Even though one might not think it, there are plenty of sweet little moments in Metro Exodus. Here are some.
- Even in the post-apocalyptic nightmare world they live in, several characters find time for romance.
- Anna and Artyom are very much Happily Married from the start, and their interactions drip with saccharine lovey-doveyness. It's actually very cute.
- Katya and Stepan's romance, from the rescue of Katya and Nastya from the cult to their marriage aboard the "Aurora" is also very cute, and really shows that humanity is not gone, in spite of it all.
- The fact that Duke and Krest not only made a pair of wedding rings for the happy couple, but went to the trouble of sizing them properly without letting on why, so they could surprise the newlyweds with them.
- Alyosha's whirlwind romance with Olga is, for all the strangeness of the setting, pretty much lifted straight from your favorite romance novel, with all that entails, and watching these two bonafide hard-asses turn into complete mush as soon as the other is mentioned is equal parts adorable and hilarious. It comes to a head when Olga says she has to stay, and Aloysha tries to casually say goodbye before sighing and promising to come back. Then he and Artyom zip-line away, and he's seen later trying to raise her on the radio.
- Seeing Nastya's interactions with the Spartans, from learning to sew from Tokarev to being tucked into bed by Stepan, every part of this small child interacting with the rough-and-tumble Spartans is pure "d'aww." Bonus points for Nastya calling them all "uncle" from the get-go, except for "Grandpa Yermak."
- An especially good example of this occurs just as Miller and Artyom are about to set out into Novisibirsk. Nastya asks if she can do anything to help and, like an adoring grandfather, Miller picks her up and sets her down on the counter saying that, yes, she most certainly can help, and so can her teddy bear, and she immediately gets in on his old soldier persona, calling her stuffed animal "Private Teddy". Sadly, this is also the last time she and Miller will ever speak...
- Stepan's song about going home and reclaiming the world.
- When the bombs fell, Miller was the one to save Sam's life from a traumatized and angry mob (blaming him, an American for the bombs destroying everything). Sam dedicated himself to Miller and the Rangers ever since. Miller's act of kindness and mercy continues to pay it forward 22 years later, with Sam coming to the rescue to save Miller, Artyom, and Anna from the cannibals at Yamantau, in particularly badass style. Notably, Sam and Idiot stormed an entire unknown facility of armed cannibals by themselves and slaughtered their entire way to you fast enough to save everyone.
- One of the core tenets of the beliefs of the Children of the Forest is "Don't bully the girls." In a world where rape and sexual slavery are rampant, it's nice to see at least one place where respect for women survives.
- Any time one of the Pirates surrenders, he will beg you "Please don't hurt the girls!"
- Miller finding an extremely irradiated Artyom laying wounded and dazed in the snow, and despite not being in much better shape himself, jabs Artyom with the only remaining dose of the radioprotectant, drags him back to the truck by his feet, and calls him "son".
- At the very end particularly in the good ending when a severely irradiated and dying Artyom sees the Aurora pull up his friends barely wait for the train to stop before jumping off to get to him knowing their comrade is in serious need of help.
- The various characters urging Artyom to hang on as they all donate blood to keep him alive. And in the good ending, Miller's spirit or Artyom's hallucination of him saluting him, calling him "Commander," and generally Passing the Torch and responsibility for the crew to him.
