Finally: Metroid Dread. The first real, traditional Metroid game in nearly twenty years. After all, Metroid Fusion came out in 2002. “Huh, haven’t there been a lot more Metroid games since then?” Yes, but those weren’t new, traditional Metroids; they were first-person side-adventures (the Prime games), remakes (Zero Mission and Samus Returns) or failed experiments (Other M and Federation Force). And I don’t think I need to explain why Metroid Prime Pinball doesn’t count, do I? In other words, the existence of Metroid Dread is quite a thing, because it is the official, long-awaited return of one of Nintendo’s coolest and most hardcore series.
Metroid is one of Nintendo’s coolest series for the same reason that it gave birth to the genre ‘metroidvania’ along with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: it offers the player a unique experience where platforming and shooting are just as important as exploration and atmosphere. In Metroid, the obstacles are sometimes gigantic, grotesque aliens and sometimes simply being lost. Metroid is thus what Mega Man would be if you had to use the powers of the defeated Robot Masters to escape an impenetrable maze; it’s what The Legend of Zelda would be if Link donned the Master Chief suit and blasted into space at unsubtle references to Ridley Scott’s magnum opus. And yes, that’s damn cool.
Still, there were two significant reasons to approach Metroid Dread with some reluctance. The most important of these is the existence of the aforementioned metroidvania genre: it has flourished enormously in Metroid’s absence thanks to the many homages, reinterpretations, wannabes and even evolutions from external parties. Games like Super Metroid and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow are still very timeless and replayable in 2021, but they are no longer lonely at the top.
In recent years we have been blessed with instant classics such as the rock-solid Hollow Knight, the beautiful Ori, the refreshing Guacamelee! and the great tribute Axiom Verge. So the question is not so much whether Metroid Dread is good, but whether it can still impress in a genre that has been completely deconstructed and recontextualized, thanks mainly to passionate indie developers.
Speaking of developers, let’s not forget which studio Metroid Dread was developed by. Because that’s not Nintendo itself, as was previously the case with the oh-so-important Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission. Dread is mainly the child of the Spanish MercurySteam, the studio that is best known for the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series. That’s a fine bunch of developers, but the two games they released for the 3DS, Castlevania: Mirror of Fate and Metroid: Samus Returns, weren’t exactly memorable.
Of course, technically they were excellent games, but in terms of content they paled against the material they were clearly trying to build on. That the same makers were suddenly given the responsibility to put together one of the most important comebacks in Nintendo’s modern history, therefore caused some nervousness.
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But! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, non-binaries and helicopter gunships, spread the word: Metroid Dread is excellent! Yes, it can easily compete with both its predecessors and modern toppers within the genre! This is by far the best game MercurySteam has ever delivered! This is one of those rare moments where hype and hope have come together perfectly. Given the disappointing state of the world, I cherish this great little game extra hard. And since the future of traditional Metroid hinges on Dread’s success, I’d encourage any Switch owner with the slightest interest in labyrinthine science fiction to consider purchasing. Let me explain in detail why.
What immediately captivated me was how great it felt to control the intergalactic bounty hunter (and also the coolest woman in gaming; sorry Lara) Samus Aran. Her jumps still have that paradoxical balance between floaty and weighty, but at the same time she also feels just a little faster and more responsive than before. Something that is of course also true from a story point of view, since Dread is a direct sequel to Fusion, in which she was forced to exchange her heavy armor for a slimmer model. The fact that Dread runs at a slick 60 frames per second also contributes to this, of course.
This palpable finesse isn’t just limited to platforming, though: Samus Returns’ two offensive gameplay additions – the parry and the ability to aim 360 degrees – are here too, feeling organic rather than forced this time around. After all, they are moves that insinuate flexibility and physical control, and only in Super Smash Bros. Samus has managed to show this level of acrobatics before.
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The fact that Metroid Dread actually requires you to master Samus’s newfound freedom of movement probably makes me most happy. The bombastic boss fights have always been highlights in Metroid (partly because they stand out so much against the long periods when you are relatively undisturbed), but in Dread they are more intense than ever before. Especially in the second half of the game, when you’re equipped with multiple attack and movement options, and standing still isn’t an option.
You’ll then slide under lasers, jump into walls and dodget over enemies, all while switching between your own energy weapons, missiles, bombs and parry. No boss really feels difficult – they all still have just three or four different attacks that they deploy alternately – but if you don’t pay attention or master Samus’ full arsenal, you will often die.
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Dread even features boss fights where you’re flanked by two bosses instead of one, which isn’t something that would have been fun in previous Metroid games. But in Dread? Your first reaction is still “oh f*ck”, but your second reaction? “Bring it on!” Dread never feels sadistic, but also never too easy or too forgiving. The game isn’t old fashioned in its challenge either: the fact that Dread almost always brings you back to life from a conveniently placed checkpoint rather than in one of the rare, remote saverooms proves that it doesn’t give the player an unnecessary physical challenge. want to frustrate.
The only downside I have to give to the boss fights is that, in the second half, they repeat the fights a bit too often against formidable Chozo fighters (the bird-like creatures Samus was raised by), but luckily those confrontations are so satisfying in terms of gameplay that in any case they will never irritate.
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Also an extremely positive surprise is that Dread does dare to be old-school in level design. That we should also look at the map a lot in this part and regularly backtrack is something I never doubted, but actually get stuck hard, in a modern Metroid? I never dared to dream that. I expected a certain amount of ‘streamlining’ for a modern audience, but Dread often just dares to hide the correct route to the next power-up behind a fragile piece of wall that it is not immediately obvious that it can break. Without compromise, as it should be.
I love that, that the game forces me to scrutinize the entire level design and to repeatedly ask myself, “how would a developer have designed this?”, before I finally realize what to do. So I got stuck a total of three times, including one time where I honestly thought I should just give up… until I retrace my steps and finally noticed a smart yet subtle environmental cue. All that frustration that suddenly turns into euphoria: only the best metroidvanias know and dare to induce that feeling.
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I am also very pleased with the effort MercurySteam has put into ensuring the overall story of the series and what role Samus plays in it. Dread picks up right where Fusion left off, in a universe where the titular Metroids have been wiped out and where the more dangerous X parasites have come to flourish. Dread respects that status quo enough to build on it creatively. So there are no cheap “gotcha!” plot twists; Dread respectfully tries to bring the lore of previous games into the new developments, and it largely succeeds.
It’s also lovely to see how much confidence Samus exudes without having to say a single word, which is a refreshing throwback to better times before Other M clumsily committed character assassination. Metroid Dread is a game you play for the gameplay, but the fact that the narrative skeleton connects everything to the rest of the series in a satisfying way is the icing on a nearly twenty-year-old cake.
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If Metroid Dread has one problem, it’s the lack of real openness. In other words, the illusion of freedom is paper thin here, and it quickly becomes clear that there is always only one route that will actually make you progress in this maze. Just like Fusion, while Super Metroid was much better at selling the idea that you could do (or even skip) some parts of that route in different orders.
The map is still an awful labyrinth, but it’s a shame that your freedom of movement is often limited between specific areas, for example through doors that can only open from one side. This has ensured several times that I did not have the opportunity to take a side path, for example to look for rocket upgrades. It’s anything but a deal breaker – Fusion had an almost identical setup – but it does pinch a bit, especially considering how hardcore the game dares to be in terms of obstacles.
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A lesser problem, but one that I have to address, is the lack of something that I also really appreciated in Super Metroid: loneliness. It’s an emotion I’ve always associated with classic Metroid games; a feeling greatly enhanced by the dark, cavernous planets of the earlier parts. That feeling is unfortunately only very slightly present in Metroid Dread.
Here’s the double-edged sword called beautiful graphics. Each room in Dread is beautifully designed and contains a dazzling amount of detail (like a gigantic, dead alien being dissected by a robot), but the unfortunate result is that those iconic, atmospheric feelings of emptiness and isolation don’t have the space to settle in. to manifest you. This is also anything but a deal breaker, given the overall image quality that you get in return, but it does confirm once again how irreplaceable a masterpiece like Super Metroid remains.
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And the EMMIs? Are the seven homicidal robots worth the amount of attention they’ve been getting in the promotional material over the past few months? Not at all. Like the SA-X in Metroid Fusion, they’re supposed to make you feel restless, anxious (hence the title), but that’s rarely the case, partly because they can’t patrol everywhere. And the areas where they do roam are usually fairly easy to figure out. There’s only been one EMMI that gave me a different colored stool – one that you encounter underwater and can see through walls – but trust me when I say they felt quite gimmicky and forced in a game that otherwise has a surprising killing rate. for a metroidvania.
Anyway, all these negatives really only stand out if you place Dread in the pantheon of previous Metroid classics and then compare very closely. Because what I mainly want to communicate is that those Spaniards have done the impossible: creating a really good, classic Metroid! And that in a world in which the term metroidvania hardly raises any question marks. With production values of 2021, wow! So make a few more, MercurySteam; I promise I will never doubt you again. And… please don’t take twenty years, okay?
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