Metro Exodus launched back in February to near universal critical acclaim. The post apocalyptic shooter blended open world exploration with challenging (and terrifying) survival horror elements, but the most striking thing to me was just how gorgeous it all looked.
Even running on a standard PS4 or Xbox One, the latest Metro is a hauntingly pretty game, whether you’re creeping through dimly lit old tunnels or exploring snow dappled ruins. It really is a treat on the eyes.
As you’ve probably heard by now, ray tracing is the big new graphics tech on the block, and we’re already seeing some incredibly impressive results. For those who might not know, ray bloody tracing allows accurate simulation of light in 3D environments, making for much more detailed and immersive games.
We’ve already seen in action on Battlefield V on PC, and Sony recently confirmed that the tech would be present in the impending PlayStation 5 console. NVIDIA has now teamed up with Metro publisher Deep Silver to show off just how much more beautiful Metro Exodus can get with ray tracing enabled.
NVIDIA said in a press release:
Metro Exodus uses NVIDIA’s RTX technology to deliver Ray Traced Global Illumination – a stunningly realistic technique that brings the world of Metro to life. Just like desktop GeForce RTX graphics cards, GeForce RTX laptops have the hardware required for real-time ray tracing and AI-enhanced graphics, enabling you to experience immersive, lifelike visual effects anywhere, anytime.
To really show off just how impressive the game can look, NVIDIA sent photographer Dylan Furst to Chernobyl with a RTX 2080-powered ASUS ROG Zephyrus S to capture some shots that let us see just how real life compares to the game.
The results are pretty striking – check ’em out below:
And some nice juicy shots of the game in action:
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.