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A stellar and successful sequel to the original cult-classic Metro game.Last Lighttook the grim frozen future of Russians trapped within a twisted and terrifying underground railway network and took it into unique, interesting, and at times pretty surreal directions as we slipped back into the shoes of everyone’s favorite subterranean survivalist, Artyom.
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Similar to the first game, the ending to this strange story culminates in a finale that changes depending on your actions throughout the game and if you’re not aware of this it can be quite easy to hit a finale that you might not have wanted. Triggering a particular end is also fairly obtuse and you never really know which ending you’ll get until you reach the last level. But whether you’re a first-timer checking out the sequel or a returning veteran of the Russian tunnels looking to unlock an alternate ending, here’s a helpful guide on how to get all the endings in Metro: Last Light.
How Many Endings Are There?
In total there aretwo endings in Metro: Last Light. First off there is the good ending, which is called “Redemption” and is considered thecanon finalein both the game series and thefollow-up Metro: 2035 book. The other ending is the bad ending, is called"C’est La Vie",isnon-canon,and like the rest of the game issuitably grimand a little depressing.
Like the previous Metro game, the ending you unlock isbased on a hidden moral point systemthat builds up in the background as you go through the story. Rewarding you with eitherpositive or negative pointsthat arelinked to choicesmade throughout the game.
It’s not too difficult to focus oncollecting one set of points over the otheronce you figure outwhat actions reward whichset of points. Though you won’t really know if you were successfuluntil that final cutscenekicks in.
How To Unlock The Endings
Unlike other games where you usually have things likesaving a certain character, going to aspecific placein the world, or a simpleDeus Ex Machina button choice, to unlock the endings you’ll need tohit one of two points targetsby the end of the game through theMoral Point system.
For example, if you have just a few,zero or negative Moral Points, the Bad Ending will unlock, whereas if you have alarge collection of positive Moral Points, the Good Ending will trigger.
Moral Points
To help youbuild up your good or bad karma, here’s a brief overview of how the Moral Point system works and sometips on what to do or avoidas you’re running around in thosedilapidated tunnels.
For starters, positive Moral Points are tied topositive actionsperformed in the game, such as being stealthy,taking non-lethal optionswhen disposing of guards,exploring the levelsto find extra items on dead bodies tucked away in secret spots, and generallybeing a nice and moral personin the subways.
Whether that’sgiving bullets to beggars, talking to NPCs, or being in the right spot at the right time when aspecial story beatis happening. When you earn a positive pointthe screen will flashand you’ll hear thesound of whispers, it’s very noticeable so you’ll know when it happens.
However, if you’re looking toget rid of your moral pointsthen you basically have tobe the most horrible personthe Metro system has ever seen.
For example,taking lethal optionswhen dealing with soldiers or NPCs,killing guards that are surrendering, excessively murdering certain mutants, stealing from people, witnessing something truly awful, and generallybeing an absolutely awful human being.
Though it’s a bit of anobtuse systemto have, it does serve a purpose. It’s implied throughout the game thatthe Baby Dark One is watching Artyomand judging his actions.
This is then supposedly used tojudge whether the Spartans and other humans of the Metro are worth saving. It’s an interesting way to do it, but it can be frustrating as it’s often obtuse as to where thepositive Moral Pointscan be collected.
There is asurplus of positive Moral Pointsthroughout the game to the point there’smore than you actually needto earn the ‘Good Ending’.
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The Endings
If you’re having a hard time figuring out theMoral Point systemor hit the wrong ending by accident then worry not.
If you don’t care about spoilers, here’s abrief rundown of what happens in each endingafter you get on thetrain from Polis back to D6.
Good Ending
In both endings,the Red Army attacks D6and overruns their position. It’s abrutal fightthat dumps a ton ofpick-ups and ammunitionon you as it starts since the last level of the game is basically ahorde modethat you’re able to’t ever win.
In the Redemption Ending,Artyom is laying on the groundand Miller is injured and both are about to be killed by Korbut. But before that happens Miller orders Artyom toactivate the self-destruct mode of the D6 baseto prevent it from falling into the hands of the Red Army. Artyom crawls towards it and isabout to set off the explosiveswired around the base, but before he can he’sstopped by the Baby Dark One.
Suddenlytime seems to freezefor a moment as the camera showsnumerous Red Army soldiers about to kill Rangers, Miller, and all of Artyoms other friends on the frontlines. Suddenly ahost of Dark Ones appear, each one extending its arms at a Red Army Soldier. Then time goes back to normal as the game showsnumerous scenes from around the Metroas Artyom narrates the ending.
It turns out theDark Ones hypnotized the Red Army soldiersat the last moment, making themturn on each otheras the Soviet remnants gun one another down. It’s revealedmost of the Spartans and Uhlman died in the battle, but there were survivors. For example,Miller is still aliveand in charge of Polis, but isnow in a wheelchairafter losing his feet in the fight at D6.
Khandisappeared into the Metro, and Artyommet with the Dark Onesthat were stored below D6 but wereawakened by the Baby Dark Oneas the scene shows afield on the surfacebriefly. Here the young Dark One tells Artyom thathe and his kin are leavingas it would bebetter for everyone, but that they willreturn one day in the futureto help humanity and co-exist peacefully alongside them.
Whilst Artyom remarks that despite all of humanity and the Metro Tunnel survivor’s flaws, they maybe didearn forgiveness and redemptionafter all since theDark Ones chose to save those in D6.
The Bad Ending or “C’est La Vie” as it’s called is themost common finale to unlockif you were playing the game withoutadhering to the Moral Point system, or just didn’t know about it. Again, this is also considered by the timeline of the Metro series to benon-canon.
In this ending Artyomdetonates the explosives in D6, closing his eyes solemnly as the entire place starts to detonate.Artyom’s life flashes before his eyesas he hears thevoice of his dead mothertelling him there’s nothing to be afraid of now.
The Red Armybreaks ranks and tries to flee, but the explosions overwhelm them andthe entire D6 base is destroyedwith the Dark Ones stored underneath supposedlyescaping on their ownwhilst leaving those in D6 to their fate.
Years later Anna is shown telling her and Artyom’s son about thebravery of his fatherand theominous return of the Dark Onesin the future. Implying it might not be a particularly friendly encounter.
There is asmall hint right at the end of the gameonboard the train to D6 as to what ending you’ve earned.It’s linked to the statements made by the baby Dark One. If he says he willask the other Dark Ones to help the Rangersyou’ve unlocked the Good Ending. If he talks aboutonly saving his family, you’re getting the Bad Ending.
