Metro 2033

Metro 2033 Xbox 360 boxart Release Date: 2010 Developer: 4A Publisher: THQ Series: Metro Platforms: Xbox 360 PC Genre: First-Person Shooter

Based on the eponymous novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro 2033 is an FPS game set in the post-apocalyptic environs of a future Moscow devastated by nuclear war. The survivors have retreated into the underground Metro stations for shelter against the radiation on the surface, and for protection against the inhuman monstrosities which now stalk the dark tunnels below and the ravaged cityscapes above. The player is thrust into the role of a young man named Artyom tasked with delivering an urgent message that could save his home station, and must learn to defend himself against the many dangers along the way. A sequel, known as Metro: Last Light, was released in 2013.

The game was re-released on August 26, 2014 as Metro Redux on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and as Metro Redux Bundle with it's sequel on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The Redux version utilizes the updated features of Last Light's engine. Metro Redux offers two separate playstyle difficulty options, "Survival" in which ammunition and filters and other supplies aren't available in quantities and has a greater emphasis on stealth. The "Spartan" mode brings over weapons from Last Light and is catered to a louder playstyle, with both the player and enemies dealing greater damage to each other. Both modes offer the expanded weapon customization of Last Light. Additionally, several weapons now track +1 round in the chamber and have their animations altered to realistically depict such (notable with several of the 5.45mm weapons.)

The following weapons appear in the video game Metro 2033:

Overview

In accordance with the collapse of industry and the widespread loss of military hardware (thanks to the targeting of military installations during the nuclear exchange), many of the weapons found in the game are cobbled-together or improvised from scrap metal and spare parts, and military-grade weapons and ammunition have become exceedingly scarce, to the point where pre-blast 5.45x39mm ammunition has come into use as the universal currency within the tunnels of the Moscow Metro system. This ammunition can also be used for extra damage during combat, but doing so will quickly lead to the financial equivalent of rapidly pissing money out of a gun barrel. All the following weapons that are chambered for 5.45x39mm rounds can use both Military Grade rounds and "dirty" 5.45mm rounds, the latter of which the Metro citizens manufactured for themselves after the apocalypse. "Dirty" 5.45mm rounds use soiled cartridge casings, as well as less effective projectiles and powders compared to their Military Grade counterparts.

Note: Whether by deliberate choice or design oversight, several of the game's weapons lack iron sights entirely or possess incomplete ones which would allow only for alignment in the horizontal axis, not the vertical. In other words, several of the iron sights seen in this game would let you align them correctly in the up-down direction, but would not allow you in real life to precisely align them in the left-right direction.

Handguns

.44 Caliber Revolver

A double-action six-shot revolver of unknown make and model, using .44 Magnum ammunition. It is the first weapon you acquire apart from Artyom's trench knife. Several customizations can be found or purchased throughout the game, including an extended barrel, a rifle stock (effectively turning the revolver into a pistol-caliber carbine), a sound suppressor, and a scope. No other handgun types are found within the game, but it can be surmised that revolvers, being 19th-century technology, came back into general use for being easier to manufacture and maintain, along with how ineffective the more common Russian pistol calibers (9x18mm, 7.62x25mm, etc.) proved to be against the mutants - except that the Russians have not used a .44 caliber round in decades and the Makarov PM seems reliable enough while being as common as dirt. In the original novel, for example, Hunter carries a Stechkin APS with a suppressor.

One feature common to all revolver models in this game is a small cutout in the backplate behind the cylinder, at the ten o' clock position. This serves as a visual no-ammo indicator, as when all 6 shots have been expended, the cartridge casing made visible by the cutout will have a small indentation in its center from the firing pin, indicated it has already been fired. This cutout is most visible when the revolver's glowing red dot iron sights are used.

In-game pic of revolver with stock, scope and extended barrel.

Chasing down a Nosalis Mutant with a revolver that has a scope, an extended barrel, a laser sight, and a buttstock.

Aiming the revolver's iron sights at a distant Nosalis Mutant. The cutout in the backplate is clearly visible in this view, and under certain circumstances (as the texture is at a randomized angle) the markings on the back of the shell casings can be seen to read ".44 mag," confirming the .44 Magnum caliber designation. The notches of the rear sight are unusually far apart for this form of iron sights, which would make it difficult to determine whether you were aiming slightly left or right of your desired impact point.

During the revolver's idle animation we get a look at the Smith & Wesson style cylinder latch.

Remastered Version

In the Redux version, Artyom warms himself with his lighter after reminding some nosey Watchmen mutants that he was not the one stuck on the surface with them; rather, they were stuck on the surface with Artyom. The Redux version allows Artyom to hold out his lighter in his left hand while firing his currently equipped gun in his right without any accuracy penalties, which is believable for one-handed guns and rather absurd for the heavier two-handed ones.

Artyom loads his first Revolver with .44 nothing as Hunter gawks at him in the background.

Later, Hunter offers Artyom another magnum during a hallucination.

Reloading the carbine-packaged Revolver with actual rounds.

Shotguns

"Duplet" Double-Barreled Shotgun

This makeshift 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun is referred to in-game as the "Duplet." The left and right triggers (X360) fire each each barrel and likewise for Left Mouse and Right mouse buttons on the PC version. Reasonably powerful at close range, but hobbled with a long reload time and no sights at all, which can make the gun awkward to use at anything past point-blank range on difficulty levels that remove the ingame HUD. It features a spike for a bead sight (that nonetheless cannot be used) and a spring-loaded wooden shoulder stock that ostensibly reduces felt recoil. The Duplet is rarely used by NPCs past Chapter 2; afterwards the Uboyneg semiautomatic shotgun is frequently found instead.

Facing down a Howler Mutant with the Duplet.

Reloading the Duplet's barrels, demonstrating the break-open action and the improvised nature of this shotgun's construction.

The spring-loaded P90 style stock is an innovative feature to reduce the recoil transmitted to the shooter, but is as jury-rigged as the rest of the weapon. The stock is not securely fastened to the rest of the weapon and has nothing in place to stop a user from pulling it free of the gun entirely, as demonstrated by it's idle animation.

"Artyom, take my shotgun!"
Eugine, Artyom's friend, about to hand his Duplet over after blasting a Nosalis Mutant away at point-blank range; as such, the camera view is still flecked with Nosalis spittle.

Remastered Version

Artyom wields a Quadlet found from the remains of a fireteam in Cursed Station in the re-released edition. In addition to doubling the number of barrels, the Redux version allows for customizing this shotgun further with various sighting systems and even suppressors.

Ejecting four unfired shells out of the doubled-Duplet.

Shoving more rounds into the boomstick.

Saiga-12

The Redux version brings over the Saiga-12K from Last Light. It is only available in the "Spartan" gamemode.

Saiga-12K - 12 gauge

A guard in Armory Station wields a Saiga 12 with an bizarrely mounted underbarrel pipe bomb launcher. The shotgun does not appear to be available to the player if one plays in the "Survival" gametype.

"Uboyneg" Revolver Shotgun

The Uboyneg (Russian: Убойник, literally "murderer" or "killer") is a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun holding six shotgun shells in manually loaded revolving clamps, though if the underside clamp is empty, only five can be loaded unless the gun is fired and then reloaded, upon which six shells can be loaded. A variant with a bayonet can be purchased or discovered, but none have any usable iron sights nor any other sighting system, which makes using this weapon difficult in difficulty modes that remove the ingame HUD. Many NPCs in the later levels of the game use Uboyneg shotguns, but only Bourbon is seen using the version with a bayonet.

While a significant upgrade from the Duplet shotgun, the Uboyneg could be considered unrealistic in a post-apocalyptic Moscow Metro given how simple, reliable, and easy-to-maintain modern pump-action shotguns with tube magazines are, as well as the availability of more conventional semi-automatic shotguns such as the Saiga-12 in real life. It goes by the moniker "Shambler" in Redux, and loses the ability to make melee attacks in return for the ability to be customized and usable iron sights.

Artyom uses an Uboyneg shotgun with a bayonet to defend himself from a Lurker mutant (which looks like an oversized Naked Mole Rat).

Artyom works the charging handle of his Uboyneg shotgun, which is necessary to cycle the weapon from an empty ammunition cylinder. Sometimes Artyom cannot load all 6 cylinders of the Uboyneg and it will occasionally cycle to an empty cylinder, whereupon Artyom will have to manually charge the weapon to cycle to a loaded cylinder. The receiver system is ostensibly based on the Luger pistol's "toggle-action" system.

Artyom reloads his Uboyneg shotgun. Due to the unusual cylinder layout, a user has to change his grip (or tilt the gun) in order to load shells on both sides and cannot keep the gun aligned with a target while reloading.

Uboyneg shotguns have a cleaning rod installed under the barrel instead, and Artyom will use it to clean the barrel if left idle long enough with an Uboyneg.

Artyom in the midst of bashing a bandit's brains in with a Uboyneg's buttstock while in Dry Station. This is one of two melee attacks available with regular Uboyneg, the power attack (depicted) and a quick two-stroke combo with the buttstock.

Hunter: "This threat must be eliminated, no matter the cost - eliminated!"
Recalling Hunter the Ranger's words, Artyom uses the bayonet of his Uboyneg shotgun to press the point home on a Fourth Reich soldier caught sleeping on the job in the Outpost level. Note how the Reich soldier's headlamp doesn't actually have anything attaching it to the front of his helmet.

Artyom uses his Uboyneg's bayonet to silence a Fourth Reich soldier.

A militia checkpoint guard at the Kuznetsky Most station (known ingame as the Armoury station) gives some friendly advice to Artyom about the station's new Communist overlords while holding a standard Uboyneg shotgun.

Bourbon with his bayonet-equipped Uboyneg shotgun while spelunking through a Metro tunnel. Strangely, his Uboyneg shotgun lacks the bayonet in later levels, implying that NPCs will remove or fix the bayonet depending on their situation, an ability the player character never has.

Bonus: "Even the apocalypse didn't stop us from killing each other over ideology."
Artyom muses to himself while contemplating his bloody handiwork with an Uboyneg.

Remastered Version

The renamed Shambler of the Redux version, modified with a laser sight and barrel extension.

Reloading the Shambler shotgun.

Heavy Automatic Shotgun

A cut-down DShK heavy machine gun modified to fire shotgun shells, which it does via a belt-fed mechanism that has a maximum belt length of 20 shells. Originally, it was available only to players who bought a limited edition copy of the game, or who pre-ordered the game from Gamestop. Currently it is available to any player who purchases the Ranger Pack DLC, or buys a copy of the PC version (which automatically includes it in a patch). No NPCs use it in the game.

It is the fastest-firing shotgun in the game, but is actually the weakest-per-shot for some reason and has the widest spread. It also lacks sights of any sort, restricting its use to point-blank range only. The belt appears to be made of disintegrating links, but instead of visibly shortening when low on rounds, the belt will just start loading empty links instead.

DShK on tripod - 12.7x109mm

The Heavy Automatic Shotgun on the bed of its creator, Andrew the Smith.

Artyom marvels at the sheer ugliness of the Biomass mega-mutant that has colonized the reactor in the D6 military command bunker, while toting a Heavy Automatic Shotgun.

"Bigun"

An improvised "pepperbox" type firearm made from bicycle parts returns from Last Light and curiously enough, can be found in the "Survival" playthrough as a purchase in Polis. It is fully automatic and very similar to the "Uboyneg/Shambler" weapon.

Artyom wields the Bigun in one of Polis' surface exits.

Artyom reloads one half of the tubes with his left hand....

....And finishes the others with his right, similar to the Shambler.

Shotgun Ammunition

The shotgun ammunition in-game is listed as 12x70mm caliber, making the shells 12 gauge wide, and 2 and 3/4ths of a inch long. No other shell payloads (such as slugs) are available in-game. Occasionally single shotgun shells are used in booby traps triggered by tripwires in some levels. In the re-released version, shotgun shells are colored blue as they were in the Last Light sequel.

Clips of shotgun shells in an ammo box. Only in easier difficulties do they add all 4 shells to your inventory; on harder difficulties you only get one or two per clip.

A shotgun shell booby trap rigged with a tripwire and affixed to a shelf. The extreme spread of a "naked" shotgun shell without a barrel or choke to keep the shot close together during firing is not a disadvantage here, since its intended use is at point-blank range.

Assault Rifles

AK-74M

The AK-74M appears in the game as the "Kalash," chambered for 5.45x39mm ammunition and possessing a 30-round magazine capacity. Despite its ubiquity in real life, the AK-74M is actually one of the rarer guns available in-game and fetches a high price at markets, which could be explained by how the remainder that survived the nuclear exchange were quickly snapped up by the warring factions in-game (i.e., high demand + no new units being manufactured = high price). The Kalash can be purchased with/without a scope or a laser sight. It also sports a woodland green color scheme and an orange bakelite magazine with a cutout in the center to allow the user to track the remaining rounds. Non-camouflaged AK-74Ms possessing wooden handguards and solid magazines are found scattered throughout the game in various states of disrepair, but are unusable. A trend this game started throughout its series is the unrealistic straight-in insertion of the AK-74M's magazines (like an AR-15's magazines) when player characters reload, rather than the "rock and lock" method used to reload real-life AK rifles.

Khan in the game possesses a unique (and unobtainable by the player) variant of the Kalash that has a bayonet in the shape of Artyom's trench knife.

AK-74M - 5.45x39mm

A Kalash with a scope on the counter of an arms merchant in the Kuznetsky Most station (known in-game as the Armory station). An unscoped variant is partially visible to the right. While the scoped variant is supposed to have a laser sight to allow aiming without the now-unusable iron sights, no laser sight is actually visible on this version.

Artyom with his Kalash while investigating a subway train.

Admiring the lethal beauty of an Anomaly in the Metro with a Kalash in hand.

Artyom lights up a Nosalis mutant with the muzzle flash of a Kalash while looking through its iron sights, during the last stand of the defenders of Paveletskaya station (known ingame as Hole station). In reality, the rear sight of the AK-74 has a narrow notch cut through the middle, which has been replaced by a round cutout in the game. The ingame version offers a clearer sight picture, but would realistically make it much harder to ensure your rounds didn't go slightly to the left or right of the target on long-distance shots.

Artyom's idle animation with either version of Kalash will cause him to inspect the remaining rounds in the magazine (which will, as a nice touch, actually feed the rounds upward as the weapon is fired). Unfortunately there is no way to check the rounds in this fashion on difficulty modes which completely remove the in-game HUD, so this is purely for show. In reality, the cutout would allow dust or other small objects to get inside the magazine, possibly causing the rounds to jam/misfire or interfere with the spring's operation.

A detached Kalash magazine in a pouch next to the mutilated corpse of its former owner. For some reason, these magazines never display the cutout seen on the magazines used on the actual weapon, nor do they possess the rust-red colour of those magazines. Artyom also does not have to remove the ammunition from such a magazine if he wants to use it in another 5.45x39mm firearm either.

Khan blazing away with his bayonet-equipped Kalash.

A Fourth Reich soldier with his laser-sight-equipped AK-74 at the ready, showing a good view of the underbarrel laser sight that nonetheless doesn't seem to have any visible attachment method holding it to the barrel or handguard.

Remastered Version

Artyom holds an AK74M in the Redux edition as he encounters a different kind of anomaly.

AKS-74U

The AKS-74U returns from Last Light in the Redux edition and is only available in "Spartan Mode," although it can sill be seen in-world in the alternative mode, "Survival."

AKS-74U - 5.45x39mm.

Artyom's stepfather Sukhoi keeps an AKS-74U on his desk in Redux.

On the route to Cursed Station, Artyom finds a bugged Krinkov with an invisible magazine, unobtainable in the Survival playthrough.

"Bastard" Carbine

Modeled after the Sten submachine gun, this is a fictional scratch-built compact assault rifle with a side-feeding clip resembling a double-column Hotchkiss M1909 feed strip. The device is correctly referred to as a clip as it lacks a spring follower and merely holds the rounds in place while the gun's mechanisms feed the ammunition and its entire container through the gun's barrel from left to right while firing. It possesses a 30-round capacity, is chambered for 5.45x39mm ammunition, and is available in suppressed or unsuppressed variants.

Precisely how the "Bastard" operates is not particularly clear since it has no obvious way of placing a chamber around the rounds, which would be prone to splitting if fired with no support, nor any clear method of forming a gas seal between the front of the round and the barrel. It is conceivable it could a blow-forward system like the Pancor Jackhammer to form a seal between the neck of the cartridge and the rear of the barrel, though this is not explained. The Hotchkiss M1909 itself never used double-column rigid feed strips, which would in any likely bend into unusable shapes if transported outside the cases they were historically stored in, such as if it were used outside of a static position. The choice of using a fictional firearm with a likely-fragile ammunition container seems odd in the context of the backstory, given how the real-life Russian forces have plenty of rugged and durable AK carbines using 5.45x39mm ammunition such as the AKS-74U.

Artyom receives an unsuppressed Bastard Carbine free of charge at his home station armory. Many NPCs use the unsuppressed version as well, but none use the suppressed version.

"It's inaccurate and overheats like hell; that's why we call it a Bastard!"
The Exhibition station armorer with a Bastard Carbine before handing it to Artyom. The ejection port and cocking handle are near where the armorer's thumb would be--note that they are behind the ammunition clip, which is arguably a strange place for an ejection port on a fully-automatic firearm. The Hotchkiss M1909, a real-life machine gun that fed ammunition through a sideways-moving clip, for its part ejected empty casings out one side just underneath the chamber, rather than up and towards the right through an ejection port behind the ammunition container like the Bastard does.

"There are things in this new world against which guns are no use . . . "
Staring at an inhuman ghost with a Bastard Carbine. The rear of the ammunition clip is visible in this view, revealing that the cartridges are held in place by small triangular pieces of metal in the clip, leaving no room for casing extraction after a round has been fired, despite the presence of an ejection port on the firearm. This unrealistic aspect could be solved simply by leaving the spent casings in the clip as it moves from left to right while firing. This kind of change would serve two purposes: emphasizing the scratch-built nature of the firearm, and allowing for retention of the spent cases for recycling, which would be important in the resource-starved Metro tunnels.

Firing the Bastard Carbine at a pack of distant Howler Mutants.
The enormous muzzle flash is realistic considering the firearm's short barrel and lack of flash suppressor, but is thankfully absent on the suppressed version. The gun will also move the clip up and down to align the rounds in the staggered-column clip with the gun's barrel, and amount of rounds on the left side let the user immediately know how many rounds remain.
The Bastard's iron sights are a crude attempt at a Patridge sight (similar to that used in unmodified Glock pistols), but are too wide and have no marks to let the user know when the gun is properly aligned. Fixing this would require narrowing the rear sight and attaching high-contrast dot marks on the front sight's tip and the rear sight's top edges.

A testament to its jury-rigged nature, the Bastard Carbine will overheat if fired on fully-automatic for too long. Here Artyom pulls a bolt at the back of the weapon to clear a jam caused by the overheating, while steam rises from the water-cooling jacket near the muzzle. Somewhat unrealistically, the rate at which the weapon overheats is not affected by the ambient temperature, not even on the nuclear-winter-affected surface. Neither do you have to replace the liquid in the cooling jacket when it overheats, nor does the suppressed version overheat faster (which it would in reality).

A suppressed Bastard Carbine with its select-fire switch broken off by Artyom when he tried to switch it to semi-automatic. Why NPCs are never found using this variant, despite the advantages of no muzzle flash, more accurate shots, and less or no hearing damage while firing (especially in the tight confines of the Moscow Metro tunnels) is never explained.

Remastered Version

Artyom contemplates letting arachnophobia get the better of him with his Bastard, modified with an AK74M stock and barrel shroud in the Redux version.

Kalash 2012

The Kalash 2012 is a fictional bullpup assault rifle chambered for 5.45x39mm ammunition that was produced in the year 2012 as the replacement for the Russian military's AK-74M service rifle, one year before the nuclear apocalypse in the game's backstory. Visually, the Kalash 2012 somewhat resembles the FN P90, both its general layout and its use of a top-mounted magazine (with a capacity of 40 rounds) that must turn rounds 90 degrees to feed into the chamber, but also incorporates design elements from the AK rifle series. It sports an olive drab paint job, a triple rail system, an AK-styled front sight (moved to the top of the gas tube instead of near the muzzle as is the case with most AK rifles), a AK-74-styled flash suppressor, FN P90-styled ergonomics for the trigger hand, and a full foregrip instead of the hole for the off hand's thumb used on the FN P90. For some reason, a charging handle or similar device is absent from the weapon, as is a location on the gun to eject spent casings. The standard version uses a laser sight and iron sights, and a variant is available that uses a scope and suppressor along with the laser sight.

The design of the gun and the fact that it fires the 5.45x39mm cartridge suggests it may have been designed as an attempt to create a compact rifle of similar design to the P90 that didn't sacrifice stopping power or accuracy and is easy to maneuver, allowing it to fill a variety of roles very easily. The name "Kalash 2012" also suggests it is a fictional version of the AK-12 rifle, a modernized Kalashnikov variant currently being offered to Russian armed forces. Despite it being an interesting design, there are a few glaring flaws in its design:

• There is no method to eject spend casings, cock the weapon or clear jams.
• The trigger guard and thumbhole handguard are too far back to be used comfortably with the stock.
• There is not enough room in the stock to house the bolt and buffer spring, nor is there space to house the AK-type gas system.

Its late production date makes it one of the rarest weapons in the game, probably resulting from the fact that there weren't many produced before the bombs fell and the surviving warring groups took all surviving rifles they could get a hold of. Accordingly, the only NPC to use it is Colonel Miller, the chief Ranger, who uses it after taking one from the caches at the D6 military command bunker.

FN PS90 - 5.7x28mm

AK-74M - 5.45x39mm

An unmodified Kalash 2012, which is part of the weapons stash in the Ranger-built Sparta outpost in an intact Russian Orthodox church on the blasted surface (the inventory icon at the top depicts a Kalash 2012 with a scope and suppressor). The view along the weapon's bottom reveals that it does not, in fact, possess an opening through which to eject spent casings like the FN P90 does, which could be a developer oversight.

An arms merchant in the Polis station conglomerate with a suppressed and scoped Kalash 2012 among his wares.

Artyom saves Miller the chief Ranger from the clutches of a Demon mutant atop the ruined Ostankino communications tower. Despite the flash suppressor at the end of the barrel, the muzzle flashes aren't shaped by it, which is a trait shared with the flash suppressor on the Kalash.

Confronting one of the rare but incredibly dangerous Plated Nosalis mutants in one of the rooms of the abandoned D6 military command bunker, using a Kalash 2012.
As can be seen in this screenshot, the Kalash 2012's iron sights are the most conventional in this game, but they still lack the capability to ensure the gun is properly aligned in the horizontal axis. The easiest way to remedy this problem on the Kalash 2012 would be to place a vertical sight marker in the middle of the bottom edge of the rear sight's trapezoidal notch to allow the user to know when the gun is properly aligned along both the horizontal and vertical axes.

Artyom removes the magazine from his Kalash 2012, which also features a cutout on the sides like the Kalash's magazines. As a nice touch, the rounds in it visibly feed into the weapon as it is fired.

Sniper Rifles

VSK-94

Referred to as the "VSV," this weapon is visually based off of the VSK-94, but unlike its parent firearm it is chambered for 5.45x39mm ammunition instead, fed from a transparent magazine containing 20 rounds. It retains the parent firearm's fully automatic and semiautomatic firing modes, and can be purchased with or without a scope. A laser sight is fitted under the barrel as well. It can use Military Grade ammo, but its silenced nature relies on the low-quality underpowered "dirty" ammo - a full-power (MGR) 5.45 renders it fully audible to enemies.

VSK-94 with PKS-07 scope - 9x39mm

Artyom admires his VSV during the weapon's idle animation.

Another angle.

Ulman has a VSV slung on his back inside the Polis metro station.

Artyom holds his newfound "VSV" rifle at the icy entrance of the Black Station in the re-release.

Inspecting the Last Light "VSV" model under a light whilst sneaking through Black Station.

Machine Guns

DShK Heavy Machine Gun

The DShK can be seen mounted at various roadblocks or combat trolleys in game, or at several gun stores. One of the player-usable versions does not require ammunition but does possess an overheat gauge. The ones at roadblocks often sport large searchlights, but no player-usable ones have this accessory.

DShK on tripod - 12.7x109mm

Firing the DShK at a horde of Nosalises.

The DShK at a station gate defense post. Bourbon can be seen on the left.

A DShK atop a gun trolley manufactured by Russian neo-nazis in the Metro.

Manning the trolley-mounted DShK in Redux against the Panzer.

Artyom focuses on some icicles from an opening above the tunnel.

Pneumatic Weaponry

Given the difficulties of manufacturing and maintaining firearms and their ammunition, coupled with the collapse of the pre-apocalypse industries dedicated to such tasks, it is no surprise that this class of weaponry has experienced a resurgence in the game's setting, with more easily manufactured ammunition, more quiet shots, and no need to pay for or make gunpowder. There are two types.

"Tihar" Airgun

A homemade pneumatic weapon, referred to as the "Tihar," firing 15mm ball bearings from a spring-loaded tube that serves as a magazine, with a 15 ball bearing capacity. The ammunition is propelled by a cylinder of compressed air, which attains its pressure by a handpump at the end of the handguard. A handy pressure gauge will show how much relative stopping power and distance the next shot will attain, with each shot draining a small amount of pressure from the cylinder, but this is only visible when the scope is not used (or mounted). It is possible to overpressure the cylinder for extra stopping power and range, but if not quickly used, the extra air will leak out and the gun will go back to normal power levels.

The Tihar Airgun is capable of using a scope, turning it into a makeshift sniper rifle. Thanks to its subsonic and large-bore ammunition, the Tihar is perfect for quietly sniping targets from afar, but these same features make its shots less useful against human enemies wearing body armour (due to the low velocity and low sectional density of its spherical steel ammunition). It is also capable of fully-automatic fire.

An early render of the Tihar Airgun. This version uses a conventional telescopic sight rather than the naked aligned lenses seen in the finished game.

A scoped Tihar airgun for sale at a Metro weapons shop (the only variant that can bought, not discovered). As can be seen here, the "scope" is really just an array of three lenses mounted above the barrel.

The pump mechanism of the Tihar Airgun appears to be of the lever type. It is slower than the Helsing's pump mechanism, but each pump builds more pressure thanks to its longer length and the use of a lever to aid in pumping.

Aiming at a Howler mutant on the nuclear-winter bound surface of a devastated Moscow with the Tihar Airgun. The pressure gauge is clearly visible in this view, but what keeps the gauge and the iron sights lit in the darkest of areas is never explained.

Artyom holds his scoped Tihar Airgun while looking at a winged Demon mutant flying in the distance.
The naked lenses which form the scope is somewhat implausible since without a protective tube, the lenses would be prone to being knocked out of alignment or otherwise damaged or soiled. The only advantage a rig like this might offer would be the ability to adjust the zoom level simply by folding the appropriate lenses up or down, but this capability is not present within the game.

Artyom looks through the Tihar Airgun's scope at a Russian fascist soldier. The lines (all of which are etched on the lens closest to the user's eye) are colour-coded to correspond to the colours of the weapon's pressure gauge in order to compensate for ballistic drop at different pressure levels. If the needle points to the red section, you aim with the red line. If the needle points to the green section, you aim with the green line, and so on.

"Helsing" Speargun

The Helsing is a pneumatic speargun. It appears to be built around a revolver frame where the barrel has been replaced by a revolving cylinder which holds eight metal bolts, each in its own barrel, in a pepperbox formation (like later pepperbox-type firearms, the Helsing will rotate the cylinder and its barrels with every trigger pull, making it similar to a double-action revolver). Located under that is a hand-operated pump mechanism used to compress air which is stored in a tank that is integrated into the stock. Its name is likely a reference to the Gas Operated Automatic Crossbow used in the film Van Helsing.

Like the Tihar Airgun, the higher the pressure attained, the greater the damage and the range achieved by the ammunition. The Helsing's bolts are recoverable and reusable, and are, oddly enough, also the most expensive type of ammo (one Military-Grade Round can purchase only one bolt, whereas you can get five "dirty" 5.45x39mm rounds for the same price, or two shotgun shells), which is strange since the bolts would require no high technology or gunpowder to make. The Helsing can come with or without a scope.

Artyom stands his ground with a Helsing in front of a Librarian mutant determined to provoke him into attacking.

Artyom steadies his aim with the Helsing against a hungry Demon mutant trying to break through a barred window into the ruined Moscow library, while Miller curses up a storm nearby. As with many other weapons in this game, the rear sight's notch is too wide to realistically be of much use. The red bar to the right is a pressure gauge, and glows for some unexplained reason.

Artyom replaces the revolving cylinder of his Helsing. As mentioned earlier, each cylinder has its own barrel, which makes this weapon a sort of "pneumatic pepperbox." Also, the ammo counter icon shows bolts with barbed heads, but they never have any barbs in-game.

Unlike the Tihar Airgun, the Helsing's pump mechanism is like that of a pump-action shotgun's. It is more compact than the Tihar Airgun's, but at the same time is less efficient because of its shorter length.

An arms merchant at the Kuznetsky Most station (known ingame as the Armory station) displaying a Helsing with a scope among his wares. A scoped Tihar Airgun and Duplet Shotgun are to the right of the Helsing.

Other

Artyom's Lighter

Artyom's Lighter is apparently constructed from a firearm cartridge of some sort, possibly a DShk 12.7x108mm round. The fuel canister is formed by the empty cartridge case with the flint wheel ignition system mounted on the "lip" of the case, while the cap seems to have been made from the spitzer tip of a DShk bullet (with the lead core removed, leaving only the hollowed-out metal jacket). It is similar to souvenir bullet lighters which can be purchased in shops in various countries. However, no one shown smoking in the game is ever depicted using a lighter, and the question of how Artyom ever obtained the lighter is never answered. Artyom for his part can only use it for lighting the fuses on Pipe Bombs or checking his map and compass in dark locations. It never seems to run out of fuel either.

Artyom admires the light playing on the icicles adorning the entrance to Black station.

Flamethrower

A common feature of Metro station roadblocks and combat trolleys for use against the Mutants. It has unlimited ammunition, but does possess an overheat gauge.

A flamethrower's barrel and gunshield detached from its trolley mount in the Ranger's Sparta outpost.

Military Grade 5.45x39mm Ammunition

In a world where central governments have collapsed and conventional scrip or precious metals are no longer of any value, Military Grade 5.45x39mm rounds have thus become the universal currency throughout the Moscow Metro system. They are available in both curved stripper clips or longer straight clips, the latter of which contain more ammunition and are much rarer. No other calibers of Military Grade Ammunition are available in-game, which is odd since the Russians have large stocks of older 7.62x39mm ammunition that could be of more use against the mutants (the shorter effective range of 7.62x39mm ammunition is less of a problem given how many mutant types must close to melee to do any damage, and the larger diameter of such rounds could offer more raw stopping power against them).

The player can use Military Grade 5.45x39mm ammunition to purchase weapons, other types of ammunition, or other miscellaneous services, or use them in firearms of the appropriate caliber for extra damage in combat.

The most common form of Military Grade ammunition is found in a curved stripper clip. Despite being depicted as holding 5 rounds, these will usually only add 1 or 2 Military Grade rounds to your inventory.

A straight clip of Military Grade ammunition near the severed arm of its former owner. Regardless of where you find them, they are always depicted as shiny and new, which is less-than-realistic given how 20 years of neglect in certain in-game environments could lead to a less-than-polished appearance.

Pipe Bomb

Pipe Bombs are the game's version of grenades. They have a fuse made of detcord that will take 5 seconds to burn down once ignited. When lit and thrown, enemies can hear them coming and will get out of the way. This works both ways as well. A bomb with protruding nails can be found, and is stored in a different slot in your inventory. These can be thrown against surfaces or enemies, and upon contact the nails will pierce and stay stuck to the surface or enemy until detonation. NPCs will often carry them in pouches on their person, but why they don't have caps on the end with the fuse to keep the fuses from getting wet is never explained. These are occasionally seen in tripwire booby traps as well, and every time Artyom disarms one he will put the Pipe Bomb into his inventory if he doesn't already have his maximum amount, in which he will simply disarm the wire and leave the bomb in its place for later pickup once he has room in his inventory.

Pipe Bombs, both with and without nails.

Artyom uses a Pipe Bomb with nails to give a sleeping Black Librarian mutant a wake-up call of a lifetime.

Tripwires connected to Pipe Bombs are occasionally found throughout the game, and can be disarmed by getting close to the bomb and pressing a button. Only the Pipe Bombs without nails are used in these traps.

Toy Revolver

In the Outpost level, a toy revolver apparently made of wood can be found on a shelf inside a Ranger hideout taken over by Fourth Reich soldiers, evidently a pre-blast child's toy abandoned and long forgotten. Its shape appears to resemble the Webley Bulldog revolver.

Webley 'British Bull Dog' - .45 caliber - 1870s

"Did children really live up here on the surface, free to breathe clean air in a world where the only monsters they fought and the only weapons they needed were all imaginary?"
Even behind his gas mask and the poisonous air all around, Artyom takes a moment to gaze wonderingly at the toy revolver on a shelf, a memento of a better, and now long-dead, world.

Volt Driver

A scratch-built railgun, using the same magazines and ammunition as the Tihar. Instead of compressed air, however, it uses electricity from a hand-powered generator to propel a 15mm ball bearing to extreme speeds. Like the Tihar, the Volt Driver drains power from its battery with every shot and will need recharging from its hand-cranked generator to return to full power (though how a hand-powered generator can quickly generate enough electricity to propel a ball bearing to hypersonic speeds is never explained, nor how the rails avoid melting from friction.). Even without ammunition, the Volt Driver can deliver a nasty shock by touching an enemy with both its rails at once, essentially functioning as an oversized stun gun. However, the weapon lacks any kind of sighting system other than a laser sight.

The Volt Driver on the bed of its creator, Andrew the Smith. Note how there is a Metro 2033 book laying next to the weapon.

A Watchman mutant being electrocuted by the Volt Driver's melee attack. Melee attacks with the Volt Driver that don't touch an inanimate object or a living target do not use up any of its power supply, which is unrealistic since real-life stun guns need to use up some battery power each time they are used to shock a target they touch, though it could also be construed as a concession towards ease of gameplay.

Miller the chief Ranger with his Volt Driver trying to defend Artyom against nearby mutants.

Bonus: Not having ever seen pre-blast paper money, Artyom tries to make a withdrawal from an ATM in a ruined bank by shocking it back to life with the Volt Driver's melee attack, never mind how the ATM was likely fried by the nuclear EMP bursts 20 years prior, not to mention how it's been sitting neglected out in the nuclear winter ever since. The laser dot of the Volt Driver's attached laser sight is visible on the ATM's long-dead screen.