Full disclosure, I did not play Samus Returns, so I went straight from Fusion to this game. And my goodness what an insane leap in quality this is. I absolutely love this game.
The controls feel perfect, this game just feels amazing to play, and it takes full advantage of how many movement options you have and integrates the upgrades you pick up in fun ways. Bosses are tough as nails, but are so fun to fight and it's when the controls feel the best, requiring quick reaction time and constant adjustment of Samus's position.
Speaking of Samus, this is her best appearance no question. In every other Metroid game apart from maybe Fusion, that I've played anyway, Samus doesn't have much of a character at all, she's pretty much a blank slate. Here though, she actually feels like a character and one I want to see succeed with her mission, adding to this is the finale of the game which I wouldn't dare spoil here.
Exploring feels pretty nice in Dread. The game is great at naturally guiding you in the right direction and it always feels like progress is being made. Enemies are fun to take down, for the most part.
I do have some little gripes.
Firstly, while the game is very straightforward as long as you stay on the beaten path that the game lays out for you, should you step away from that path and explore, remembering where to go is the worst. The map is information overload to the point where figuring out what's what is kind of overwhelming, even with a key.
Secondly, the map just isn't memorable, it's really cool how the map will change after making progress through the game, but areas just blend together, they don't stick out at all. There's no memorable music either outside of returning tunes and some boss encounters.
And speaking of boss encounters, the Chozo warriors are not fun to fight with how many times they're thrown at you. It gets old.
Finally, EMMI zones. I'm mixed on these. At first, they are very stressful and bring back that feeling of fear from Fusion but even more intense. After a while though, they get kind of old. They're more annoying to get around than they are scary once you're used to how they work. That said, that feeling of narrowly escaping an EMMI and making it out of its zone is unparalleled. On top of that, finally getting the omega beam is super satisfying.
So I do have my gripes with this game, but I do still love it and had a blast with it. It's not my favorite Metroid, that goes to Super, but this is definitely my second favorite!
The controls feel perfect, this game just feels amazing to play, and it takes full advantage of how many movement options you have and integrates the upgrades you pick up in fun ways. Bosses are tough as nails, but are so fun to fight and it's when the controls feel the best, requiring quick reaction time and constant adjustment of Samus's position.
Speaking of Samus, this is her best appearance no question. In every other Metroid game apart from maybe Fusion, that I've played anyway, Samus doesn't have much of a character at all, she's pretty much a blank slate. Here though, she actually feels like a character and one I want to see succeed with her mission, adding to this is the finale of the game which I wouldn't dare spoil here.
Exploring feels pretty nice in Dread. The game is great at naturally guiding you in the right direction and it always feels like progress is being made. Enemies are fun to take down, for the most part.
I do have some little gripes.
Firstly, while the game is very straightforward as long as you stay on the beaten path that the game lays out for you, should you step away from that path and explore, remembering where to go is the worst. The map is information overload to the point where figuring out what's what is kind of overwhelming, even with a key.
Secondly, the map just isn't memorable, it's really cool how the map will change after making progress through the game, but areas just blend together, they don't stick out at all. There's no memorable music either outside of returning tunes and some boss encounters.
And speaking of boss encounters, the Chozo warriors are not fun to fight with how many times they're thrown at you. It gets old.
Finally, EMMI zones. I'm mixed on these. At first, they are very stressful and bring back that feeling of fear from Fusion but even more intense. After a while though, they get kind of old. They're more annoying to get around than they are scary once you're used to how they work. That said, that feeling of narrowly escaping an EMMI and making it out of its zone is unparalleled. On top of that, finally getting the omega beam is super satisfying.
So I do have my gripes with this game, but I do still love it and had a blast with it. It's not my favorite Metroid, that goes to Super, but this is definitely my second favorite!