Metroid Dread is one of the most unique games to come out of a first-party Nintendo IP in a very long time. I love when Nintendo does something different with my favorite franchises, and here is a title that has really changed up gameplay and storytelling in its own way that makes this title really stand out. However, thats not to say it does not come with some of the flaws of previous Metroid games.
Firstly, the gameplay loop is simply fantastic. Explore dark caverns, fight increasingly difficult bosses and upgrade your weapons to become as strong as you can. That is inevitable with any Metroid game and you will certainly get that same satisfaction from this title. Puzzles are fun, but challenging enough to make players feel that gratification from beating one; bosses are hard and while a few are confusing, it is easy to figure them out once you understand their attack patterns; and upgrades always feel earned and enjoyable additions to your arsenal. However, the weakest point of the gameplay loop (and by extension, the gameplay loop of all other Metroid-Vanias with similar problems) is the feeling of getting lost, which happened a lot during my trek with this game. Not just once, but multiple times throughout my experience with this game did I feel as though I was making steady progress and then suddenly felt as though I was wandering around aimlessly for an hour. I understand that the exploration is part of the point of the game, and I certainly do not want that taken away from players, some way of telling the player where to go or what to do without explicitly telling them is part of good game design. Many times, vital enterances or exits are blocked by hidden walls that have little-to-no visual differences from other walls. There is no way to explicitly tell the difference until way into the latter part of the game, and by then you feel entirely burnt out by the hidden wall mechanic. While I love secrets, and exploring is what makes the genre of the title so strong, its hard to say the game is perfect when I had to look up multiple walkthroughs simply to find out where I needed to go next.
Finally, with my only complaint of the game over, the presentation of the game can truly shine. This game is downright gorgeous. Environments look so real and lived in, creatures look like they breathe and eat as though they are real animals and even something as miniscule as cave ambience feels like it was perfected to a science. Additionally, these excellent looks are backed by beautiful sound design and tracks. Music feels mysterious, yet alluring and each individual sound adds that bit more tension. Just hearing an EMMI click as it attempts to hunt you down sends shivers down my spine. MercurySteam really went all out to earn that "Dread" subtitle, because each sound and enemy design in this game is absolutely horrifying.
Conclusively, I think Metroid Dread is an almost flawless game, with just a few minor annoyances that kept me from keeping up with it all the time. It did start to fall to the side as I got a bit fed up with more difficult bosses, such as the final boss, and left me annoyed by excessive backtracking. But, the morbid curiosity of what was going on within the depths of ZDR, kept me coming back for the thrilling narrative ride of a lifetime.
Firstly, the gameplay loop is simply fantastic. Explore dark caverns, fight increasingly difficult bosses and upgrade your weapons to become as strong as you can. That is inevitable with any Metroid game and you will certainly get that same satisfaction from this title. Puzzles are fun, but challenging enough to make players feel that gratification from beating one; bosses are hard and while a few are confusing, it is easy to figure them out once you understand their attack patterns; and upgrades always feel earned and enjoyable additions to your arsenal. However, the weakest point of the gameplay loop (and by extension, the gameplay loop of all other Metroid-Vanias with similar problems) is the feeling of getting lost, which happened a lot during my trek with this game. Not just once, but multiple times throughout my experience with this game did I feel as though I was making steady progress and then suddenly felt as though I was wandering around aimlessly for an hour. I understand that the exploration is part of the point of the game, and I certainly do not want that taken away from players, some way of telling the player where to go or what to do without explicitly telling them is part of good game design. Many times, vital enterances or exits are blocked by hidden walls that have little-to-no visual differences from other walls. There is no way to explicitly tell the difference until way into the latter part of the game, and by then you feel entirely burnt out by the hidden wall mechanic. While I love secrets, and exploring is what makes the genre of the title so strong, its hard to say the game is perfect when I had to look up multiple walkthroughs simply to find out where I needed to go next.
Finally, with my only complaint of the game over, the presentation of the game can truly shine. This game is downright gorgeous. Environments look so real and lived in, creatures look like they breathe and eat as though they are real animals and even something as miniscule as cave ambience feels like it was perfected to a science. Additionally, these excellent looks are backed by beautiful sound design and tracks. Music feels mysterious, yet alluring and each individual sound adds that bit more tension. Just hearing an EMMI click as it attempts to hunt you down sends shivers down my spine. MercurySteam really went all out to earn that "Dread" subtitle, because each sound and enemy design in this game is absolutely horrifying.
Conclusively, I think Metroid Dread is an almost flawless game, with just a few minor annoyances that kept me from keeping up with it all the time. It did start to fall to the side as I got a bit fed up with more difficult bosses, such as the final boss, and left me annoyed by excessive backtracking. But, the morbid curiosity of what was going on within the depths of ZDR, kept me coming back for the thrilling narrative ride of a lifetime.