Metro Exodus is one of the prettiest PC games I've ever seen, but its world is framed by a troupe of characters straining against the last known goodwill in universe to make sure you know exactly how they feel, exactly what the current state of affairs is, and exactly how Russian they are. I hate taking out my I'm-thinking-about-writing-a-novel-someday hat, but it's all telling and no showing, and the emphatic English voice acting doesn't help.
As you can see in the video below, there's zero subtly, and in combination with voice acting that's always a little too loud and warm, Metro Exodus gives me tonal whiplash. Look at this total devastation. Life, somehow, carrying on within it. Now to get berated by the Colonel at full volume while he explains a plot twist for three minutes.
The English VO is like a bad anime dub. It's like a football coach giving you a pep talk and slapping your ass before sending you in to explore a desolate, tragic wasteland. Some find it charming. I find it—I don't find it. I reject finding it. It's gone. I'm sorry, what English VO?
VIDEO: A sample of the English VO and how to turn the Russian VO on, also available on YouTube.
If bad voice acting destroys a perfectly fine game for you like it does for me, you're going to want to know how to enable the Russian language option in Metro Exodus. Russian is an alien language to me, and so is Metro's post-apocalyptic world. It's set in Russia, too, so it's just a better fit. Just pick up the keywords, listen to the local language to reinforce the fact that, yes, you are in Russia, and carry on. It's much better.
How to change the spoken language in Metro Exodus
You won't find a Russian language option if you're already wandering the wastes, which might make you think it doesn't exist at all. No worries, it's there, but you need to select it from the start menu. The pause menu can't help you here. Check it:
There are voice language options for Russian, Japanese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. I've yet to try the others to see if the performances are subdued enough for my tastes, but Russian good enough for me. I'm a sucker for authenticity even if the Russian performances aren't top-tier either. But from my very distant mountaintop, I like 'em more, at least.
Salvation is hidden away. You need to seek it in order to find it. Which may have brought you to this very page. In that case, welcome. Grab some reading glasses and turn that subtitle size down. You can fit more words on the screen that way. Like I said, subtlety isn't a thing in Metro: you're going to do a lot of reading. Stick with it, though. Exodus takes a bit to get moving, but each big pocket of Russian apocalypse is worth a tour. I just wish the tour guides weren't so abrasive.
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