Metro Exodus is out now, and while it's the third game in the series, it's also the most expansive title yet with plenty of new features, like its brutal day and night cycle. While most of that expansion involves larger maps that border on open world-like locales in the game's Russia setting, the newly introduced day and night cycle is a key element of Metro Exodus. This feature isn't in every portion of Metro Exodus, especially the more self-contained sections of the game, but where it is used, it's an important aspect of surviving in the wasteland.
This is especially true on higher difficulties, where Metro Exodus makes it a goal to be as brutal as possible and a challenge to survive. From limited resources to tough mutant and human enemies alike, there are many things just waiting to end main protagonist Artyom's already tough life. This is why understanding and mastering the game's day and night cycle is such an important task for players, as timing things just right could nearly guarantee that you won't use up too many precious resources and achieve main missions and side activities alike.
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First, it's important to note that stealthier players are going to absolutely love night part of the day and night cycle in Metro Exodus. Unlike other games, when it's night in the game it actually feels like it's dark. While this certainly works in terrifying players during the more horror-oriented moments involving mutants, you can also use it to your advantage when coming up against other humans in the game, especially when advancing through their camps. During these times, it's important to stay crouched and out of direct light. This may seem obvious, but it's not always clear how far a light's radius is. It's exactly why it's also important to keep an eye on Artyom's wrist attachment, especially the the blue light that will flare up if you're exposed in too much light and vulnerable to enemy sight.
The downside to traveling around Metro Exodus during the night time is that more dangerous mutants come out at night. You can also sneak by these, but they're much harder to fool than humans and quite dangerous in larger groups. Of course, during the day, more humans are active and spread out than they are at night (where they spend most of their time huddled around fires trying to stay warm). It's a delicate balancing act that players have to get accustomed to quickly, which is where planning ahead will really save some time and heartache. Use the day and night cycle depending on what your mission calls for and it'll make Metro Exodus all the easier in the long run.
To change from day to night, certain buildings can be found that serve as mini safe havens for players and Artyom to catch their breath and recuperate. These buildings have beds that can be slept in to change from day to night or vice versa. There are also crafting tables for replenishing lost supplies, assuming you have the necessary supplies. Unlike previous games in the Metro series, Metro Exodus really brings more freedom and the ability to actively choose how you want a particular mission to really go down, especially when the game embraces its semi-open world mechanics.