Metro Exodus writer reveals he wants the game to help bring down Putin
Dmitry Glukhovsky reveals he wants his game to help young Russians see through the propaganda and think for themselves
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THE author behind the massively popular Metro series of books and video games hopes the next game in the series helps bring down Vladimir Putin and the Russian leader's "banana republic" regime.
Dmitry Glukhovsky told Sun Online that Russia's leaders are "a corrupt regime that just wants to be in power forever", and is using "propaganda, lies and misinformation" to keep the people under control -- but he hopes that the next game in the series, Metro Exodus, will reach Russia's youth and help them see the truth.
"Nobody believes in the future of Russia, especially not the people who rule it," Glukhovsky says.
Metro: Exodus is a way to talk to the "younger audience" in Russia to "make them more immune to the manipulations of the state media".
As the game's story unfolds, the nature and scale of the lies being told by authority figures become clear, and that has parallels in today's world that he hopes gamers will see.
As in the games and novels, the current regime needs to "create an enemy", because "the image of an enemy makes us feel stable... but prevents us from knowing who we really are" according to Glukhovsky.
WHAT IS THE METRO SERIES?
DMITRY GLUKHOVSKY'S first Metro novel, Metro 2033, was published in 2005.
It was set in the tunnels of Moscow's underground system after a nuclear war has laid waste to the surface.
The inhabitants of the Metro are led to believe they can't leave because the outside world is too devastated for humans to survive in, with the political leaders of this underground world using misinformation and fear to keep the population inside under control.
Metro 2034 and Metro 2035 completed the original trilogy of novels.
Metro 2033's story was turned into a first-person survival shooter of the same name in 2010, which was followed up by Metro: Last Light in 2013.
Both the novels and games have sold well in both Russia and the West.
the first book of which was published in 2005 was "speculation about how humanity never learns from its mistakes", presenting a microcosm of the old world order, Glukhovsky said.
The next chapter, Metro Exodus, sees the protagonist of the original trilogy leave the Metro with a small group of family and friends to try and find a new home.
We've played a few different bits of it, and it maintains the tense, claustrophobic survival feel of the original.
Many levels are more open, but the story is still linear, and every shot very much still counts with resources still being very limited.
The game's rendering of different parts of Russia through the seasons (as well as through the night) is also gorgeous, new weapons feel punchy, and the crafting system seems robust.
We can't wait to play more of it when it comes out on February 15.
- Metro Exodus, £49.99 at Game -
"The government in Russia is attempting to mobilise and militarise society to create a siege mentality against the West," he says, and Russians need to start "questioning whatever the television is telling them".
In Russia "not trusting TV is key to mental survival" because the government propaganda machine is giving a "very distorted and very coherent picture of reality" that plays off the "longing for the old Imperial greatness."
Glukhovsky admits that the fight is "far from being won" however, as "the biggest amount of s***" he gets is from Russian "teen gamers."
He is accused of Russophobia for comparing the actions of Nazis and Communists, but says that unless Russians "recognise that not all the pages of your history are bright ones, unless we accept the role we really played in Europe, we can't be free of the past and move on to the future."
The stories being told are universal, though, because although Russia may be going through these issues now, "European nations have been there already."
He wants to "wake people up a little bit" with Metro Exodus, and make them "start asking questions".
- Metro 2033 (novel), £7.19 from Amazon UK -
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