Metro: Last Light from 4A games and new publisher Deep Silver is getting some tough-as-nails DLC in the form of “Ranger mode,” which ups the difficulty and the immersion by removing the HUD and making enemies tougher. It’s coming as a free pre-order incentive, or as a $5 paid bit of DLC later. Why’s it not free? Because the retailers said so, that’s why.
Deep Silver parent company Koch Media’s global brand manager Huw Beynon told PC gamer that this sort of DLC is becoming “a requirement by retail” and this was the best type of DLC they could throw in so as to not have fans feeling like they’re missing out.
“Game makers and publishers now live in a world where offering game content as a pre-order exclusive is a requirement by retail, and Ranger Mode seemed like the best choice since it was a mode for hardcore fans who would most likely pre-order the game, or purchase it at launch in any case,” said Beynon. “We rejected requests to make story content or additional missions exclusive. We also rejected requests to make this a timed exclusive.
The Ranger mode, instead, is intended only for the hardest of the core; the sort that would pre-order anyway. They’ll also be charging the lowest platform-holder mandated amount possible for the DLC when it’s available on digital marketplaces.
“We do not recommend Ranger Mode for a first playthrough, and this is made very clear both in-game. We expect Metro fans will want to try Ranger Mode for a subsequent playthrough, and we think that for this hardcore player, Ranger Mode offers a richer experience – but only once you’ve clocked the game at least once.
“We took all the steps we could to ensure that, while still offering retailers a pre-order incentive that met their needs, we did not force players to pre-order, or make them wait to get this content.”
Metro: Last Light is coming to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360…this week!
Last Updated: May 13, 2013
Trevor Davies
May 13, 2013 at 09:57
Nope, I had a hard enough time playing scared little girl mode. Then my hdd crashed & I never went back to it. Sigh. Another game still to play.
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 10:00
lol @ “scared little girl mode”
I hear ya man. Those segments on the surface were tense. The breathing, the fogging of the mask, man, that.was.epic!!!
Trevor Davies
May 13, 2013 at 10:05
I’d just gotten to the point where you get onto the surface the first time when my world ended :/
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 10:08
Oh man, you are in for a treat, I suggest you load up again and give it another shot.
Let me just say, if “scared little girl mode” was active for you now, once you encounter the Librarians, it will turn into “pants change mode”
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
May 13, 2013 at 10:09
Hehe. Pants change mode 🙂
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 10:15
For me it was like more than “CMON JUST DIE ALREADY, CMOOOOOOON!!!!!” mode. So many bullets O_O
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
May 13, 2013 at 10:38
In my case it was “Why I no have enough ammo!?”
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 10:40
Indeed. I remember you (LC) had pneumatic weapons at that point?
Twakkie
May 13, 2013 at 10:41
Librarians….. I hated them. And what made it worse was the fact the first time I encountered them, I basically used up all my ammo to take one down.
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 10:43
Yeah, same here. Sticky bombed a few though, DAT sticky bomb was DA BOMB for a lack of better expression
Twakkie
May 13, 2013 at 10:48
I used all my sticky bombs on those flying vamp pig things. In the library I was literary running around with the freaken knife. Man good times…
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 10:50
Inderdaad 🙂
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
May 13, 2013 at 09:59
*sigh* Yeah, publishers are all about the money. While it urks me that even difficulty settings are now becoming DLC I do applaud them for taking a stand and not giving in to a demand for additional content as DLC for pre-order incentives.
Trevor Davies
May 13, 2013 at 09:59
How is it a requirement by retail? I would think it’s up to the publisher to determine if they want DLC & how it’s released.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
May 13, 2013 at 10:10
Retailers want to make sure they make sales I guess. And nothing like the proverbial carrot in front of the nose to lure customers
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
May 13, 2013 at 10:00
Not a chance. Hard was ballz hard already. I wasn’t going to torture myself with a ranger mode.
umar bastra
May 13, 2013 at 10:12
…….Very Disappointing … I always play every game on the hardest difficulty …. anyway, will just live with this crap…#GivingUpHope
Twakkie
May 13, 2013 at 10:43
I always did the same until Metro. The game is crazy difficult in Ranger mode.
umar bastra
May 13, 2013 at 10:49
Agreed, but that was due to the poor hit detection and unpolished game play, I was hoping to play the Ranger mode in Last Light as the gameplay looks much more polished and refined
TiMsTeR1033
May 13, 2013 at 11:16
whats with steve austin? lemme guess coz stone cold said so lol
Rince da Ref Lvl2
May 13, 2013 at 11:43
So you buy the game, only to BUY the game again? Yeah, I don’t see anything wrong with that… 0-O
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 13:10
*ahem* trolling detected
Rince da Ref Lvl2
May 13, 2013 at 13:23
Never! I see nothing wrong with it, cus you are buying like a new game… I got a downvote for the comment anyway 🙁
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 14:01
Close. One more and you are out my friend 🙁
Rince da Ref Lvl2
May 13, 2013 at 14:04
LIES! And anyway, cheese!
M
May 13, 2013 at 12:58
I recently played one of the two ranger modes, and finished it. Interestingly I found it slightly easier than the hardest normal mode (which I also played through) because of the one-bullet-one-kill factor. In the normal mode, you have to fire a lot of rounds to take down mutants, but in Ranger mode it’s only a couple. Bearing in mind though that this works both ways, so one or two bullets and you’re dead too, making for some very tense firefights in the dark. I’ve already pre-ordered and will definitely give Ranger mode another go.
Admiral Chief Combat Engineer
May 13, 2013 at 13:02
Hmmm, sounds good. I played this on my previous GPU, and did not get the full extent of the gfx and performance. Only loaded it up on the new card to ogle the pretty pretty.
Might give ranger mode a try, I like this one bullet one kill thing 🙂
Theo Steenekamp
May 13, 2013 at 13:09
And then they ask … why is Piracy killing the gaming industry??