I've never really been that into 2D Metroid. Honestly, the first Metroid Prime game is really the only one I could say I had any strong affinity for. I played Super Metroid, understood why it's important and revolutionary, and also had a perfectly OK time with it. Fusion felt basically the same way, "Yeah this is fine but not my thing." I didn't like the movement, I didn't like how items were hidden in what felt like arbitrary ways, I didn't really care about the bosses, I kind of just assumed I wouldn't get anything out of the other entries in the series. That being said, it was hard not to get excited for Dread.

I mean, it's the first non-remake, non-spinoff Metroid since Other M, the first real progress in the Metroid saga, a whole new location, a new story, new enemies, on the Switch, look at that fucking suit! I felt that hype, and to be honest I wanted to be proven wrong about Metroid. I like metroidvanias, a lot, and if this is a whole-ass new entry from the series that created the genre, well I'd be a fool to not at least try.

God damn, this is some good-ass Metroid. Like, you don't need to be a fan to recognize how well this does the Metroid formula. Feels buttery smooth to play, each new movement option is incredibly fun and engaging, and the pace that all the power-ups come in at is basically perfect. When people described how Metroid games make you go from powerless to completely powerful and in control, I understood what they meant but never felt that in any previous entry, but I felt it immensely here. You get one power-up, feel like you can take on everything now, but there's always something else stopping you, not in a way that feels disappointing, but incredibly encouraging. Like, "damn if this game is fun to play with only this many power-ups, I can't imagine how it's gonna feel when I have everything!" The pace in general, how you move between different areas and are exposed to new obstacles all the time, the way the game gets you to frequently revisit old areas without feeling like a retread (it helps how quickly you can make it from one end of the map to the other), like I said, smooth as hell.

This game also really does right by Samus's character and story arc, speaking as someone who has a sort general understanding of the Metroid story up to this point. The way she reacts to bosses in cutscenes, she really sells this feeling of being in complete control of the situation, never losing confidence, but not afraid to make things personal either. There's a reason so much of the talk around this game has been "holy shit Samus is so cool". The story was incredibly solid the whole time, especially everything in the second half of the game that basically had me hooting and hollering at the screen.

I feel like I "get" Metroid in a way I didn't with previous games, to the extent that I feel like I could go back to older Metroid games and appreciate them more. A lot of the things people talk about Metroid excelling at, I felt here. I mean, it's the first time I've 100%'d a 2D Metroid, I might even go for the under 4 hours run. Shout out to Mercury Steam for going from Lords of Shadow to THIS.

Reviewed on Oct 16, 2021


1 Comment


2 years ago

The first paragraph is almost word-for-word how I felt about Metroid prior to Dread and it also really won me in a way I was not expecting.