The Metro Exodus trailer has dropped and is chock-full of gunplay, mutant beasties, and gas masks. From the looks of the gameplay featured in the trailer, Metro Exodus will be open world to some degree.

The Metro video game adaptations, based off the series of novels of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky, have been met with critical praise by gamers and critics alike. Metro Exodus looks to further the series by taking the gameplay out of the shadowy confines of the massive Russian Metro system and releasing it into the open air in an open world environment.

The trailer begins with elements Metro fans are most familiar with; a solitary survivor spelunking a cluttered Metro tunnel, ending with a panicked sprint through a nest of mutant creatures that relentlessly pursue the lone explorer. He makes his way feverishly up a ladder, through a heavy steel door, and out into the open air, where he removes his gas mask and ventures into the ruins of a small town below. Before heading off, he checks his surroundings with a pair of binoculars and a paper map, showing a massive environment that seems to be somewhat freely explorable, as opposed to the linearity of the series past level design. As he slinks from house to house, he puts down a few dogs with a crossbow, before being confronted by a gargantuan mutated bear. A tense battle ensues, ending as the survivor zip lines away, leaving the mutant bear scrambling for purchase on the side of a cliff. The survivor lands next to a passing train and races after it before being helped aboard by the outstretched hand of another survivor.

Via: youtube.com (metrovideogame)

The extended view of the map that the survivor uses in trailer seems to be an allusion to the game world being open world in some capacity. The classic Metro brand of cramped tunnels is also making a return, with weapons and gas mask systems that are synonymous with the series. The feature of mutant animals is also promising; the mutated beasts featured in the series other installments were fearsome foes and it looks like 4A Games is expanding the roster of radioactive fauna that players will have to deal with.

This is the first time that the Metro series has even hinted at an open world structure for one of its games. Considering the success of the previous installments in the franchise, an open world game set in the excellently crafted Metro universe easily has the capability to be a game of the year contender. However, creating a compelling open world that gels is a challenging task for any developer, even those that are experienced in creating sprawling sandboxes for gamers to explore.

Metro Exodus is teased to be available at some point in 2018.