Metro Exodus was one of the most outstanding games of 2019 both visually and from a gameplay perspective. The developers, however, 4A Games, prefer things nearly perfect, which is why Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition exists. It's not only the best version of a Metro game right now, but it's also currently the best example of what can be done with Nvidia's Ray Tracing technology.
For the uninitiated, Ray Tracing is a more realistically behaving rendition of digital light in computer-generated imagery. It might not sound much when described like that but players have to see it to believe it. That reason alone justifies the Enhanced Edition for Metro Exodus; the list of changes and improvements is also quite elaborate and likely needs further explanation in case players are hoping to see what the fuss is all about in this re-release.
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition was released on May 6, 2021, on PC, and June 18, 2021, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
10 Toggle for cinematic visual effects
When Metro Exodus was first released, it was quite notorious for being inconsiderate of many players' preferences. Because by default and in its original base release version, the game forced Motion Blur and a narrow Field of View in its settings.
There was no toggle to turn it off which is quite a literal headache as those effects can cause vertigo and eye soreness. Thankfully, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition has added toggles and adjustment meters for both graphical options so players no longer have to fend for it in the game files.
9 Drastic and more accurate Ray Tracing changes
Now, here's the most important change in the Enhanced Edition. Ray Tracing was already present in the original version but it was a rushed and simple implementation of the tech. Now, the whole game's lighting system was scrapped and reworked to utilize only Ray Traced lighting.
What this means is that light behaves as realistically and as physically possible and the implications are jaw-dropping. The way the light adopts the colors of the surfaces it bounces around and then scatters it, changing the mood and atmosphere of each room and area is noticeably lifelike. Originally, lighting couldn't behave like this without Ray Tracing and it felt more like a foreign object in the game world.
8 Lack of non-Ray Traced lighting
Too bad one can't have the best of both worlds in Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition. Since the game's whole lighting system was rebuilt, it no longer has access to its pre-programmed and static light sources from the previous games.
Hence, the game's lighting and overall visuals are strictly Ray Traced. That means it only officially works on Nvidia graphics cards with Ray Tracing technology or the "RTX" series graphics cards. Thankfully, both the latest-gen consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X) can handle this tech.
7 Ray Traced reflections
It's not just the lighting that's dramatically improved in Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition but also the reflections. The Ray Traced reflections which were one of the earliest showcased features of Ray Tracing were also added into the game.
Before, the original game's reflections were pre-programmed and didn't react as dynamically to the lighting and environmental changes. Now, even shadows get reflected and the general surface reflection is also more accurate to the object being reflected.
6 New DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) implementation
Reflections and Ray Traced lighting tend to hog the spotlight when it comes to Nvidia graphics features but DLSS tends to be the unsung hero of said improvements. The new DLSS tech which is either 2.0 or 2.1 in Metro Exodus, is a godsend when it comes to performance.
DLSS is practically a dynamic downscaling of resolution so the game can squeeze extra framerate out of one's hardware, trading in pixel count and image crispness for smoother performance. The kicker here is that the new DLSS drawback is hardly noticeable so it's practically a free performance upgrade.
5 VRS (Variable Rate Shading) graphical setting
Want to save even more framerates for Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition on the PC? Then VRS is the way to go. It's also a newly implemented tech for many games and it basically reduces the graphical fidelity or quality of objects that are not in or near the center of the field of view or screen.
Thus, it saves up performance. The idea is that players usually don't focus on objects that aren't near or at the crosshairs so they likely won't notice that they're being downgraded graphically. So if they truly don't, then VRS shouldn't do much harm.
4 Lack of DirectX 11
Another caveat with Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition is that it's not that compatible with older tech anymore. There are graphics cards out there or console systems that only run on DirectX 11, which is a suite of apps and programs that handle video games among other multimedia.
The latest in DirectX right now is DX12 though most games that utilize that suite have the option to revert back to DX11, the original Metro Exodus included (via editing the game files). The Enhanced Edition sadly doesn't allow this since Ray Tracing is only available for DX12.
3 Higher system requirements
Metro Exodus got more expensive when it introduced the Enhanced Edition. For console owners, they'll need a PS5 or Xbox Series X for the game. For PC owners, they'll need better hardware, namely RTX graphics cards (GPU) which are only available in two generations at the moment.
The latest generation of RTX cards is also a bit hard to find due to a shortage. Aside from that, tests have also indicated higher CPU usage, meaning those with outdated CPUs might have to upgrade if they want less stuttering in the Enhanced Edition.
2 Bigger file size
In conjunction with the higher system requirements, players might also have to free up a bit of storage space. The original Metro Exodus back in 2019 only asked for around 60 GB of disk space and the DLCs didn't really add much to this.
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, meanwhile, needs around 80 GB of disk space. It's like the better visuals and perhaps improved textures that bloated up the size. DLCs are also included. That's just something to keep in mind before players hit the download button.
1 Better performance
Despite the higher system requirements, the consensus for Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition's performance is that it's better. True, it does demand more CPU power and the latest GPU tech but the performance difference isn't that big when people did some benchmarks using the same hardware and without DLSS or VRS.
What does make it run better is the combination of a newer DLSS and VRS, both of which can boost up framerate significantly to offset the demanding Ray Tracing lighting and reflections. It's well-optimized enough that it still runs smooth as butter on the weakest RTX GPU, which is the RTX 2060.