Worth the dreadful 19-year wait
Only available on the Nintendo Switch
Metroid has always been one of Nintendo’s niche franchises. It had a devoted following since the NES days and to this day people are still playing the various kinds of Metroid games. Even with the devout following of this franchise, it was never one of Nintendo’s best sellers and will always be pushed into the sidelines for their bigger titles like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon. But now it appears that Nintendo is giving the Metroid franchise a boost and making it go big this time around with “Metroid Dread.”
When I was younger, I had the chance to play through the end “Metroid: Samus Returns” and absolutely loved it that turned me into a Metroid fan. So, when the announcement of “Metroid Dread” came out last E3 2021, I was pretty hyped about the game and the footage they showed off looked phenomenal.
Metroid Dread is the 5th game in the mainline franchise and the end of the Metroid storyline. It is a direct sequel to Metroid Fusion where it revolves around the X Parasite – a symbiotic lifeform that enables it to copy and take the forms of other living beings that were assimilated into its DNA making them terrifying enemies for Samus, the hero in the game.
It started out with Samus getting news that the X Parasite was found on planet ZDR and decides to head out to find the source of the X Parasite. While in ZDR, Samus was attacked by a mysterious figure called Raven Beak. This then became the catalyst of the story as Samus has to find out who this Raven Beak is and its connection to the X Parasite. The basic storyline of this action-adventure affair is how to get stronger in order to progress and get bits of information from cutscenes and save room conversation with Samus’ AI named ADAM. Is’ a simple premise and quite interesting even though you need to read a bit more about the previous Metroid game stories to get an idea of Samus’ backstory.
Now, for the meat of Metroid Dread which is the gameplay. It is quite phenomenal. The combat and exploration scenes portray Samus as a badass who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. Her arsenal consists of different Beam weapons, missiles, bombs, and some newer abilities that allow her to traverse areas in a satisfying way. An example is the Phase Shift which allows her to teleport around the room in order to dodge an opponent’s deadly attack or to allow for extra airtime to reach a gap that could lead to a power-up. All of Samus’ weapons and gadgets play an important role in the story and allow her to get stronger and make the player feel like they are getting stronger alongside her. The parry mechanic that was first introduced in Metroid, Samus Returns, makes a return with a significant upgrade. You can now parry enemies while moving, in the air, or while even hanging from walls. They also made it more satisfying and more of a spectacle once you are able to pull it off on bigger enemies and bosses.
Exploration is great in that it allows you to get lost in the game absorbing its atmosphere and be able to figure out various environmental puzzles that will lead to extremely helpful power-ups such as Missile upgrades or Energy Tanks. My favorite type of puzzles is the Shinespark puzzles. Shinespark is a technique that you can learn in the game where Samus becomes an unstoppable force once you set it off. The Shinespark puzzles require precision and skill and once you are able to execute them flawlessly, it just feels great, and the rewards are well worth the effort.
The gimmick of Metroid Dread is with these new types of enemies called E.M.M.I. They are indestructible robots that will chase down Samus when entering certain areas in the game. The E.M.M.I.s are exceptionally agile and extremely ruthless. You are given only two chances to escape their clutches. Two chances sound a bit scant, but you would need to time those chances in order to escape and the timing on those E.M.M.I. captures are extremely precise that it feels like pure luck when you are able to escape an E.M.M.I.
I would also say that Metroid Dread has some of the best boss battles in Nintendo’s long history of making games. They will always challenge you and never let up. This will cause you to fail multiple times until you are able to figure out the timing and patterns of the bosses once you get enough attempts.
I have a few nitpicks with the game, but not enough to affect what I think of it. I think that” Metroid Dread” is one of my Game of the Year games for 2021. I do hope that this game sells well and blows away every expectation that Nintendo will consider it as one of its premier titles alongside Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon.
I highly suggest everyone with a Nintendo Switch to get this game if they are up for a challenge and to experience a masterpiece in game design. This game is something that everyone should experience and find out why fans of the series are very devoted to the Metroid franchise
Score: 10/10
Gabriel Craig Hernal Rivera
Gabriel Craig Hernal Rivera is an Engineer. A graduate of De LaSalle University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering. He currently works at Accenture U.S. in Metro San Francisco as a Training and Development Specialist. Outside of work, Gabriel enjoys exercising, watching various TV series programs, and especially video games. He also enjoys watching videos regarding Game Design, Game Theories, and in-depth reviews on video games to get a better understanding of the current trends in gaming.
