I want to like this game, but I am, as of right now, going to shelve it for now.
Where to start….i just do not like the Dark Souls/From Software design influence that has come into vogue. I just do not enjoy that level of unforgiveness in games. And this game has it in a few different ways. First and most obvious, the EMMIs. The feel of traversal in Metroid Dread was is really good, but forcing me to deal with these one-touch-and-your-dead enemies just grates, especially as the game goes on and the late game EMMIs have more enhanced abilities. I like exploring the spaces and learning how to navigate them, but the EMMIs change that dynamic and make it more tense. Dreadful, if you will. Which is definitely the intention here, but I just tired of it.
Second, even on Rookie mode, it feels like bosses hit for a ton, making the learning and progression through boss fights more frustrating for me than fun. And Rookie mode was specifically added to make the game easier. It just doesn’t go far enough for me.
Third, I know sequence breaking is a thing you can do here, but unless you know what you’re doing, I feel pretty lead around. I think the intent of the design was to loop you around areas, funneling you to the next thing, while showing you where to progress once you got the next milestone and its associated power. Metroid games, especially my favorite Metroid Fusion, do that in some form, but I don’t know about Dread. I think my nerves get frayed dealing with the first two points that it’s hard to enjoy the in-between parts, which do showcase the excellent controls.
Where to start….i just do not like the Dark Souls/From Software design influence that has come into vogue. I just do not enjoy that level of unforgiveness in games. And this game has it in a few different ways. First and most obvious, the EMMIs. The feel of traversal in Metroid Dread was is really good, but forcing me to deal with these one-touch-and-your-dead enemies just grates, especially as the game goes on and the late game EMMIs have more enhanced abilities. I like exploring the spaces and learning how to navigate them, but the EMMIs change that dynamic and make it more tense. Dreadful, if you will. Which is definitely the intention here, but I just tired of it.
Second, even on Rookie mode, it feels like bosses hit for a ton, making the learning and progression through boss fights more frustrating for me than fun. And Rookie mode was specifically added to make the game easier. It just doesn’t go far enough for me.
Third, I know sequence breaking is a thing you can do here, but unless you know what you’re doing, I feel pretty lead around. I think the intent of the design was to loop you around areas, funneling you to the next thing, while showing you where to progress once you got the next milestone and its associated power. Metroid games, especially my favorite Metroid Fusion, do that in some form, but I don’t know about Dread. I think my nerves get frayed dealing with the first two points that it’s hard to enjoy the in-between parts, which do showcase the excellent controls.