Metro Exodus

Story

After the attack on D6, Artyom becomes disillusioned with the constant infighting and corruption within the Metro and leaves the Spartan Order. He soon becomes obsessed with proving that there are other human survivors outside of Moscow and undertakes numerous dangerous expeditions to the surface, much to Anna's concern and Miller's frustration. During one of these expeditions, they witness a working train on the surface. Before they can follow it, they are captured by Hansa soldiers, along with a group of people claiming to be from outside Moscow. The Hansa soldiers execute the other prisoners, and Artyom is shot and left for dead while they take Anna to their base. Artyom survives the shot and follows the soldiers to rescue Anna. In the process, he accidentally destroys a jammer that blocked all communications to and from Moscow. Radio transmissions from around the world are picked up and Artyom and Anna realize that humanity is not extinct. They escape by stealing one of the Hansa locomotives, the "Aurora", with the help of Yermak, a defecting Hansa locomotive driver. As the train departs, the Spartan Order moves in to recapture it and is shocked and confused by the presence of Artyom and Anna. Knowing that the Hansa will kill them all if they learn the truth, Miller decides that the best chance of survival for the Spartans is to flee Moscow. Outside the city, he tells the others that while many Russian cities were bombed, the war was not over and NATO occupied what was left of the nation. To prevent NATO from attacking Moscow, the Russian leadership decided to secretly block all lines of communication to make the outside world believe that no one had survived. Then they receive a radio message from the Moscow Defense Command asking the survivors to gather at the "Ark" on Mount Yamantau. Miller decides to go there, believing that the Russian government has rebuilt itself in the Ark. After crossing the Volga River, which is controlled by the cult, the Spartans reach the Yamantau base. They find that the base's service and construction crew have turned into cannibals, luring the survivors with the false promise of safety. Artyom and the Spartans manage to fight their way out and escape, but Miller's faith in Russia is shaken when he discovers that the government has neither sought refuge in Yamantau nor survived the war, leaving the Spartans to wonder what to do next. Using a map they recovered from Yamantau, they decide to travel to a satellite communications center near the Caspian Sea in hopes of gaining access to a satellite there to find habitable land they can colonize. In the parched remains of the Caspian Sea, the Spartans steal water and fuel from local bandits while obtaining an up-to-date satellite map. As the Spartans continue their journey, Anna begins coughing up blood and fears that the cause is that she accidentally inhaled poison gas during the trip. They decide to scout a nearby taiga forest valley to see if it is suitable for settlement. While exploring the forest, Artyom gets caught between two rival groups of survivors and discovers that the dam protecting the valley from radiation is in danger of breaking, making the area uninhabitable. Artyom returns to the train and learns that Anna's condition has worsened. The Spartans make a detour to the heavily irradiated city of Novosibirsk, which is the closest place where an antidote might be found. Miller and Artyom decide to go to the city alone, despite the risk, to search for the antidote. In the Novosibirsk metro, they meet a boy named Kirill, one of the last survivors of Novosibirsk, who explains that his father is on a mission to get a map showing a clean, habitable area. Miller and Artyom split up: Miller goes in search of the map and Artyom goes in search of the antidote. He manages to find the antidote, but is badly wounded by a mutant and absorbs a high dose of radiation. Artyom, Miller and Kirill return to the train with the map and antidote, but Miller dies of radiation poisoning on the way back after using a dose of the anti-radiation serum meant for him to save Artyom. The other Spartans donate their own blood to give Artyom an important blood transfusion. Anna is cured with the antidote and with the map the Spartans settle on the shores of Lake Baikal, which is completely free of radiation. Artyom's final fate depends on the choices made by the player during the journey. In the bad ending, Artyom dies from radiation poisoning, and the Spartans and a grieving Anna hold a funeral for him and Miller, while Artyom's and Miller's spirits awaken on a decayed version of the Aurora and remain forever in ghostly purgatory. The good ending is that Artyom survives. Miller is buried and Artyom is chosen to take his place as leader of the Spartan Order. Now that he has a radiation-free home, Artyom decides to return to Moscow and reveal the truth about the world.