Metro: Last Light

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

Metro
Metro 2033	2010
Metro: Last Light	2013
Metro 2033 Redux	2014
Metro: Last Light Redux	2014
Metro Exodus	2019
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition	2021
Metro Awakening	2024

Key points

Arguably better lighting than Redux with dark levels and an almost complete lack of lens flares.

The OS X and Linux versions are graphically limited.^[1]^[2]

Has worse performance than Redux.

General information

Port Report: Metro: Last Light

Official forums at thq.com

Official Discord server for game series

Unofficial Metro Wiki

Steam Community Discussions

Metro: Last Light Graphics Breakdown & Performance Guide at GeForce.com

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
Mac App Store

All Windows and Linux versions require Steam DRM.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Season Pass
Ranger Mode
RPK
Faction Pack
Developer Pack
Chronicles Pack

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename legal.ogv^{[citation needed]}
Go to the installation folder. Delete or rename `legal.ogv`. The result seems to depend on the driver version currently installed.^{[citation needed]} With Nvidia driver 314.20: In case you get an eternal loading screen, create an empty text file and rename it to `legal.ogv` With Nvidia driver 320.14: Delete/rename the file

Change Field of View

Default FOV is very narrow; changing it is recommended. See Field of view (FOV).

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\<user-id>\user.cfg
macOS (OS X)	~/Library/Application Support/MetroLL/<user-id>/user.cfg
Linux	<path-to-game>/<user-id>/user.cfg
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/43160/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Do NOT change user.cfg to read-only. Doing so will cause the game to forget collected journal entries, and may also do likewise with the moral point system.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\4A Games\Metro LL\
macOS (OS X)	~/Library/Application Support/MetroLL/<user-id>/
Linux	<path-to-game>/<user-id>/
Steam	<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/43160/
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/43160/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents* folder in OneDrive on all computers.*
Steam Cloud

Video settings

Graphics settings.

Template:Video settings

Expand table to see, what each quality setting affects.^[3]

	Very High	High	Medium	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Precomputed + SSAO	Precomputed + SSAO	Approximate	Approximate
Analytical Anti-Aliasing	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled
Bump Mapping	Precise	Precise	Coarse	Coarse
Detail Texturing	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Disabled
Geometric Detail	Very High	High	Normal	Low
Image Post-Processing	Full	Full	Normal	Normal
Light-Material Interaction	Full	Normal	Normal	Normal
Motion Blur	Camera + Objects	Camera	Disabled	Disabled
Parallax Mapping	Enabled + POM	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled
Shadow Filtering	Hi-Quality	Hi-Quality	Normal	Fast
Shadow Resolution	9.43 Mpx	6.55 Mpx	4.19 Mpx	2.35 Mpx
Skin Shading	Subsurface Scattering	Simple	Disabled	Disabled
Soft Particles	Enabled	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled
Volumetric Texturing	Full Quality + Sun Shafts	Low Precision	Disabled	Disabled

Field of view (FOV)

This game uses vertical FOV. See FOV Calculator for help.

Set custom FOV^{[citation needed]}

Go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\
Open user.cfg with text editor.
Change r_base_fov to the desired field of view value.

Notes

Increasing the FOV will result in some graphical glitches due to the use of 3D-rendered screen overlays in certain parts of the game.^[4]

Windowed

Set windowed manually^{[citation needed]}

Go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\
Open user.cfg with text editor.
Change r_fullscreen on to r_fullscreen off.

Notes

The game will crash on startup if you previously changed gamma, to fix this set r_gamma to 1 (default)

To move the game's window, use Process Hacker to suspend MetroLL.exe, this will allow you to see the title bar and move the game's window.^[5] Resume the process afterward. You won't need to suspend process if you'll want to move window again. You must do this each time you start the game. An alternative for those who do not want to download extra software is the Windows 10 Resource Monitor.^[6]

Borderless fullscreen windowed

In some multi-monitor systems there might be issues with selecting different resolutions than the default (native?) one. To fix this you can force the game to run in borderless windowed mode with an external tool.

Forcing borderless windowed mode with an external tool might break some of the game's post-processing effects in the higher settings (for example the water reflections seem to be a bit corrupted in some areas).

Force borderless windowed mode^{[citation needed]}
Start the game in a window. See Windowed. Use Borderless Gaming to force borderless.

Force DirectX 9 or 10 renderer on DirectX 11 systems

Forcing DirectX 9 will result in better performance. However DirectX 11 specific features (tessellation, SSAO) will be disabled. See Port Report article for benchmarking information.

Force alternate renderer^{[citation needed]}
Go to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\` Open `user.cfg` with text editor. Locate line `r_api` and change the value to corresponding API value: 0 for DX9, 1 for DX10 and 2 for DX11

PhysX

PhysX is enabled by default, even for non-Nvidia cards. Make sure to disable if using an AMD GPU, as there will be severe frame rate drops if it is enabled.

Edit user.cfg^{[citation needed]}
Go to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\` Open `user.cfg` in any text editor. Locate line `ph_advanced_physX 1` and change it to `ph_advanced_physX 0`.

Disable Advanced PhysX in Options menu^{[citation needed]}
Open the Options menu in the Main Menu or Pause Menu. Go to "Game Options". Uncheck "Advanced PhysX". You'll need to restart the game for changes to take effect.

Input settings

Mouse settings.

Controller settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio settings.

Game settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Polish
Russian
Spanish
Turkish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Ukrainian
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download.

Separate volume controls

Game doesn't offer very detailed sound settings.

Better audio control^{[citation needed]}
Go to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\` Edit `user.cfg`. Change `s_dialogs_volume`, `s_effects_volume`, `s_master_volume` and `s_music_volume` to your liking.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D, DirectVR Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues fixed

Low performance on systems with Logitech G-series keyboards

Kill LCore.exe process^[7]
Start Task Manager (`Ctrl`+`⇧ Shift`+`Esc`). Click on tab Processes Select process `LCore.exe` and hit End Process.

Crash when changing resolution

This issue was fixed in a patch released on May 16, 2013.^[8] Use this fix if you are still experiencing this issue.

There seems to be a problem with the game on multiple monitor setup.

Disconnect all monitors except main one^[9]
You need physically disconnect all screens but one. Disabling screens in drivers yield no results.

Manually change resolution in configuration file^{[citation needed]}

1. Go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\

Open user.cfg with text editor.

2. Locate lines

r_res_hor xxxx
r_res_vert yyyy

and change values to your desired resolution.

Aim assist

Disable aim assist^{[citation needed]}
Go to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\` Open `user.cfg` in any text editor. Locate `aim_assist 1` and change it to `aim_assist 0`.

Shadow corruption with 7xxx AMD GPU

This issue was fixed in a patch released on May 16, 2013.^[8] Use this fix if you are still experiencing this issue.

There seems to be an issue with 7-series AMD graphics cards. Be sure to update drivers, as this issue will be probalby fixed by AMD in the future.

Force alternate renderer as a fix^{[citation needed]}
Go to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\4A Games\Metro LL\` Open `user.cfg` with text editor. Locate line `r_api 2` and change it to `r_api 0` for DirectX 9 renderer.

Stuttering on some machines

On some machines there can be noticeable micro stuttering.

Disable core parking^{[citation needed]}
On multi-core machines running on Win7, core parking can cause problems. The easiest way to disable core parking is to run this Disable Core Parking Utility and follow the instructions on the page.

Mouse disabled or stuttering on Windows 8.1

Mouse lag leads to game being nearly unplayable due to Windows 8.1's new power saving feature that limits the input data.^[10]

Install mouse fix^{[citation needed]}
Install the Metro: Last Light mouse fix.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9, 10, 11	^[11]

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP SP2	7
Processor (CPU)	2.0 GHz dual core CPU, Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Phenom X2	2.6 GHz quad core Intel or AMD processor, Intel Core i5, AMD Phenom X4
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	7.5 GB	7.5 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 200 series AMD Radeon 3000 series 512 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible	Nvidia GeForce 400 series AMD Radeon 5000 series 1 GB of VRAM DirectX 10/11 compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.8.4
Processor (CPU)	2.7 GHz Intel Core i5	3.2 GHz quad core Intel Core i5
System memory (RAM)	8 GB	16 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GT 640M 512 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX 1 GB of VRAM

Linux
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Ubuntu 12.04	Ubuntu 13.04
Processor (CPU)	Dual Core CPU (2.2+ GHz Dual Core CPU or better)	Quad Core or 3.0+ GHz Dual Core CPU
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GT 640M 512 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX 1 GB of VRAM

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/43160/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (43160) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

[Proton_path_note-3] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/43160/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (43160) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] Linux settings image

[2] ttps://steamcommunity.com/app/43160/discussions/0/666824801401785033/

[4] Metro: Last Light Graphics Breakdown & GPU Performance Guide - GeForce.com

[5] Metro: Last Light PC performance thread - NeoGAF.com

[6] How to move window in Metro Last Light (windowed mode) - YouTube

[7] Windows 10 Resource Monitor

[8] Optimization issue... - Steam Community Discussions

[steamcommunity.com-9] 8.0 ^8.1 New update: AMD fixes and FOV - Steam Community Discussions

[10] Metro: Last Light Bugs, problems and glitches - Metro: Last Light Forums

[11] Mouse pointer stutters or freezes when you play certain games in Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

[12] PCGamingWiki Port Report - last accessed on 2019-09-14

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Developers

	4A Games
Publishers
	Deep Silver
Japan	Spike Chunsoft
Engines
	4A Engine
Release dates
Windows	May 14, 2013
macOS (OS X)	September 10, 2013
Linux	November 4, 2013