Metroid Dread: The Revival of a Legend

 

It has been 19 years since the last original 2d Metroid Game. Fans have been waiting patiently for years to finally receive the follow up to Metroid Fusion. Rumors once spread during the Nintendo DS days that a new 2d Metroid game was in development titled: Metroid Dread. This was also hinted at in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption with a log entry saying that "Metroid project 'Dread' is nearing the final stages of completion". We never got this hypothetical DS sequel to Fusion. However, in the year 2021 it finally happened. Not only a new and original 2d Metroid game, but the game lost to time: Metroid Dread.

My story with this series starts with a game that isn't even a part of it. In early 2020 I beat a little game known as Hollow Knight. Hollow Knight was a 2d Metroidvania that blew me away. It gave me a sense of isolation and a drive to explore like I'd never felt before. I was obsessed with Hollow Knight. In my research on the game I learned about Metroidvanias and how Super Metroid basically spawned the genre. I decided that I had to give the series a try one day. That day came in early 2021, when I finally completed Super Metroid. I admired it's expert design and sense of exploration and decided I had to try more. Once I played Metroid Prime then I was sold. I became a fan of Metroid.

It was around when I was playing Prime when E3 2021 happened. Having only recently fallen in love with the series, I was not anticipating what Nintendo had to show. When they showed those words, "Metroid 5", I was absolutely floored. I knew that I had to play it the minute it came out. To prepare for that day my path was clear. I played the other games in the mainline 2d Metroid series to catch up on the plot and evolution of gameplay. Each game offered a legendary experience (aside from Other M which was just alright). I even wrote a massive blog post on my journey with Samus! Now I'm here, I have full context for the plot, an appreciation for the design of the games, and a ton of hype for Metroid Dread.

I'm so excited to present to you: My Metroid Dread Review.

Spoilers for: all bosses, all areas, some basic plot points, and all upgrades. If you are invested in the entire Metroid Series lore or don't want to see any upgrades then play the game first. It is worth every second.

The Story

The Story begins with a recap of Metroid Fusion and biographies of both the Metroids and the X Parasites. Metroids are creatures that drain energy from other lifeforms. The X parasites infect and copy any living creature, therefore killing it and gaining both its physical abilities and intelligence. Samus was injected with the DNA of the deceased Metroids to combat the X. She thought that she destroyed all the X back in Fusion. However the Federation receives footage of a X parasite on the planet ZDR and sends their special robots called the E.M.M.I. to investigate. When that fails, they call upon Samus once again to investigate and destroy the X.

Once Samus arrives on ZDR, she descends to the depths of the planet. Once she arrives in the starting area, Artaria, she finds a mysterious figure in bird-like armor. This stranger attacks and makes quick work of Samus, leaving her without her upgrades and stranded near the center of the planet. Now Samus must figure out what happened and how to escape planet ZDR.

That is as far as I'll go in terms of describing individual plot points. This is the opening cutscene of the game. Since the game is so new I don't wanna dive into specifics any further. 

The plot of Dread is a fascinating thing to think about. Dread makes a great effort to have a more complicated plot than stuff like Super Metroid or Metroid Prime. However it isn't as pace-breaking as Fusion can be. Metroid Dread strikes a great balance with presenting an interesting plot and letting you explore the world. 

Your told the rest of the story through special cutscenes and conversations with your AI, which Samus nicknamed Adam back in Fusion.  The cutscenes are super cool because they are rarely exposition dumps. More often than not if you're entering a cutscene then it's gonna be a flashy action scene. The exposition comes in with your dialogue with Adam. He will occasionally recap what happened and provide some insight on different plot elements when you get to a navigation room. His dialogue is actually pretty interesting most of the time. He kind of serves as another spectator to what is happening and crafts his own theories on what is truly going on. It's like you're theorizing alongside a buddy which is neat in its own way.

The strongest part of the story by far is how Samus is characterized. Samus is awesome in this game. She acts like the hardened bounty hunter she is without sacrificing moments of reflection. The cutscenes that play at the end of boss fights really sell how powerful she is. This is by far the best characterization Samus has seen in this series.

The actual events of the plot are more of a mixed bag. As a fan of the series I got a ton out of this plot. It has so many cool details for people who played the games before Dread. On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure how well it holds up to someone who hasn't played the games or read up on the lore of the series. It has a lot of elements from past games and while it does do its best to explain these elements, I fear that the impact would not be as strong if this was your first Metroid. 

I would say that the plot would not be too hard to understand. The game is good at selling the impact and stakes of certain events so that newcomers can still enjoy the thrill ride.  

That being said, the plot of Metroid Dread is a grand thrill ride that serves as the culmination of the mainline 2d Metroid story. It can be enjoyed on its own, however the full impact will be felt if you have played at least a few other 2d Metroid games. (Super Metroid is on the Nintendo Switch online if you wanna check it out)

Controls and Upgrades

Metroid as a series has consistently evolved how Samus controls with each 2d game. Samus gets snappier and more fluid to control with each game that releases. When Mercury Steam released Samus Returns in 2017 it continued that trend giving us the best game-feel in any Metroid game. Mercury Steam is back at it for Metroid Dread and they NAILED IT.

Metroid Dread has the best control out of any Metroid game. It feels absolutely wonderful to control Samus. The best way I can describe the feel of controlling the game is that it feels fluid. Each action flows from one to the other extremely well. You can slide through a gap and immediately jump over an enemy, aim at their back, rapid fire its weak point, and finish it with a dash counter. It has never felt better to step in the shoes of Samus. She is more acrobatic, responsive, and fluid than ever and it results in a game that is just fun to move around in. I'd even say that this is some of the best 2d game control I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. 

From the start of the game you don't have a whole lot of tools. You have a basic power suit, missiles, a melee counter, a dash version of that counter, a wall jump, and a brand new slide. The base moveset is fairly simple and concise. It is effective at introducing the player to the basics. You have some room to play around with sliding and wall jumping while a brief and unobtrusive text box shows you how to use the missiles and counter.  Every single base maneuver feels amazing to pull off and each ability is used extremely well throughout the game.

(Spoilers for most of the Upgrades in this game ahead.)

Things get a lot more complicated with the upgrades. Metroid as a series thrives off of interesting and diverse upgrades that expand your arsenal and power up your existing kit. I believe that most of the upgrades are fantastic additions to Samus' moveset. However I also believe that by adding so many cool upgrades, the controls inch very close to the realm of convoluted. Every single button on the controller is used for something different, and some upgrades are used by combining button presses or holding down the button. It can lead to using a different ability than the one you want.

One example that I found in my playtime was using storm missiles and ice missiles. You switch from shooting beams to missiles with the R button. If you hold down the R button it charges the missiles to become storm missiles. This was annoying when I wanted to freeze a platform or an enemy as the ice property is not carried over to the storm missiles. The same goes for the Cross Bombs and Power Bombs. You activate Cross and Power bombs the same way you access missiles except you have to be in morph ball form. There were a few times when I wanted the activate cross bombs but I accidentally activated a power bomb. 

Otherwise the upgrades are all super cool. From the speed booster to the phantom cloak, all of the upgrades have both utility and are really fun to use. The speed booster in particular is thrilling to use and can even lead to specific sequence breaks. The speedbooster puzzles in the game are also super cool and have you perform really complicated manuevers to get upgrades and items. If those puzzles are not your thing then you can opt to skip them as the more complicated puzzles are all optional.

I do have one gripe with the speed booster though. In the tutorial text it shows you how to shinespark in different direction so you know you can do that. However the shinespark puzzles that you have to do involve different things that are not conveyed anywhere in the game. For example after shinesparking horizontally on the ground you can press down on the left stick to preserve your charge, reposition yourself, and shinespark again. This is essential for an optional missile plus tank later in the game and it's odd that the intricasies of the shinespark were not communicated anywhere in game.

It could be argued that Super Metroid had unexplained shinesparking rules too. The difference there is that Super Metroid does not require shinesparking for any of its optional upgrades. Metroid Dread fails to properly explain a crucial technique that is required for 100% completion. Of course because of the optional nature of these items, it's not a completely bad thing. In fact it can emulates social experiences of older game secrets. It is easy to find all the different properties of the shinespark and speedboost online. Once you do master the speedbooster and shinespark it feels absolutely phenomenal to use. 

Overall the upgrade are extremely fun to use. They all add something unique and useful to Samus' kit. I love space jumping over large gaps and flash shifting over a boss to get behind it and blast it with a barrage of missiles. It all flows together extremely well. Once you get a handle on the complicated controls, Samus will flow like water. It's no stretch to say that this is some of the best game-feel I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

ZDR

Now for one of the most important elements in a metroidvania, the world design. Metroid Dread starts you out at the bottom of the map so your goal is to find a way back to the surface and off this planet. Planet ZDR is a masterclass in metroidvania map design. The game has you weaving in and out of different areas to grab new powers and explore more of the planet. 

Dread starts out in Artaria, the lowest point in ZDR's caves. Even though it is so far below the surface, it's an area that is teeming with life and vibrant detail. It's color scheme make the area seem cold and the lack of plant life cements the cavern feel of the area. It feels like the deepest part of the planet and sells ZDR as a cold and hostile place. 

Once you get past Artaria you go to Cataris, the lava area. This area hosts the thermal power of the planet and has many machines you have to power up in order to get around. It's a huge contrast to the cold Artaria. Lava that has to be redirected, laboratories with unknown purposes, and caverns too hot to be traversed without protection. Cataris is a dangerous contrast to the other areas in the game.

In the middle of your visit to Cataris you get to visit Dairon. Dairon is a highly mechanical area with traps and gadgets around every corner. It's a distinct break from the more natural Cataris and Artaria. It has an air of mystique and gets you wondering what these facilities were used for.

The next area in normal progression is Burenia, the underwater area. It kind of serves as a pseudo extension of Dairon with similar technology. However it has significantly more water and asks you to traverse through it more than any other area. It's also one of the only areas without an E.M.M.I. zone. It forces you to slow down and take a breath.

After Burenia you will come across Ferenia. This is a vast and grand city like area. It almost looks like a temple in a lot of ways. This was were a civilization used to thrive but has since been abandoned.

Ghavoran is an underground jungle area with lush greenery and a vast amount of wildlife roaming the area. It's the area with the least amount of technology or civilization. It's a nice break from the technological undertone of most of these areas.

Elun is the smallest area in the game. However it holds the most impact on the story. It is a stronghold that was built to contain the X parasites. It's also the only area that has 1 entrance/exit. There aren't many optional power ups here either so you likely only need to make 1-2 trips for 100%. 

Hanubia is the last area in the game. It is the surface of the planet and where your ship is. It is another small area with a lot of story packed in to it. It's desolate and gives a feeling of finality to the adventure. 

Each area in the game is distinct and serves a purpose throughout your playthrough. The world is rich and alive while preserving the feeling of isolation this series is known for. 

The general art direction is also on point for each area. The backgrounds are lush and detailed with tons of moving parts. You can see the vast ruins of a long gone civilization and the deep caves of the natural planet in these backgrounds. It is a treat to look at whenever you are traversing these areas.

That's not the only strength of the world, the map design in this game is top notch. I may have outlined the areas you visit in the order you discover them, but you are constantly weaving between areas with new pathways and teleporters. The intended progression will have you going back to each area many times and it rarely feels like a chore to get there. The game also generally keeps the path forward close to where you currently are. If you don't have a path forward in the current area then you might be close to a teleporter or an elevator to go to a different area and find a new upgrade. I think this tight design is a huge strength to the game. It allows for the feeling of exploration to stay alive without the frustration of being completely stuck. It also makes the moments when you can break from the intended path way more satisfying.

Overall the world of ZDR is a highly immersive and enjoyable world to explore. It's teeming with life and brimming with atmosphere. The map is designed in such a way that you get to weave in and out of areas to find what you need without feeling completely lost. Overall an expertly designed map.

 Bosses

This is an area I'm personally excited to talk about. This game has a variety of boss encounters that impress and delight with their difficulty and expert design. They managed to make difficult bosses while also cutting out what makes tough bosses frustrating. 

The biggest reason these bosses avoid frustration is thanks to Dread's checkpoint system. Whenever you die to a boss you are put back right before that encounter so you can hop right back in. This reduces frustration immensely and lets you try new strategies and get used to the boss's patterns with ease. I never got to a point where the bosses seemed overwhelming. 

The other part in reducing frustration is that each boss is incredibly well designed. The core loop of boss fights was quite similar to Hollow Knight while keeping the traditional Metroid feel. Each boss is designed so that each attack can be avoided while also making each attack fast and heavy hitting. The first time I faced a boss would be tough, like a gigantic wall that I needed to scale. By the time I beat the boss (generally around 3-6 tries) I could avoid almost every attack and annihilate the boss. Every single boss is fair and readable while also being incredibly tough.

I want to go over some bosses that stood out to me, either good or bad. Spoilers for Metroid Dread's bosses.

Corpius

This is a really good first impression for bosses and definitely one of my favorite Metroid creatures. It primarily attacks with its tail and has phases where it turns invisible. Its patterns are more readable than the other bosses since it's the first one but it is still tough on a first run. I also enjoy that even when it is invisible you can still damage its head as long as you guess where it is.

Kraid

This is the only returning boss from series' past. He was a welcome surprise and a fun boss. He has a lot of varied attacks to dodge and gave me a run for my money on my first go. However where Kraid truly shines is the ability to quick kill. In the arena there is a bomb canon that you can't use unless you get the morph ball bombs early. It's really awesome that the developers thought to include things like this. 

Drogyga

This is the only boss that I didn't like out of all the encounters. You have to move around in water before getting the gravity suit while fighting Drogyga and it is either boring or frustrating depending on how good you are at fighting this boss. However if you get super missiles early then this boss is a piece of cake so I like that.

Chozo Soldiers

These guys are interesting. These are X parasites that re-animate chozo corpses and they are fun fights. You feel like it's a duel every time one shows up. Sometimes they have sheilds you need to break too to shake things up. They do get a tad repetitive but it never bothered me that much since they are fun fights.

Experiment NO.Z-57

This one was a highlight and one of the toughest bosses in the game. This boss appears to be a few different bosses sown together like Corpius and Drogyga. His patterns are all completely original though. I like the dynamic of balancing when to lock on with storm missiles and when to blast away with ice missiles. You can quick kill this boss too with a well timed shinespark!  Z-57 is probably my favorite boss to fight in the game.

Raven Beak 

The hardest boss in the game. Fitting since he is the final encounter. This boss is so dynamic. You have the opportunity to use almost all of your abilities to fight him. Effective use of your abilities is needed since he is TOUGH. He flies around, shoots a ton of lasers, charges you, he even uses the freaking speed booster in his third phase. I'm a huge fan of this fight and it is a great capstone to a game with phenomenal bosses. 

Even if I didn't end up enjoying a boss, each one is still expertly crafted to be challenging yet not frustrating. Metroid Dread nails its boss encounters. This is my favorite set of bosses in the series.

E.M.M.I

The E.M.M.I are the core of why this game is called Dread. E.M.M.I are robots designed to extract DNA from specimens they are hunting. These things are dangerous and they are all after Samus. They are terrifying and they are the core feature that distinguishes Dread from the other Metroid games.

The way these robots work is that they reside inside designated E.M.M.I zones. Whenever you enter these zones the hunt begins. You are tasked with finding the way forward while the E.M.M.I hunts you down. Each E.M.M.I has a unique power outside of the first 2 and will give you their power when you eventually blast them to bits. To destroy them you have to find and destroy the central control unit within that E.M.M.I zone. This will give you the Omega Cannon and Omega Stream to melt the armor plating and annihilate the E.M.M.I. 

At first glance the E.M.M.I seem reminiscent of Metroid Fusion's S-AX sections. But let me tell you that the S-AX is nothing compared to the E.M.M.I. They will hunt you down with such precise speed and viciousness that you will die over and over and over again. The intelligence on the E.M.M.I. is extremely effective in tracking you down and it will not let up. Whenever you move within a certain range of the E.M.M.I they hear your steps and patrol the area that the sound came from. This means they are always nearby and on your tail. It creates tension and requires you to act fast to avoid getting caught.

Once the E.M.M.I. sees you it becomes even more aggressive. It chases you relentlessly until you can stay out of its sight for long enough. If you get caught there is an extremely slim chance to counter the E.M.M.I before it kills you. However, this window changes each time and is incredibly slim so it's rare to get it even on repeat playthroughs. It is intensely satisfying to pull off and feels like you almost cheated death in a way. It's thrilling and the strongest example of fear I have encountered in this series. It makes the eventual triumph over these robotic hunters extra satisfying. 

The atmosphere of these areas is a key factor in selling the tension. While the E.M.M.I. is still alive there is a grainy filter applied when you enter the zone. The music is reduced to atmospheric bleeps and bloops to sell the technological vibe. When the E.M.M.I hears you the music adds a couple elements to heighten the tension just a tad. Then when it spots you the track kicks into overdrive. It sounds like alarms blaring all around and a really intense techno beat takes over. The aesthetic and music really sell how intimidating the E.M.M.I are.

The E.M.M.I. are the reason why this Metroid game is called Dread. They are extremely aggressive and elevate the feeling of overcoming insurmountable odds. I think they are an amazing addition that tie the experience together and gives Dread its own unique identity among the Metroid series. They are another home run for Metroid Dread.

 

 Sequence Breaking and Replayability

This is an area that I didn't expect to impact my enjoyment. I'm not a speedrunner and I don't mind linear games. However, thanks to Metroid Dreads exquisite game-feel and expert design I wanted to see how I could do things differently. So I looked to Youtube to see what upgrades I could get early. I expected to see more glitches than anything with maybe 1 intentional break but nope. There are tons of different ways you can go through the game with careful navigation and intimate knowledge of the movement.

The first break I tried was getting the Grapple Beam and Bombs early. This is such a cool break to pull off. You need to be very familiar with the slide and wall jump for this break. Getting these two early allows you to quick kill Kraid, skip platforming sections in Burenia, and other areas. It was so satisfying when I pulled it off.

(Early Grapple Beam Trick)

The second and more mind blowing break was early Gravity Suit. Getting this early was insane since it lets you skip the entirety of east Burenia if you desire. It's also right next to early Screw Attack which is probably the most precise shinespark you have to do. 

Just these four upgrades make for a ton of different paths and that isn't even all of the sequence breaks. It made me want to figure out how to break the world even more and explore places I couldn't explore before. It provides variety in how you can approach the game. It's thrilling and contributes immensely to this game's replayability.

Sequence breaks aren't the only incentive to replay the game. There are special images that unlock when you beat the game in a certain amount of time. One for beating the game, one for beating it in under 10 hours, and one for under 4 hours. There is also hard mode, which unlocks after you beat the game on normal mode. I don't normally like to go for 100% in games but I liked playing Metroid Dread so much that I got every single image.

Hard mode was also super fun. By the time I got to hard mode I had 100%ed normal mode so I was very familiar with the world. Hard mode didn't feel significantly harder than normal mode. However this is mostly because I had gotten better. Hard Mode only increases the damage enemies, hazards, and bosses do. By the time I played hard mode I had mastered the patterns of the bosses and only had to retry once or twice. It was thrilling to still be challenged on a second playthough.

(1st Playthrough)

(4th Playthrough)

This is the Metroid game I have replayed the most. It's impressive how well it incentivized me to play over and over again with sequence breaking, hard mode, and the personal satisfaction of getting better times. Metroid Dread is a game I'll replay for years and provides the best replayability in the series.  

 Conclusion

Metroid Dread is a masterclass in map design, game-feel, boss design, and replayability. The story is an epic tale of growth and overcoming overwhelming odds. The world is rich and filled with detail. Samus is characterized and controls better than ever before. Metroid Dread does all of these things while carrying the long legacy of exploration that Metroid holds.

Metroid Dread lives up to the hype. It is a game that has so much love poured into it and asks you to explore and overcome challenges unlike anything we've seen before. Metroid Dread is my new favorite Metroid game by a long shot. I am so excited that I got to experience this game make history and revive the revolutionary Metroid series. Here's hoping for more Metroid games. 

See you next mission!