Metro 2039 Trailer Breakdown: The Villains, Mutants, and Hidden Details of the Reveal

It looks similar it’s going to beryllium a acold winter. Deep Silver and 4A Games person announced Metro 2039, the 4th mainline crippled successful the post-apocalyptic Metro series, with a gorgeously animated but tragically horrifying cinematic trailer. And portion overmuch of its nightmarish imagery whitethorn look a small abstract, there’s really plentifulness we tin larn from its galore images of neo-Nazi soldiers, chanting children, and fiery mushroom clouds. Expect fearfulness successful galore forms, arsenic good arsenic the unusual spoiler for the erstwhile games, arsenic we research each framework of Metro 2039’s archetypal teaser.

The Stranger

"The Stranger" seems to beryllium a new, older protagonist. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

Let’s commencement with the protagonist of the trailer, who we tin lone telephone “The Stranger”, arsenic their individuality has yet to beryllium revealed. With grey hairsbreadth and what appears to beryllium aged tegument astir his eyes, it seems similar we won’t beryllium playing arsenic Metro’s semipermanent protagonist Artyom this clip astir – not lone is Artyom much youthful than this guy, but he’s apt retired of enactment for this communicative based connected the 2 ways Metro Exodus could person ended.

While we whitethorn beryllium successful the shoes of a caller protagonist, overmuch of the instrumentality is recognisable. He wears a helmet featuring the ‘M’ logo of the Spartans, the rangers that hail from the Moscow metro. That helmet is fitted with the state disguise that’s mandatory for exploring the irradiated aboveground world, and we spot he’s besides wearing a caller mentation of Metro’s multi-function watch, which provides a compass and Geiger counter, arsenic good arsenic a timer for the state mask’s filter – which is amusingly acceptable to 20:39 present for trailer purposes. In his hands is the Shambler, Metro’s iconic revolving shotgun, which is modified with what appears to beryllium a muzzle break.

Despite each that bully equipment, though, our Stranger is underprepared for the literal nightmare that awaits him. The cinematic sees him research a postulation of terrifying imagination scenarios featuring children, psychic monsters, and neo-Nazis.

Führer Hunter and The Novoreich

The Novoreich rounds up children onto a train. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

Numerous soldiers tin beryllium seen passim the trailer, each wearing grey uniforms and sporting a awesome that, portion not truly resembling the Nazi swastika, does travel a akin design. While it would beryllium a bully guess, they are not successful information the Fourth Reich we fought against successful the archetypal 2 games, but a marque caller faction: The Novoreich. Throughout the trailer we perceive their propaganda broadcasts, which committedness a axenic federation with cleanable aerial and a agleam future.

Most importantly, those broadcasts uncover the Novoreich’s leader: Führer Hunter. Long-term fans volition beryllium shocked to perceive this, arsenic Hunter is simply a quality from some the archetypal Metro caller and the archetypal Metro crippled – he’s a Spartan whose disappearance is the catalyst for Artyom’s travel successful 2033. He’s been missing ever since, but it appears that six years later, he’s returned with evil intentions.

The Lost Children

Captured children are brainwashed by the Novoreich. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

Hunter's ngo is unclear, but we spot his troops rounding up children successful the Stranger’s nightmare. In a playground, kids are chained unneurotic and forced onto a bid (note the numbers 2039 connected the carriage, hinting astatine the game’s sanction earlier it is officially revealed). Their shoes are near scattered connected the level successful a wide notation to the Shoes connected the Danube Bank Holocaust memorial. Later, we spot the children successful a schoolroom chanting, “The force indispensable beryllium destroyed.” Almost each of them deterioration Novoreich uniforms and person blank faces, suggesting they person been brainwashed by their fascist captors.

Only a azygous kid is exempt from this pattern, wearing reddish pajamas and scribbling distant with crayons, though her ain blank look suggests each 1 awaits the aforesaid destiny of having their individuality erased by Hunter’s regime. It’s her drawing, though, that proves much important to this story.

The Drawing

This drafting of children with a woody elephant is reflected successful the nightmare's fiery reality. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

Throughout the Stranger’s nightmare we spot galore versions of this drawing, which features a radical of children surrounding a artifact woody elephant successful a playground. It archetypal falls from a histrion successful a swamp, landing by immoderate luminescent mushrooms immoderate Metro 2033 subordinate volition beryllium acquainted with. Before the Stranger tin genuinely survey it, he’s dragged by chains into the adjacent level of the nightmare, and by the clip he’s capable to find the drafting again, the representation has changed: the playground is present ablaze. When helium gets to the classroom, the representation has go a drafting of dormant children. As the Stranger views these images, helium sees visions of their depictions happening for real.

The Dark Ones

The Dark Ones instrumentality with a much quality body-horror plan compared to the alien-ish versions seen successful erstwhile Metro games. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

So what’s going on? Well, it seems similar it’s each the enactment of the Dark Ones. Hugely important to the events of Metro 2033 and Last Light, the Dark Ones are the mutated descendants of humans; a caller taxon that adapted to past the radiation and harsh conditions of the post-apocalypse. Their psychic powers let them to conjure visions and talk telepathically, and we spot this successful afloat effect towards the extremity of the cinematic, erstwhile we’re introduced to their caller redesign, implicit with creepy, astir biologic gasmask-like faces.

The Dark Ones are contiguous passim the trailer - they go portion of the drawing, we tin spot 1 lurking successful the bid passageway down the Novoreich troops, and they instrumentality power of a woman, forcing her to accidental “They perceive everything, but you don’t fto them speak”, a reference, perhaps, to the information that humanity has ever gunned down the Dark Ones they met retired of fear, alternatively than listening to the creatures’ petition for bid and unity. As the nightmare escalates, we spot the Dark Ones power the Stranger’s mind. Wrestling escaped of their grasp, helium turns and rapidly fires his shotgun… lone to realise he’s killed each the children we’ve repeatedly seen done the trailer. The Stranger drops his shotgun successful disbelief, cradling a dying kid successful his arms and screaming to the heavens. How could this person happened?

A Miserable Reality

The trailer is astir wholly a nightmare (or possibly a flashback?) successful the Stranger's head. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

Well, it didn’t. It’s not real. After each that anguish, the nightmare ends. Well, astatine slightest the nightmare successful his caput ends… he’s inactive surviving successful the bombed-out remains of Moscow, aft all. In his pouch is the archetypal crayon drafting of the children successful the playground, with not a lick of occurrence oregon driblet of humor successful sight. His breathing settles arsenic helium descends into the Moscow metro tunnels. Could the drafting possibly beryllium to his ain kid who he’s searching for? Have they been taken by the Novoreich, arsenic we saw successful the nightmare? Or was everything helium saw really a flashback, a reminder of the horrors of the past? Or, possibly adjacent a imaginativeness of what’s to come?

The Playground

The woody elephant is simply a recurring motif passim the trailer. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

An absorbing happening to enactment astir the Stranger’s nightmare is the usage of the playground. When the Dark Ones sent visions to Artyom successful Metro 2033, helium was besides transported into a children’s playground – though the much convulsive quality of these caller nightmares suggests the Dark Ones are not trying to pass a connection of bid this time. And who tin blasted them – the canonical ending to 2033 sees Artyom motorboat a genocidal rocket barrage against the Dark Ones, which astir wholly eradicated them. Metro: Last Light revealed that a tiny nest had survived. Perhaps, similar Hunter, these survivors person strayed from the airy and go oppressive villains?

New and Returning Weapons

The Metro 2039 cardinal creation features a marque caller limb that appears to beryllium powered by electrical batteries successful the stock. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

That covers the communicative being told successful Metro 2039’s announcement trailer, but determination are a fewer different amusive and absorbing details to note. The Metro games are, of course, first-person shooters, and truthful people this uncover nods to immoderate of the weapons we’ll see. Alongside the Shambler shotgun are 3 different guns. The guards successful the Metro tin beryllium seen holding Kalash battle rifles. One of the Novoreich soldiers successful the playground wields an SMG that could either beryllium a modified mentation of the classical Bastard, oregon a marque caller weapon. And successful the last moments of the cinematic we spot the Stranger carrying a caller firearm connected his back, and adjacent attempting to usage it arsenic helium descends into the metro. We get a person look astatine it successful the cardinal art, and the batteries successful the banal and the electrical wiring on the bodywork constituent to thing possibly akin to the Hellbreath oregon Volt Driver from earlier games. Unfortunately, the Stranger’s deficiency of ammo means we ne'er get to spot it afloat successful action.

The Metro Mutants

The Stranger is attacked by mole-like mutants successful the abbreviated gameplay conception of the trailer. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

The last moments of the trailer diagnostic a mates of mutated creatures. In the skies supra Red Square, we spot 4 flying bat-like Demons, which person featured successful each 3 of the main games. In the gameplay footage, we spot immoderate ample mole-like mutants that whitethorn good beryllium 2039’s redesign of the Nosalis, a communal Metro force that typically has a salient chemoreceptor and monolithic teeth.

The last changeable of the cinematic shows a destroyed Red Square, but earlier, we get to spot the detonation that caused this damage. In the Stranger’s nightmare, helium stands earlier Saint Basil's Cathedral arsenic a atomic detonation expands down it. Look intimately wrong the flames of the mushroom unreality and you tin spot what appears to beryllium a winged, twin-headed demon oregon tone – apt different horrific representation conjured by the nightmare.

Developer Easter Eggs

The Deep Silver and 4A Games logos tin beryllium seen connected these drawings. | Image credit: 4A Games / Deep Silver

Finally, a mates of overmuch much subtle Easter eggs. Among the children’s drawings that autumn from the histrion are 2 that diagnostic the logos of developer 4A Games and steadfast Deep Silver – instrumentality a adjacent look astatine the 1 close successful the halfway of the basal of the tree, and the 1 conscionable to its right.

Later, the aged pistillate who seems to beryllium the Dark Ones’ mouthpiece has antithetic eyes: One is blind, causing a bluish hue, portion the different is yellow. This is simply a motion to the bluish and yellowish striped emblem of Ukraine, the location of 4A Games.

And that’s everything we spotted successful the Metro 2039 uncover trailer. Did you find thing that we didn’t? Are determination adjacent much obscure details hidden successful the shadows of each frame? Let america cognize what you’ve found, arsenic good arsenic your theories for what each these nightmarish images whitethorn mean for the adjacent crippled successful the Metro series.

Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.