Review – Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread, a MercurySteam production with Nintendo EPD, is a love letter to the series in both being a conclusion to Samus’s story and the picturesque world and exquisite gameplay that surrounds it. From the different biomes and the living worlds in each one, Boss fights that make you think about each step, a new enemy in the Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier (E.M.M.I.) robots to avoid and dispatch, to the sound and art of each part and the fact that this adventure can be experienced both on the go and in a dock at home makes it a title that is second to none.

Metroid Dread begins with Samus arriving on the planet ZDR looking for the E.M.M.I robots that have gone missing after having been drawn to the planet by a video of a single X parasite sent from an unknown source. The X are a scourge that invade whole planets and who Samus has previously faced and nearly destroyed by them. In the end, Samus is the only person who can do this job because of the X infection combined with her Metroid DNA change allowing her to absorb the X. When Samus arrives on the planet she has an encounter with an enemy known as Raven Beak, loses and then is brought to the depths of Artaria and forced to head to the surface to escape on her ship. Along the way, Metroid Dread tells the best story that Samus has ever had and is a real ride in places with several ‘drop the mic’ moments.

The different biomes in Metroid Dread all have different atmospheres and settings to further immerse the player into these different worlds. One of the major differences to these worlds from the previous games in the series is that fact that they are living worlds with more than just static backgrounds that never change. Each world has different animals, trees and backgrounds that will change throughout the game. As you move from world to world using either elevators, transporters or shuttles, the weather, types of creatures and environments change. Whether it is Cataris, which is massively hot with lava or Burenia which offers a beautiful water-based world complete with fish and other actively moving parts to show the player that they are in the depths of the sea, Metroid Dread sucks the player into immersive worlds throughout the roughly thirteen-hour playthrough. The MercurySteam engine creates a fantastic living world for each location. It also changes certain biomes in different ways later in the game which allows for a different experience than the one preceding it.

Each biome has its own unique sounds, music and art to give each a unique feel. The sounds and alerting nature to when the player is in a fight for Samus’s life is distinctly separate to when exploring a new world. The classic Metroid sounds and music are also deep rooted in Metroid Dread giving the player true nostalgia as they go through a playthrough.

This is predominantly a 2D game with parts where 3D is used. They have the purpose of either telling the story or putting emphasis on a specific need at the time. The cutscenes are incredible throughout and a joy to witness. The transition between 2D and 3D is smooth in graphics and presentation.

Samus will need specific upgrades to progress through the biomes and these can be attained either by finding them in the world, defeating bosses or defeating E.M.M.I. robots. The standard Metroid upgrades are here with the Missile Tanks, Power Bomb Tanks and Energy Tanks but also offers other upgrades which must be found like different suits to protect from heat and cold and many more to be discovered.

One thing to mention is to be sure to search for any save points, map download points for each biome and any recharge stations (ammo, energy, full) as these are extremely useful throughout. Having a save point that is close to specific points is crucial if the player doesn’t want to have to find items multiple times as Samus loses everything since the last save point on death. This is a hard playthrough even on normal mode, but it does offer a hard mode after the first normal mission mode is completed for those that truly want a challenge.

A new wrinkle that is introduced by Metroid Dread are the E.M.M.I. robot sections of the map where Samus will have to both avoid and defeat these robots to progress. These robots are extremely cunning and if Samus is detected they will both lock all the exits and chase her down. If Samus is caught by the E.M.M.I. the robot will kill her unless the initial attack is blocked and she escapes. These robots can only be eliminated by finding a central unit and utilizing the power up gained to defeat each E.M.M.I. These are some of the trickiest fights in the game and rewarding once completed.

The boss fights of Metroid Dread will keep the player coming back again and again, mostly due to death, but also because they are some of the best boss fights strategy wise ever. No attack is unavoidable! The key to these fights is repetition and learning how to avoid specific attacks that will eat away at Samus’s energy tanks, while also being able to unload missiles, beams and bombs at the target. Most bosses have several phases and will require time and effort to master each phase. The environment also changes for certain bosses with having to avoid both air and land attacks and at times the environment itself.

While Metroid Dread was made to be played on a big screen TV at full 1080p glory, the performance and graphics in the 720p handheld mode holds its own and is a great game for playing on the road, in a park, in bed or wherever the player may find themselves. For this review, I swapped between docked mode and undocked mode several times and the game performance were smooth both in controls and graphics whether we were playing on a Pro Controller in docked mode or with a joycon in handheld mode. I had a Split-pad Pro for handheld mode and is a great recommendation for this game if you want that same Pro Controller feel in a handheld experience.

Metroid Dread is a single player adventure with some thematic elements throughout. It is not a violent game (no blood or gore to speak of) but it does contain certain bosses that are nightmarish in presentation so avoid playing with small kids around. The game can both be saved and paused regularly for any parenting duties that may arise and is easy to pick up again and resume.

Rob for One More Game

10 – Masterpiece – This game is a must play for anyone who plays games. A day one purchase is worth every cent.

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Metroid Dread was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch and is a Nintendo exclusive title.

A retail copy of the game was purchased for the purpose of this review.

Our thoughts are ours and ours alone.