of the Metro, the Dark One said it was able to breathe more easily, and soon regained its strength. I had no idea where I was going, but with the train on fire and blocking the tunnel, the surface was my only card to play. It wasn’t long before watchers were howling in the fog - and attacking. Thankfully, the Dark One enhanced my vision, so I could see them and fend them off.

As I walked, the Dark One spoke to me occasionally. It wasn’t afraid of me, despite having previously hunted it. Khan had referred to it as “the last angel”, though its guise was anything but angelic. It also didn’t help me against demons, shrimp and more watchers when I was attacked several times. I had to cross a river, which was still coated in a sheet of ice, but apart from a couple of shrimp I managed to reach a building fairly unscathed.

The building let out onto an overpass, which just so happened to be swarming with nosalises. To make matters worse, a storm had rolled in, lashing pretty much every single inch of the overpass. I silently murdered what I could, which happened to be most of them, making my way to the far end. After climbing a ladder, I got onto a zipline and set off, back down the overpass. Unfortunately, that’s when the demon that had been swooping around took an interest in me, and wound up snapping the cable, sending me crashing to a new set of bruises.

The Dark One distracted the demon and led it away from me, so I went through a room and into a derelict train, which led me to a depot. The rain lashed me as I walked, and the Dark One told me that there were people ahead, but that they didn’t want to kill me.

Entering a building, I found several soldiers who demanded my identity. I showed my ranger tags and they relaxed instantly. They even invited me to buy some stuff at their shop, which I did. Going up a gantry and over a couple of trains, the Dark One warned that there were enemies ahead, so I grabbed my sniper rifle and shot one. I hadn’t fitted a silencer…

Safe on top of a train, I managed to kill them all while remaining relatively unscathed, then continued on through the depot, exiting into a stairwell and having to put my gas mask back on. The Dark One gave me a filter for my gas mask, and highlighted some enemies as I went through a door. After another brief firefight, I was on my way down some stairs. I went around the stairs to see if there was any loot, but found a crawl space. While sneaking through the space, the Dark One highlighted some “very red, very eager to kill” enemies.

Channeling the spirits of Sam Fisher and Solid Snake combined, I systematically knocked out eight of the Communists, shooting one in the head with my pellet rifle, and the final one with a shotgun. I was incredibly proud of myself, as I entered another train works area. After an unsuccessful attempt to repeat my stealthy feat, I took them out from afar, allowing them to come after me. Not that they managed to get too close, what with the claymores I laid for them.

At the far end stood a door, which the Dark One warned contained a man who knew me, and I knew him. I opened it, and Lesnitsky kicked it open. We struggled, and the Dark One leaped onto his head. Everything went fuzzy, and suddenly I was seeing Lesnitsky’s memories. He stole the virus from D6, and gave it to the Communists. Worse, General Korbut had ordered Pavel to “handle” Red Square.

The Dark One couldn’t show me more, and returned me to myself. I decided to let Lesnitsky suffocate, rather than cut his throat, and left for Red Square. Whatever the Communists were up to, I couldn’t let it happen…