Metroid Dread Review: Dreadfully Good

Metroid has always been a series near and dear to my heart. Exploring planet Zebes in Super Metroid and the first opening moments of looking through Samus's visor in the rain Metroid Prime are extremely hard moments to re-live. Those moments are some of my favorite in gaming. Games that can give me that feeling of wonder and exploration will rank up there in my list of great games.  

Super Metroid is a classic. It's so good it has half of the genre named after it (Metroidvania). It's method of exploration and maze-like maps bore a whole series of amazing games that all owe their roots to this beloved Nintendo franchise. If you're a fan of video games, Super Metroid is a must play. Just an amazing game that had no right being as good as it was. Because of it's great art design and pixel art style, it holds up to the test of time beautifully. 

While the Metroid series has had critical acclaim, it's not as obscenely popular as Nintendo's other big hitters. Super Metroid was released much later in the life cycle of the Super Nintendo and never sold as much as it's colleagues, Mario and Link. Another thing to note is how infrequently Metroid games are made. The last true Metroid game (excluding remakes and spinoffs) was released over 11 years ago. Insane. 

So when Metroid Dread was announced earlier this year, it was a shocker. Most fans already knew the next entry in the Metroid Prime series had been delayed. So having Metroid Dread suddenly show up out of nowhere was truly a video game blessing. 

So now that Metroid Dread is finally here, I'm ready to give you my review. 

What I Liked:

I don't know where to start. There is a lot to like about this game. Everything from the animations to the atmosphere. I'll try to pick the top three things that stood out to me but that doesn't mean there is more to love. There's plenty of stuff going for Metroid Dread.

  

Exploration and Movement

Metroid Dread nails Samus's movement right from the beginning of the game. It's pleasantly surprising how quick Samus can move in this game. Samus's animations flows so well that sometimes it's just fun to run around from room to room practicing wall jumps and other tricks. Shooting can take some getting used to but definitely clicked a few hours into the game. I also appreciated the ample upgrades the game dishes out. Upgrades are given freely but seldom will the game explicitly tell you what to do with them. While Mercury Steam explains how powers work, they don't go out of their way to put objective markers on the map. Instead, Samus is only given hints like when you reach a map station and only part of an area of the map is revealed. 

Compared to other 2D Metroid  games, the map is huge and intricate. The game does such a good job of making each area have a distinctive feel while making hidden areas and upgrades still easy to find. 

Just like many Metroid games before, I genuinely loved the "aha!" moments I got from this game. And even if you run into a dead end, you still got some small reward to make the trip worth it. 

Boss Fights

Bosses in Dread are just so damn cool. There are a lot of smaller bosses but the major bosses in this game are downright awesome to fight. They have just the right amount of challenge to test your reflexes but they are never overtly hard so that the game's pacing is broken or bosses feel insurmountable. You'll definitely die a few times on each encounter, but it doesn't take too long to learn the patterns. 

I felt like they also came at the right pace. There is just a good amount of them and they each feel fun to fight. 

Not to forget but the boss designs and size are insane. Some of these bosses are downright terrifying. There is no telling during exploration to know exactly when you'll be fighting a boss which makes for good tension. 

Style

Samus is one cool bounty hunter. She's also just plain ruthless. My gosh, some of the cutscenes in this game are just awesome to witness. Part of the reward of beating a boss isn't just getting a new upgrade, it's the savage way Samus takes them down. She does not have an ounce of mercy for hostiles. And I loved each encounter. 

Another thing I got to thinking about is Axiom Verge 2. I realized that there are so many upgrades in that game but very little to use them on. In Dread you tend to start using your upgrades either in boss fights, on enemies or just to unlock areas of the map to explore. 

What I didn't Like: 

Music

Metroid Dread is pretty...quiet. And while that seems like it shouldn't matter, it really felt a bit off? I could understand why the Emmi zones were devoid of any fanfare, but it felt like the rest of the game was semi-muted. None of the track were memorable unlike the theme song from Metroid Prime and Norfair from Super Metroid. 

E.M.M.I Zones

E.M.M.I zones are...interesting...additions to the Metroid formula. They basically are sneak sections where you can't get caught otherwise it's game over. Samus slowly acquired abilities throughout the game to help traverse those areas quickly but they get repetitive. E.M.M.I zones always have the same formula: evade the E.M.M.I until you get to the control unit. Defeat the control unit and get an omega beam. Find a spot to lure the EMMI and take it down. The formula never changes and there are seven E.M.M.Is you have to defeat. They all have different characteristics but the steps to take them out are always the same. I liked the idea of sneaking (it's reminiscent of Metroid Fusion), but the formula got old pretty quickly. I ended up just brute forcing through the zones through trial and error instead of trying to utilize the tools available to evade the E.M.M.Is.

I also felt like fighting the same control unit over and over again was the worst part of these zones. They don't ever change nor do they becomes that much harder. I wouldn't say E.M.M.I zones are wasted potential because the sense of tension and claustrophobia is paramount, but by the seventh encounter, I was thinking how they got stale compared to how the boss fights scaled up beautifully.

Remembering Button Combos

 

A somewhat minor complaint was that I found that there were too many buttons to remember to press to use certain weapons. If you wanted to aim a missile you'd have to remember to hold the R and the ZR buttons which are on the same side. It made aiming during crucial moments of the game pretty darn hard. There's also times where using certain upgrades require holding down the analog joystick which is always the worst button to use to do anything. 

Also, I don't know if it's just me but I constantly got confused between trying to jump and shoot when in a state of panic. 

The good part is that the game gives you loads of missiles so you never feel gypped by the game and rather will blame yourself for most of Samus's death

Conclusion

Just get it. This game is just really good. There's just a good blend of combat and exploration with lots stuff in between. There are even cool ways to "break the sequence of the game" but are actually expected because the developers predict those sequence breaks in certain areas. If you love a tense but expansive adventure, Metroid Dread is worth every penny. I'm huge Metroid fan so my bias might be showing. But I'm sure most people will like it. There's even a free demo out now!

MercurySteam and Nintendo really put their best foot forward in re-introducing the public to the Metroid franchises. I can't wait to see how Metroid Prime 4 looks when it comes out...soon...?

If I had to rate Metroid Dread, I'd give it a 9 out of 10.