In many ways, Metroid is a franchise I've always wanted to get into but kinda couldn't. I enjoyed Metroid Prime a lot and I did like reading up on the lore of the franchise, but Samus... I dunno. Whenever I tried to explore fan stuff, I would just be inundated with ~sexy Zero Suit Samus~ art and everything about Other M and it just seemed like the franchise would never be the version of it I was interested in. Despite her non-gendered armor, she'd get treated as this sex object and kind of tone and well-handled emotional core I was looking for wouldn't happen. I would never Get the love people have for Samus Aran.

WELL. THAT CERTAINLY CHANGED.

This game is carefully manufactured by people who LOVE Samus and LOVE the universe and want to drive it towards new directions. The storytelling is almost all visual and environmental. Its devastatingly hard, but you're always learning patterns and improving your tactics and getting just a little bit better every single time you die. Samus gets an emotional arc built on the roots of the story, without turning her into a "cuter" more "marketable" anime wife.

And she's just fucking COOL. I feel cool playing as her, I feel thrilled by the dangers she encountered, and I'm a fucking lesbian for Samus Aran. Completely won me over as one of the greatest protagonists in all of video games. I'm so thrilled to finally fall in love with this universe and I can't wait to explore it more and see where it goes from here.