One of last week's biggest gaming announcements was the full reveal of Metro 2039, the next mainline entry in the beloved single player story-driven FPS franchise from 4A Games. Set after the events of Metro Exodus but back in Moscow within the metro tunnels that give the series its namesake, it's been said to be "darker than anything you've seen before," with a narrative informed by the developers' experience living through the ongoing invasion of Ukraine (much of 4A is based in Kyiv).

One of the biggest revelations about Metro 2039 that came with its unveiling was the news that we will no longer be playing as franchise protagonist Artyom, and will instead take control of a mysterious new character named The Stranger — a man returning to the metro tunnels after being away for a period of time.

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It's important to note that while Artyom had voiced monologues during loading screen transitions between levels or end-of-game cutscenes in previous Metro games, he never actually spoke to other characters during gameplay, even when others addressed him directly. The choice to make him silent has always divided fans somewhat, with some appreciating the chance to project their own character interpretations onto him, and others finding his silence jarring.

It sounds like The Stranger, however, will be far more outspoken than Artyom ever was, and will give voice to strong opinions or reactions to events in the narrative. It's unclear if these will come on their own or if they'll be driven by player choices, but either way, expect the new main character to be quite vocal.

Provided The Stranger's dialogue is well written and voice acted, I have no qualms with that direction. I've always been in the camp of feeling that Artyom's lack of speech was rather immersion breaking, and while his silence does make it easy to get lost in Metro's atmosphere, I don't think you'd lose that by having him speak every once in a while.

STALKER 2 is an example of this done well; in that game, protagonist Skif isn't a chatterbox by any means, but he speaks when it makes sense for him to, and gives voice to the player's subtle roleplaying decisions that come throughout the story. It's my hope that Metro 2039 will handle The Stranger's speech in a similar fashion. We'll know for sure when the game comes out on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 this winter.

How do you feel about Metro 2039's protagonist being a fully voiced character, rather than a largely silent one? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to vote in our poll as well.

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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).