Metro Awakening could be a single-player VR game to rival Half-Life Alyx, and it's out this year

The rumored VR spin-off of the Metro series is real and due out in 2024, and Metro Awakening looks like it could satisfy the Half-Life Alyx-shaped hole I've been carrying in my heart for years.

The trailer for Metro Awakening doesn't show much, but there's a lot of moody atmosphere and an appealing blend of action, exploration, stealth, and just a dash of horror. The game is set to launch in 2024 across Meta Quest 2 and 3, Steam VR, and PSVR 2.

The devs describe this as an "immersive, story-driven VR adventure," which is music to my ears. There continue to be loads of excellent VR games out there, but ever since I played Half-Life Alyx I've been waiting for something that could measure up to similar standards. Metro Awakening looks like the closest thing I've seen in a long, long time.

Metro Awakening is set to be a prequel to the original Metro 2033, with a concept by Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author whose novels served as the basis for the video game series. According to the official plot description, "You assume the role of Serdar, a doctor on a quest to reunite with his wife by traveling through the mutant-ridden tunnels beneath a post-apocalyptic Moscow. As Serdar, you will navigate a complex storyline that tests beliefs in the rational and tempts you to embrace the awakening of the being you are destined to become."

In a press release, publisher Deep Silver notes that "development continues separately at 4A Games on the next mainline installment of the Metro series."

For more, check out our coverage of all the announcements from PlayStation State of Play.