I will keep this as brief as possible and keep spoilers vague and to a minimum.
I went into this with tempered expectations. I really liked Samus Returns, so I had confidence that Mercury Steam could do well and improve on the mechanics and concepts they introduced there. But I wasn't sure quite what they'd end up with, and I was hesitant to expect it to do everything I wanted.
This game's pacing is utterly impeccable. Now, I didn't find terribly many sequence breaks myself - I did fight one boss quite a bit earlier than expected, which was cool, but I didn't find much else. However, even playing this game in the "intended" sequence was extremely satisfying. The game is paced very well and introduces new powers at just the right times I find, with the main path being relatively linear while also allowing you to get lost and have to figure out where to go on your own. Having now finished the game and seeing other's experiences with the game though, it seems there's decent work being done finding more substantial skips and breaks which is very promising to see.
Samus has, hands down, the best-feeling moveset and controls in the entire series to this point. Minutes into the game, I noticed that when you slide off a ledge, you still have a little bit of leeway to jump - that "coyote time" is just one of the many contributing factors that make Samus feel at her absolute best in Dread. Even back with Samus Returns, Mercury Steam had a very clear understanding of how to make Metroid feel good to play, and to see them iterate and improve on that even further with Dread is phenomenal. Of course, they have an even clearer understanding of how to make satisfying, engaging (and admittedly very punishing at times) boss fights.
But even beyond being fantastic to play, this game brings back ideas and concepts from prior Metroids that I genuinely never expected to see. And they handle it with such restraint, holding back on showing you their cards until the precise moment they'll leave the biggest impact, so that when you finally encounter them, it's an incredible and unforgettable moment. This truly feels like a sequel to Fusion, in the best possible ways.
All of that applies to the endgame as well. Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for everything that happens. The final boss is easily the best fight in the entire game, and one of the best bosses in the entire series. Everything that happens during the finale had me losing my mind and cheering at the screen, I was giddy and screaming basically the entire way through. The finale of Dread is such a perfect culmination of what the series has been building up to and it was both everything I wanted and nothing I expected.
I can not wait to see where the series goes from here. However long it takes to get Metroid 6, I'll be there for it. With Mercury Steam at the helm, the series is in good hands.
See you next mission, Samus Aran.
See you next mission, Metroid.
I went into this with tempered expectations. I really liked Samus Returns, so I had confidence that Mercury Steam could do well and improve on the mechanics and concepts they introduced there. But I wasn't sure quite what they'd end up with, and I was hesitant to expect it to do everything I wanted.
This game's pacing is utterly impeccable. Now, I didn't find terribly many sequence breaks myself - I did fight one boss quite a bit earlier than expected, which was cool, but I didn't find much else. However, even playing this game in the "intended" sequence was extremely satisfying. The game is paced very well and introduces new powers at just the right times I find, with the main path being relatively linear while also allowing you to get lost and have to figure out where to go on your own. Having now finished the game and seeing other's experiences with the game though, it seems there's decent work being done finding more substantial skips and breaks which is very promising to see.
Samus has, hands down, the best-feeling moveset and controls in the entire series to this point. Minutes into the game, I noticed that when you slide off a ledge, you still have a little bit of leeway to jump - that "coyote time" is just one of the many contributing factors that make Samus feel at her absolute best in Dread. Even back with Samus Returns, Mercury Steam had a very clear understanding of how to make Metroid feel good to play, and to see them iterate and improve on that even further with Dread is phenomenal. Of course, they have an even clearer understanding of how to make satisfying, engaging (and admittedly very punishing at times) boss fights.
But even beyond being fantastic to play, this game brings back ideas and concepts from prior Metroids that I genuinely never expected to see. And they handle it with such restraint, holding back on showing you their cards until the precise moment they'll leave the biggest impact, so that when you finally encounter them, it's an incredible and unforgettable moment. This truly feels like a sequel to Fusion, in the best possible ways.
All of that applies to the endgame as well. Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for everything that happens. The final boss is easily the best fight in the entire game, and one of the best bosses in the entire series. Everything that happens during the finale had me losing my mind and cheering at the screen, I was giddy and screaming basically the entire way through. The finale of Dread is such a perfect culmination of what the series has been building up to and it was both everything I wanted and nothing I expected.
I can not wait to see where the series goes from here. However long it takes to get Metroid 6, I'll be there for it. With Mercury Steam at the helm, the series is in good hands.
See you next mission, Samus Aran.
See you next mission, Metroid.