Bold, bigger, breathtakingly beautiful and a blast to play, Metroid dread is a fantastic game and one I cannot wait to revisit again in the near future. I am not typically a fan of this genre, despite trying to get into it multiple times with Hollow Knight, SteamWorld and most recently Super Metroid. None of these games I hate, in fact I like Super Metroid but Dread was the first title of its type to make me go "I love this".
The game is simply brilliant to play with some of the best controls and movement in any game Ive played, second only to Mario Odyssey. Like that game what makes this game in part so fun to play is how you can connect moves together smoothly, go into a slide, jump out into a wall jump, then dash and parry an enemy in a quick succession. Everything just flows perfectly with the controls and movement its simply a joy to play. Along with a layer of polish and refinement to the physics and a constantly rewarding gameplay loop makes the gameplay very fluid and addictive.
The games addictiveness is also thanks in part to the excellent pacing, the game feeds out items at a steady pace, not too fast and not too slow. Giving you time to use every item, learn and master it before giving you the next one. This made me never get bored while playing, and when I wasn't playing made me eagerly await the next moment I could.
The atmosphere in this game is pretty varied but all of it is very well done. The gorgeous backgrounds that left me jaw dropped about how they could work on the Switch with everything else going on without performance issues and a great soundtrack done by the Super Metroid composer that adds to the atmospheric experience so much more, especially when playing with headphones on. It was an immensely immersive experience and I can see why Nintendo pushed so hard for people to wear headphones. Every new area you discover it feels like you are unearthing a piece of the mystery that eludes this game and its story. It makes your brain theorize about it and what its all leading up to, especially with the later areas.
Now to address the Emmi in the room, they're great and one of the best parts of the game. The rooms they're in give off a feeling of dread and mystery like I was touching on earlier. Sneaking around these rooms, listening to the ambient soundtrack and the beeping going on is an experience that will leave anyone on the edge of their seat. Then bam you get too cocky, the EMMI notice you and now you're definitely on your seat. This is the best part about the EMMI encounters as it tests your ability with the controls and moveset you are offered. The game is extremely fair with the EMMI, giving you places to run and hide and you can always get away after being seen. If you try caught however the game leaves one last aid for the player, a chance to parry the EMMI and get out of instant death. The favor should always be in the players favor when designing a game and Dread excels at that greatly. From a gameplay aspect the EMMI are great but the "horror" aspect of them is also greatly executed as well with the sound design.
Everything else is pretty well done too, enemies are varied, bosses are so much fun, the area layout feels memorable with the right amount of vagueness to give proper exploration. I only really have 2 minor complaints (moreso nitpicks). I think enemies give too many missiles, when defeating an enemy with a missile it feels like they'll always give you the amount you used and then some, so it just makes sense to always use missiles most of the time. Second nitpick is it doesn't seem like you can disable powerups like in older game which could impact replayability slightly (If I find a way to Ill update the review). Like I said though, nitpicks that really don't diminish from the experience at all.
Metroid Dread is a game that you can tell had a lot of care going into it. I think you could only make something this good if you really knew the genre going in, as this game is the genre near perfected. Even if Metroidvanias aren't your thing or you've never played one, pick up dread, you owe it to yourself and to Mercury System who clearly worked so hard on this.
The game is simply brilliant to play with some of the best controls and movement in any game Ive played, second only to Mario Odyssey. Like that game what makes this game in part so fun to play is how you can connect moves together smoothly, go into a slide, jump out into a wall jump, then dash and parry an enemy in a quick succession. Everything just flows perfectly with the controls and movement its simply a joy to play. Along with a layer of polish and refinement to the physics and a constantly rewarding gameplay loop makes the gameplay very fluid and addictive.
The games addictiveness is also thanks in part to the excellent pacing, the game feeds out items at a steady pace, not too fast and not too slow. Giving you time to use every item, learn and master it before giving you the next one. This made me never get bored while playing, and when I wasn't playing made me eagerly await the next moment I could.
The atmosphere in this game is pretty varied but all of it is very well done. The gorgeous backgrounds that left me jaw dropped about how they could work on the Switch with everything else going on without performance issues and a great soundtrack done by the Super Metroid composer that adds to the atmospheric experience so much more, especially when playing with headphones on. It was an immensely immersive experience and I can see why Nintendo pushed so hard for people to wear headphones. Every new area you discover it feels like you are unearthing a piece of the mystery that eludes this game and its story. It makes your brain theorize about it and what its all leading up to, especially with the later areas.
Now to address the Emmi in the room, they're great and one of the best parts of the game. The rooms they're in give off a feeling of dread and mystery like I was touching on earlier. Sneaking around these rooms, listening to the ambient soundtrack and the beeping going on is an experience that will leave anyone on the edge of their seat. Then bam you get too cocky, the EMMI notice you and now you're definitely on your seat. This is the best part about the EMMI encounters as it tests your ability with the controls and moveset you are offered. The game is extremely fair with the EMMI, giving you places to run and hide and you can always get away after being seen. If you try caught however the game leaves one last aid for the player, a chance to parry the EMMI and get out of instant death. The favor should always be in the players favor when designing a game and Dread excels at that greatly. From a gameplay aspect the EMMI are great but the "horror" aspect of them is also greatly executed as well with the sound design.
Everything else is pretty well done too, enemies are varied, bosses are so much fun, the area layout feels memorable with the right amount of vagueness to give proper exploration. I only really have 2 minor complaints (moreso nitpicks). I think enemies give too many missiles, when defeating an enemy with a missile it feels like they'll always give you the amount you used and then some, so it just makes sense to always use missiles most of the time. Second nitpick is it doesn't seem like you can disable powerups like in older game which could impact replayability slightly (If I find a way to Ill update the review). Like I said though, nitpicks that really don't diminish from the experience at all.
Metroid Dread is a game that you can tell had a lot of care going into it. I think you could only make something this good if you really knew the genre going in, as this game is the genre near perfected. Even if Metroidvanias aren't your thing or you've never played one, pick up dread, you owe it to yourself and to Mercury System who clearly worked so hard on this.