The Metro series has always featured a cleverly designed mechanic that determines the ending players ultimately unlock. In Metro 2033, Last Light, and Metro EXODUS™, Artyom's various active and passive behaviors accumulated "Karma Points"—a system hidden from players, running silently in the background, guiding them to gradually understand the metro world, its people, and the strange anomalies shrouding this wasteland.
While Metro EXODUS™ expanded the stage to the wilderness beyond Moscow, Metro 2039 will lead players back into the metro system. This installment introduces a new protagonist, "the Stranger," an exile returning to a world now controlled by the fascist totalitarian faction known as the "New Empire."
The new worldview setting also means that 4A Games will change how players perceive and experience the world. "Looking back at our previous titles, the core theme was preventing war—which was reflected in player actions, the morality of choices, and the surrounding narrative," said Jon Blokh, Executive Producer of the game.
"The morality of previous titles existed in a gray area, but in Metro 2039, we want the moral boundaries to be clear. There is no hope, no future—except for the one promised by the Führer," he added. "Metro 2039 explores the consequences of war, because war has already arrived."
I was curious whether this shift in morality would affect 4A's design of the Karma system. Blokh confirmed to me that in this metro world leaning closer to hell, the system still exists, but its mechanics will be adjusted.
"With each installment, we implement the core concept of the Karma system in different ways, and Metro 2039 is no exception. Actions have consequences; this core principle remains unchanged. It's just that our presentation method is slightly different this time. Each generation requires adjustments because mechanics must serve the narrative."
Blokh was unwilling to reveal the specific form this system will take in Metro 2039, nor did he clarify which actions would positively or negatively affect the Stranger's karma. Based on my own hands-on experience, the game does not use HUD color shifts to indicate karma point gains as Metro 2033 and Last Light did—even though I listened carefully to every dialogue, explored every corner of the surface world, searched all abandoned Stalker nests and frozen log points, and subdued all human enemies non-lethally, I saw no such indicators.
Even so, in this darker and more perilous world, the Karma system will make its return. The protagonist, the Stranger, must not only overthrow the fascist empire controlling the metro but also battle the nightmares of his past. I believe that in this shattered world, 4A Games has once again found a unique way to interpret moral judgment.