Ukrainian studio 4A Games has shared a first in-depth look at its latest instalment in the Metro franchise: Metro 2039. Across a 15-minute deep dive, it shares the first trailer for the PS5 game, interviews with lead developers, and finishes with a brief slice of gameplay. With the title scheduled for a Winter release, check it out above.

In this new entry, you play as "The Stranger", a voiced protagonist who takes the narrative back to the series' origins: metro tunnels. 4A Games is going for a "much darker tone" this time around as it creates a "handcrafted, story-driven single player campaign where you'll feel the weight of the rotting world pushing down on you, forcing you deeper into your claustrophobic nightmares".

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Whereas the previous PS5 game, Metro Exodus, adopted a more open zone structure, it sounds like Metro 2039 is going back to the more linear approach of the first two titles. In the deep dive video, 4A Games said it is making a "dense" and "realistic" world where the worst of humanity is on "full display".

One way it is doing this is through something it's calling "frozen stories". Every environment it's crafted has a purpose, with a story to tell that doesn't require a word of spoken dialogue. You'll observe a scene as you're passing through to your next objective, and be able to understand what happened through the positioning of objects in the room.

The story has been written in collaboration with book author Dmitry Glukhovsky, who wrote the novels the game series is inspired by.

He was heavily affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, forced to flee his home country of Russia because of his criticism of the Russian government.

The invasion of Ukraine also significantly impacted the development of Metro 2039. "The war has shaped us; we have changed the story to be even more about choices, actions, consequences, and what you have to pay to have a future." It's had to work through missile and drone attacks and source power from generators, but as 4A Games concludes: "We are a team of fighters."

Metro 2039 is being made on the 4A Engine, the studio's own in-house engine. As the team members point out, Metro Exodus was an early adopter of ray tracing technology. "This time, we have focused on rebuilding our implementation of this technology to bring a more tuned and performant experience that is still nothing short of stunning and hauntingly beautiful."

With a view to releasing Metro 2039 on PS5 during the Winter season, 4A Games leaves the showcase talking up how it's "leaning into what makes Metro, Metro: the intensity of darkness, the intimacy of closed spaces, and the feeling that every step forward, every decision made has a cost".

What do you think of this first look at Metro 2039? Post your reactions in the comments below.