Metroid Dread is an exquisite video game. In true Nintendo style, so much of Dread is manicured and polished to perfection. It leaves little wonder why the genre is half named after this series. ZDR is beautiful, basically the entire map looks great, and it's complemented by nearly-seamless 60fps performance (one late-game ability is the exception). The tempo of Dread is thrilling as well, ever increasing through the end game. I had difficulty putting it down multiple evenings as the clip of unlocks, possibilities, and revelations reached a fever pitch. The map design is usually a masterclass as well, nudging players towards objectives while convincing them they did it themselves. I adored the exploration in Dread. Each new area was a treat to learn, then flesh out, then master. I spent a non-trivial amount of time lost in new locations, and even more time thinking I had hit a dead end only to finally reveal a new route.
You can't master areas, or get far in Dread at all, without dealing with EMMI zones. These areas are fantastic, and their integration into player progression is amazing. After carefully (recklessly?) pushing through each EMMI zone, scared all the time that those horrid shrieks will mean your doom, you get to turn the tides and bring the fight to them??? Ugh, so good. Pre-EMMI, Samus feels like a helpless puppy roaming aimlessly through each region, hoping to strike gold down a corridor before some powerful foe shreds you. In EMMI zones, this sense is at the highest, and it forced me away from the map and to just run into whatever obstacle lays beyond the zone. After defeating EMMIs, it feels like you've genuinely conquered the area and are substantially stronger wandering around than when you entered. It's such a badass cycle every time. I would play the whole game with just them as bosses, I think.
Which is good news, because Dread is light on non-EMMI bosses. I think the game's boss balance is still about right, and the non-EMMI intermediate bosses help fill the gap as well. I also found most proper bosses to be great fun! I've seen complaints leveled at this game for its reliance on patterns and parries in boss fights. I didn't feel Dread balanced these in a negative fashion until the final boss. I probably should've come back to fight it after finding more collectibles (only got 51% at credits), but I didn't want to. Turns out my alternative was just... hope you have the right resources at the right time. I fought that dude probably 50 times over at least 3 hours before winning. Big sad, and clear skill issue, but I also would've liked to be able to do tangible damage to him instead of waiting for a phase trigger to appear. That experience, as the last in any run, really highlights some of the few weaknesses Dread has on the mechanical and game design fronts. I didn't mind them at all, up to that point.
There's one more big part of this game I enjoyed, which is: good god, there are so many upgrades lmao. My only other metroidvania at this point is Hollow Knight, which has many possible upgrades but relatively few permanent ones. Dread is the opposite, cramming a million options into the Switch's control scheme. Upgrades are varied enough to provide a nice little dopamine rush every time, though it becomes somewhat of a hollow rush once you realize just how common they are. I probably forgot a few by end game, but I really expected there would be maybe a quarter of the upgrades I actually wound up with in this game. You are a machine by the end, and nearly all upgrades grant access to something new in the world. Very cool.
Last quick note--the story of this game is pretty fun, too! My first Metroid game, but I enjoyed the twists and one or two things genuinely surprised me. Very cool. Also, who is Adam lol still confused on that.
I thought Metroid Dread was a risky purchase. $60 for a <10hr 2D platformer with a quasi-horror stealth element kept me away from it for a while. I'm so glad I finally caved and got it. Dread is extremely fun to play, and I was itching to get home and turn my Switch on every day while running through it. Also, don't let those short playtimes fool you--I spent hours searching the map, there's no way that's included on the in-game clock. Boss depth and inflexibility (alongside some backtracking feeling more contrived than natural) are my only complaints. A damn good ride, and one every Switch owner should take.
You can't master areas, or get far in Dread at all, without dealing with EMMI zones. These areas are fantastic, and their integration into player progression is amazing. After carefully (recklessly?) pushing through each EMMI zone, scared all the time that those horrid shrieks will mean your doom, you get to turn the tides and bring the fight to them??? Ugh, so good. Pre-EMMI, Samus feels like a helpless puppy roaming aimlessly through each region, hoping to strike gold down a corridor before some powerful foe shreds you. In EMMI zones, this sense is at the highest, and it forced me away from the map and to just run into whatever obstacle lays beyond the zone. After defeating EMMIs, it feels like you've genuinely conquered the area and are substantially stronger wandering around than when you entered. It's such a badass cycle every time. I would play the whole game with just them as bosses, I think.
Which is good news, because Dread is light on non-EMMI bosses. I think the game's boss balance is still about right, and the non-EMMI intermediate bosses help fill the gap as well. I also found most proper bosses to be great fun! I've seen complaints leveled at this game for its reliance on patterns and parries in boss fights. I didn't feel Dread balanced these in a negative fashion until the final boss. I probably should've come back to fight it after finding more collectibles (only got 51% at credits), but I didn't want to. Turns out my alternative was just... hope you have the right resources at the right time. I fought that dude probably 50 times over at least 3 hours before winning. Big sad, and clear skill issue, but I also would've liked to be able to do tangible damage to him instead of waiting for a phase trigger to appear. That experience, as the last in any run, really highlights some of the few weaknesses Dread has on the mechanical and game design fronts. I didn't mind them at all, up to that point.
There's one more big part of this game I enjoyed, which is: good god, there are so many upgrades lmao. My only other metroidvania at this point is Hollow Knight, which has many possible upgrades but relatively few permanent ones. Dread is the opposite, cramming a million options into the Switch's control scheme. Upgrades are varied enough to provide a nice little dopamine rush every time, though it becomes somewhat of a hollow rush once you realize just how common they are. I probably forgot a few by end game, but I really expected there would be maybe a quarter of the upgrades I actually wound up with in this game. You are a machine by the end, and nearly all upgrades grant access to something new in the world. Very cool.
Last quick note--the story of this game is pretty fun, too! My first Metroid game, but I enjoyed the twists and one or two things genuinely surprised me. Very cool. Also, who is Adam lol still confused on that.
I thought Metroid Dread was a risky purchase. $60 for a <10hr 2D platformer with a quasi-horror stealth element kept me away from it for a while. I'm so glad I finally caved and got it. Dread is extremely fun to play, and I was itching to get home and turn my Switch on every day while running through it. Also, don't let those short playtimes fool you--I spent hours searching the map, there's no way that's included on the in-game clock. Boss depth and inflexibility (alongside some backtracking feeling more contrived than natural) are my only complaints. A damn good ride, and one every Switch owner should take.