Virtual Tourism in Russia is an exploration within the video game Metro Exodus, an immersive experience designed by Ukrainian studio 4Agames, telling the story of survivors of a nuclear war travelling across Russia by train, in search of other survivors. Part of the Virtual Tourism Project, a series of photos and videos dedicated to the work of game designers, developers, and a way to keep memory of our virtual excursions in the metaverse. “The Soulignac Brothers“ is a creative collective exploring new territories in cyberspace.
Experiencing a plausible future
Exploring the dark world of Metro Exodus was very challenging, painful, and sometimes unbearable, but it was also deeply rewarding. Behind the appearance of a first-person action game, the programme offers a plausible science fiction experience, narrating the daily lives of a handful of brave individuals struggling to survive the consequences of a conflict that has escalated into nuclear war. Metro Exodus is a sensory and emotional experience that is as brutal as it is captivating. Every step in this post-apocalyptic world is a trial, a struggle against the oppression of a hostile environment, where light is scarce and humanity, reduced to a state of haggard survivors, struggles between hope and despair.
Metro Exodus: beauty in ruins
And that’s where the magic lies, painful as it may be: Metro Exodus transforms the act of playing into a meditation on resilience. The desolate landscapes, the metro stations transformed into precarious refuges, the long journeys by train, the chance encounters with strangers who could just as easily save you as stab you in the back; all of this composes a poetic fresco of survival, where beauty paradoxically emerges from desolation. The experience reminds us, at every turn, that the real adventure is not about defeating enemies, but about continuing to believe in something – in someone – despite everything. A lesson in courage, however dark it may be.
A coherent alternative world
The experience developed by the talented Ukrainian studio A4Games is unique due to the geographical setting of its story. Beginning in the narrow depths of Moscow, then moving to the Volga west of the Ural Mountains, the landscapes travelled on foot and by train are strikingly beautiful and cold in a way rarely seen in European video game productions. In Metro Exodus, everything seems consistent. With technical progress slowed by the destruction caused by nuclear war, high technologies are suddenly relegated to the background, highlighting the great adaptability and resourcefulness of human beings. As in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, there is a real pleasure in being able to reuse low-tech everyday objects, weapons and tools cobbled together thanks to a spirit of engineering that remains cutting-edge.
Post-apocalyptic naturalism
Everything in Metro Exodus is intentional, designed to make us forget that we are in an interactive virtual experience. The maps seem real and tangible, and the territories appear to have truly been inhabited. Time is also represented, particularly during train journeys. These interludes between missions, which take place in semi-open territories, are the calmest but paradoxically the most captivating. They invite us to reflect, to dream, to take the time to digest the story and imagine the many off-screen events evoked by the objects we discover or the characters we meet.
© 2020 The Soulignac Brothers | Virtual Tourism in Russia – Metro Exodus. Creative walks and videography in video games. Game designer: © 4AGames. Music: Alexei Omelchuk. Story: Dmitry Glukhovsky. In-game videographer: François Soulignac. Technique: Video captured on PlayStation 4 Pro, in August 2020. Virtual Tourism Project is a series of photos and videos dedicated to the work of game designers, developers, and a way to keep memory of our virtual excursions in the metaverse. “The Soulignac Brothers“ is a creative collective exploring new territories in cyberspace.