Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition- Graphics Settings Comparison

In our graphic review today Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, we will look at and compare graphics settings and their impact on picture quality in RTX and DLSS modes. And also we will study with you the changes between Metro Exodus (2019) and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition.

Let's go directly to testing.

The first item is "Quality". This item has 5 options: "Low", "Medium", "High", "Ultra" and "Extreme". This parameter is a settings preset. You can't manually customize the game. Let's consider this graphical parameter in several locations, and also compare it with the version of Metro Exodus (2019).

First location. As you can see from the screenshots, the differences between "Ultra" and "Extreme" are minimal, changes in lighting are noticeable. There is no difference between "High" and "Ultra". When switching from "High" to "Medium", changes in the textures (less detailed) are noticeable, the shadow from the tree becomes transparent and clear. On "Low" you get simplified lighting.

Second location. There is no difference between "Ultra" and "Extreme". When switching to "High", the size of the models changes, there are no distant shadows. The minimum difference is noticeable on the "Medium" option. Long-range models (trees on the mountain) change to "Low".

Below you can find a comparison between Metro Exodus (2019) and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition.

The tidbit in this review is Ray tracing. It has 3 settings: "Normal", "High" and "Ultra". Let's consider this graphical parameter in several locations, and also compare it with the version of Metro Exodus (2019).

At all 4 locations, there is a minimal difference between the parameters, the intensity of light sources decreases, the picture becomes faded, noises appear.

It will be interesting to see the changes between Metro Exodus (2019) and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition. The new version of Metro uses Ray Traced Emissive Lights. Thanks to this technology, light sources are no longer considered as point sources, they can have a certain shape and area, which affects the properties of lighting. Therefore shadows are calculated more realistically. The developers played with the light and shadows, in some places it got better, in some places it got worse. Has it become more realistic? There is no exact answer.

Next comes DLSS. A new implementation of DLSS was added in the Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition. In version DLSS 2.1, image quality has been significantly improved. This item has 5 settings: "Off", "Ultra performance", "Performance", "Balance", "Quality". Let's consider this graphical parameter in several locations, and also compare it with the version of Metro Exodus (2019).

First location. There is no difference between "Balance" and "Quality". When switching to "Performance", changes in the foliage and damage to the tree are noticeable. There is a minimal difference between "Ultra Performance" and "Performance" that is noticeable if you hold a magnifying glass in your hand. With the “Off” parameter, the “soapiness” of the picture disappears, small damages on the tree become clear.

Second location. The difference between "Balance" and "Quality" is minimal, the changes in trees and grass are noticeable. Between "Performance" and "Balance" there are differences in tree models. When switching to "Ultra-productivity", the picture noticeably "soaps". With the “Off” parameter, the “soapiness” of the picture disappears, the trees have a natural appearance, and not a “jackal”.

Let's remember Metro Exodus (2019), where the DLSS implementation is not the best - the image is noticeably “lathered”, many textures are “jackal”.

Go to Reflections. There are 2 reflection methods to choose from: Hybrid and Ray Tracing. Let's consider this graphical parameter in several locations, and also compare it with the version of Metro Exodus (2019).

As you can see from the screenshots, the "Hybrid" method lacks some reflections.

In Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, 4A Games added reflections through ray tracing. Up to this point, only screen-space reflections and cubemaps have been used. Ray Traced Global Illumination calculates reflections, but for light sources. Direct reflections from surfaces have now been added, the effect was most noticeable on metal surfaces and liquids.

Below you can find a comparison between Metro Exodus (2019) and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition.

Detailed PhysX. It has 2 settings: "Off" and "On". A noticeable increase in FPS, and its work is almost imperceptible even during explosions.

Below you can find a comparison between Metro Exodus (2019) and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition.

Tessellation. It has 2 settings: "Off" and "On". This parameter makes the surface of the ground and walls more convex. The difference is clearly visible.

Below you can find a comparison between Metro Exodus (2019) and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition.

Shading factor. A factor of 1.0X means 100% of the render resolution, 0,5X means 50%, 1,5X means 150%, and so on. It is better not to reduce, so as not to spoil all the graphics at once. You can see the effect of this parameter on the picture in the game below.

Below you can find a comparison between Metro Exodus (2019) and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition.

So, let's sum up. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition boasts some crazy innovations so big that a ray-traced graphics card is the minimum spec needed to run it. The emphasis is on the number of CPU cores rather than listing specific models.

With such a list of system requirements, I expected to see more sparkling reflections of light from water and snow, and perhaps reflections of characters when they walk through puddles, but this is not the case. 

Both the original and the improved version of Metro Exodus look fantastic - the improved lighting just gives you more options to better appreciate everything the game has to offer. 

Plus, given that Metro Exodus PC owners get the Enhanced Edition for free, it's hard to think of a reason why fans wouldn't want to get back on the Aurora for another ride.