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| Worth the wait. |
Picking up after the events of Metroid Fusion, bounty hunter Samus Aran is tasked by the Galactic Federation to exterminate the last surviving specimen of the X-Parasite-- a deadly organism that can mimic the appearance of its host-- which mysteriously appeared on the equally mysterious planet ZDR. Throughout her journey, Samus will uncover the mystery behind the X along with the ancient Chozo race and her own past. The story didn't have much with character interactions, seeing as Samus is the quiet type, but the intrigue and mystery behind the planet kept me interested. I kind of wished that the villain got more back story as he felt on the generic side along with his goals. Fortunately, the game's light on story, meaning that newcomers can jump in without needing to play prior games.
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| Samus is in for a deadly adventure. |
Metroid Dread is a 2D platformer where you control Samus as she explores planet ZDR's depths, searching for a way back to her ship. You'll be blasting away at enemies while searching for your lost powers. The likes include the classic morph ball, wave beam, grapple beam, screw attack and more that are needed to unlock parts of the areas and survive. The counter mechanic from Samus Returns is back and it allows you to counter enemy attacks at the right timing, often cases finishing them off and rewarding you with health and ammo.
New additions to the gameplay are the "Aeon" abilities, which consume your energy meter. These include the Phantom Cloak that turns Samus invisible, escaping enemy sights; the Phase Shift, which lets you instantly dash attacks and quickly manuever around obstacles; and Pulse Radar, which showcases hidden walls and secret blocks to destroy. Also returning from Samus Returns, is the ability to freely aim and accurately shoot enemies, which was handy during boss fights.
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| The gameplay was fun and the controls were easy to grasp. |
Dread's new threat, the E.M.M.I. serve as the SA-X of Fusion, where they're invincible enemies that patrol sections of an area, hunting for Samus. They're incredibly fast and upon detection, will chase you in a series of rooms till you escape their sights. Standard weapons can't scratch them, so your best bet is either hiding with the Phantom Cloak or straight up running away. You can counter their attacks but the counter window is so narrow, it's difficult to time just right. Just like the SA-X, they did a great job of creating a tense atmosphere and making you feel helpless at times. That said, they were occasionally the tougher parts of the game given how fast they were at detecting your movements.
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| Dread doesn't fall short on tough enemy encounters. |
Planet ZDR's areas were decently varied though I felt they all looked the same. Still, the amount of hidden items to find, which are initially locked till you find the right ability, means you'll be backtracking to earlier areas when you reach the end-game moments. Thankfully, there are teleporters that cut-down on the backtracking a bit. The boss fights were my favorite parts of entering a new area. Dread's harder than your average Nintendo game as you'll be facing many boss fights on top of the EMMIs. Without spoiling much, the fights were hard but their patterns were clear and easily telegraphed, making it a challenging of nailing the timing just right.
Dread took close to 7 hours to beat with 41% item completion. There's a decent amount of replay-value if you're planning on nabbing every missile upgrade, health tank, and playing the game again with hard mode. Having said that, the game doesn't feel like a great value being priced at $60.
Presentation-wise, Metroid Dread is another stunning game in the Switch's library. The backgrounds and character designs were neat, especially Samus and the EMMI. The game ran well at a smooth 60FPS, with the animations being slick and fluid. Though noticeable issues were the long load times when travelling between areas and the Switch overheating like crazy in certain parts of the game. The soundtrack nails the ambiguous nature of planet ZDR and was packed with some cool tracks. Some classic tracks also made a return, which was nice to hear. My favorites were the opening theme, EMMI theme and ending theme.
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| Metroid Dread delivers on the flashy action and moody soundtrack. |
Overall, Metroid Dread was well-worth the long wait and proved to be a fun experience. The story was entertaining, the gameplay was fun to play, and the sense of mystery was engaging. Exploring the secret-filled world, unlocking Samus' neat abilities, and fighting the game's many bosses were the main highlights for me. That and the production values were high-quality, as expected from Nintendo. Series fans and newcomers will equally enjoy what Metroid Dread has to offer, and I can't wait to see what's next for the series.
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