Note: This is NOT a full game review

When it comes to large and popular games (mainly AAA titles) the Linux OS is usually last on the list or left out completely. Before the 'Redux' remaster of the Metro series was announced, the Last Light sequel to the Metro series was the only game of the two to have support for Linux. When 4A Games said they were making remastered versions of the two previous Metro games that would have engine improvements, come with all the extra content, and included Linux support as well, many people were excited.

Granted when the 'Redux' versions were released, Linux was delayed. To be honest that is to be expected. As of December 12th 2014, the Linux binaries were released for 2033 Redux. I decided to pick it up on Steam and I'm quite pleased with the port and I am also happy to report that it is not API wrapped but a native release, which is always wonderful to see. I did encounter a issue with the game, but I think it's in relation to the game requiring a minimum of 2 Gigabytes of vRAM (Dedicated Video Memory) and I only have 1 Gigabyte with my eVGA GTX 560 Ti. Compared to the non-redux version of Last Light, in 2033 Redux we do get some more visual settings that allow us to fine tune the quality.

In the new and revamped Redux engine we get additional controls to set up the details of the game. In Last Light (non-redux) all we got was a 'quality' slider and to be honest that was it. We could not make any more video setting changes then that. As for the Redux version of 2033 we have a Texture Quality selection, SSAA, Texture Filtering, Motion Blur and Advanced Physx options now. If you navigate to the games root directory in the Steam games folder, 2033 Redux also comes with a benchmark tool that uses your in-game video settings as the config for the benchmark runs. You run this tool from the command like directly. The results I got with my hardware and setup was greater then I expected. Here is was I was able to achieve with my hardware/system setup and the following settings.

System
OS: Arch 64Bit // OpenGL v4.5.0 // Kernel 3.17.1-1-ARCH
CPU: i5-750 2.66Ghz OC'd to 3.8Ghz (lynnfield)
GPU: eVGA 560 Ti w/ +90Mhz GPU offset and +380Mhz vRAM offset (Driver: 346.22)

Game Settings
Texture Quality: Medium
SSAA: 0.5x (aka Anti-Aliasing)
Texture Filtering: AF 4x (aka Anisotropic-Filtering)
Motion Blur: Enabled
Adv Physx: Off

Benchmark Results
Max FPS: 500.00
Avg FPS: 86.33
Total Time: 160.83
Frames: 7483
Runs: 2

One thing I would like to bring up again is the fact that the developers recommend for Linux that you have a minimum of 2 Gigabytes of texture memory. As I said before with my current card I only have 1 Gigabyte. Due to this I ran into a little problem that I would like to show you. In previous games in the past when Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic-Filtering were new/under-used methods of making things look better, there were some issues when it was overused. For example, in Counter-Strike: Source, if 'AF' was set too high you have this kind of swirl pattern in the carpet on the Office map for example. I experienced a similar effect in 2033 Redux but in a slight different way in realting to texture quality. When I started the single player campaign, some textures, mainly on NPCs, had this transparent mesh like effect on their skin that it seems was related to the Texture Quality level being too high. As you can see below, the first picture is with the Texture Quality set to 'High', where the next screenshot is with the Texture Quality set to 'Medium'. As I said before I think this has something to do with the minimum amount of vRAM required, and sadly I do not have another GPU with more memory to test this theory.


Also. I no longer have a working copy of Windows installed and I can't compare the Windows version with the Linux port. Plus it would not be fair considering that on Windows, Metro will run with DirectX and Linux will use OpenGL. Due to this it would not be an even comparison. However, while I was playing the game (on Linux) I kept a close eye on frame rate and GPU temperatures and it seems to me they have done a excellent job with this remastered version and its port to Linux. It is stable 'for me' and runs very smoothly. Other then the vRAM texture issue, I have not come across any other problem 'yet'. So if you have bought this game and haven't played it or are thinking about buying it and have the required hardware, I say go get yourself a copy. It's very fun and since they included all the extra additional content and has two new game modes to experience the world of Metro in the Redux releases, it's well worth it and a hell of a ride. If any of you have played the Metro series and would like to share anything or have come across any problems yourself, please comment below. Well, I think that about wraps this up for now. Thanks for reading, and until next time...

'Free' you later.

Image(s) & banner used courtesy of Valve & 4A Games

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