| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch | 9.20 |
| Overall | 9.20 |
|
It has been over 15 years since the last original 2D Metroid game came out which was Fusion. In that time we have seen remakes and a very strange side game from Team Ninja but never the true Metroid 5, until now with Dread. Picking up after the events of Fusion, Dread puts Samus into her largest 2D adventure to date bringing the best of the old with some quality new ideas that make Dread the best 2D Metroid since Zero Mission. Everything that makes Metroid so great is present here like the constant stream of upgrades that slowly unlock an interconnected world. The fast paced action and movement. The incredible bosses, the multitude of hidden secrets to find and so on. What really sets Dread apart is the fluid movement and new move set Samus has which makes controlling her better than it has ever been. Her run speed is at a perfect setting, fast enough to feel like you can quickly get around and still have full control to engage enemies. There is a slide button now which keeps her momentum as she gets under a small space, no need to stop and turn into a ball for these spots. Her jumping and wall jumping is more responsive than ever before, a far better implementation than the difficult to perform wall jump in Super Metroid. How you move in a Metroid like game is key to enjoyment as getting around environments is the core of the gameplay and this game make that movement an absolute joy. Dread is developed by Mercury Steam who had what feels like a test run with Samus Returns. In that game they added a counter melee attack which is refined and works brilliantly in this game. The counter can be performed while moving full speed meaning there is no need to stop your momentum, the result is extremely fast paced action that allows great aiming and defense while not slowing down the game. The counter allows a super shot after executing which if it kills an enemy nets you more recovery items creating a sort of risk reward mechanic. Samus has a particularly excellent arsenal, every single attack, gadget and power is done without needing to switch to anything in a menu. Basically every button on the controller does something, whether it’s shooting a missile, activating speed boost, using the grapple beam or activating one of the many new aeion powers Samus can earn. These Aeion powers have their own power meter, the best of the power being a phase shift which is basically a teleport dodge, again adding to the repertoire of advanced movement Samus has. Without question no Metroid game, and I would argue very few if any Metroidvanias control as well as this game. The title Dread refers to the stealth sections where Samus is hunted by robots called EMMI, who are invincible one shot killing machines that are unlike anything this series as seen. I suspect some might not like these sections; to me it added a nice change of pace and it was always used in the right time to change things up. These hunt zones are designated to specific areas in each location, do not worry Metroid didn’t turn into some stalker game, these sections are over in a few minutes. They provide bursts of thrilling escapes, and tense filled moments as you need to use your skills or speed to get away from them. Be prepared to die A LOT, if they grab Samus you have an extremely hard counter window which can save you, most likely you will fail and die instantly. This resets you to the last door you used to enter the zone, trust me almost no progress will be lost. It’s more like a super meat boy style of restart than a true game over. At some point you will find a core in these areas that grant Samus a super weapon used to finally kill the robot of that area. The method is always the same, which is a shame cause these could have been unique boss battles but instead the only real challenge is figuring out where to stand as you have to have enough time to charge this super weapon before the robot kills you. Once the robot is gone that whole area acts like any other Metroid level where you can explore to your hearts content. It’s a good gameplay wrinkle, one that never overstays its welcome and provides some needed challenge. What makes a Metroid game truly stand out is the level design, Dread is middle of the pack in this regard. Fusion was a linear Metroid game that forced the player into totally separated zones, they would lock and unlock when the game would want you to go to a certain spot. I much prefer the openness of Super and Zero Mission. Dread takes elements of both to create a world where you are always moving to a specific goal but have more freedom than fusion to explore. I actually do think the level design is brilliant in its map layout, I can’t imagine the complexities of creating an interconnected world this huge (it’s the biggest map of any Metroid game) and make it so that the game always pushes the player forward, while feeling like you are still exploring. As you travel the usual blocked paths keep you from getting lost because you don’t have skills yet, after a new power this game usually shuffles Samus into a sort of one way room so that you learn to use the skill and find the way to the area that will require that skill to advance forward. Sometimes this path is literally walled off meaning you have no choice but to advance forward down the only way you can and other times it’s almost hidden which can lead to the player being lost for a big chunk of time. I have experienced both and it’s kind of confusing as to why this happens. For example after getting the morph ball there are a ton of previous locations you passed that make use of it, so it’s an exciting item to get and many players like myself want to immediately hunt for secrets, but that usually means I blow right past the intended main route. Once you are out of the intended main path it’s like being in a dark woods with no light, yeah I found some missile upgrades but I am totally lost on where to go next. I would have to retrace my steps back to where I found the upgrade and slowly piece together where it looks I am supposed to go and sometimes it’s hidden behind a false wall, so if you miss it, oops. Now this is all part of Metroid but I feel the more open Metroid games make it so that finding the next main location is discovered from going out of your way to find upgrades and revisiting those places you remembered. In contrast this game wants you to go only down its predetermined path and in order to explore Samus needs to take a detour in which the only way back is to find the main road. This leads to some issues with how the game map is opened up, using Super as an example, it usually brings you to a new location and for the next hour or so you will explore the entirety of this new area, basically “here is this new location, have fun.” In Dread you go to a new location only to have a small section available to you, you do some fun activities, moving lava around, fighting bosses and so on but you are then corralled into a teleported or transport to another area where you get to explore a small section of that one and so on. You will go back and forth through these major areas many many times slowly opening a piece of one, a piece of the other and so on, never really getting the freedom to simply discover what the whole map has to offer until the end. This is exacerbated by the really long load times which makes every jump from one area to the next a chore. So I have a love hate relationship with the game world because on one hand it’s incredibly complex with so many great obstacles to over come, the best grunts the series has so it never feels like I am cruising through (until you get the screw attack of course then you might as well be god), and that constant feeling of progression. But sometimes I just want to see what a map has to offer without the invisible hands of the devs shoving me to the main path, which again is excellent, but exploring should be easier to do. That said there is plenty to find when you explore, the speed boost and shine spark puzzles are back and better than ever. These are puzzles that require full mastery of Samus’ abilities to chain her speed boost into ways that seem impossible but have a genius solution. I fear that those unfamiliar with the shine spark puzzles will totally be lost as this game doesn’t do a good job of explaining it at all. That’s a shame because the best moments outside the main campaign is figuring out how the hell to get that energy capsule that in a spot that is totally unreachable… until you realize you need to start boosting from another screen down multiple paths chaining then all together, I love it. There are fewer puzzles than in zero mission which was basically shine spark puzzle heaven but still enough to satisfy me. Boss battles are show stoppers in Dread, these are the best battles the series has ever had. It’s not the most varied though, sadly some bosses get reused in the end, but the actual combat is complex, exciting and most importantly difficult but fair. Dread has the best difficulty curve of the series, I died more in this game than most any Metroid game (obviously not counting the first) mainly in the dread sections and during these great bosses. The bosses all have exploitable patterns but it does take time to learn them, this first attempt will usually result in a quick painful death. For a while I would wonder how the hell do I fight this thing and then it all clicks, each attempt getting better with the timing and learning the pattern. By the end I would usually kill the boss without being touched. The last few bosses really push the limits of players skill, I was shocked to find bosses this aggressive and with timing more akin to a souls or DMC game than a Nintendo game. Normally I don’t talk about an in game map but something has to be said about the map this game has as it’s got more information than any game map I have ever seen. Every room is color coded to give information on whether it’s a standard room, a lava room, a cold room and so on. Every area you travel colors in the map and any time you see any upgrade, obstacle, door, whether you can reach it or not it gets added to the map. You can then filter all the icons by type, so if you want to see every block that can be broken with a morph ball bomb the map will highlight everyone, this is great when you get a new power and want to quickly see where you can use it. On top of all this you can place multiple markers of your own. Some how with a map this detailed it’s still possible to get lost, not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, it does mean the map isn’t cheating for you, finding hidden paths is still key. The Switch is really showing it’s age at this point, Dread doesn’t even run at 1080p docked and it’s not like this is some mega 3D open world game, it’s a side scroller. Now it’s still a pretty one with popping colors, animated living background and running at a great 60fps but it has this fuzzy look because of the low resolution on my TV. I am not a big fan of the environment aesthetics as a lot of the game is metallic base like locations. It’s not until later on when you see more interesting organic environments but even then I feel the locations lack the personality of past Metroid games. I do love when the perspective is changed during specific sequences, it makes this feel a lot more dynamic than the usual 2D side scroller. Metroid has a history of memorable musical tracks, when I think of certain locations in Super the music pops into my head. Dread does not have any memorable music, I went through the whole game without connecting to any of the tracks. It’s mostly background mood music outside of the stealth sections which has its own haunting theme but I wouldn’t call it great. There are some call backs to old themes and that’s really the only time the music shines. Did you know Metroid has a story?! It’s actually been building up since the first game, it’s not the best story but it at least as continuity. This game picks up after fusion, the X parasite thought to be gone is found on a planet and Samus has to go destroy it. This game explores the origins of Samus and her relationship with the Chozo, it’s easily the best story of the series with a thrilling ending that has many talking and will develop quite an art following. It takes a good 15 hours to 100%, once finished there is a hard mode that unlocks for added replay value. Metroid is probably the game most associated with speed running with sequence breaking becoming a key aspect of this genre. Dread brings back sequence breaking much to the delight of the speed runners. I have never partaken in speed running a Metroid game but it’s great to see this game have added depth for those that want it. These days there is a sea of Metroid clones, some good, some bad, all owe their existence to this franchise. It’s only fitting to have the queen show everyone else how it’s done. Metroid is back! I wish the world design, environments and music were better; it’s what holds Dread back from beating out Super and Zero Mission for me which are still tops for 2D Metroid. That said it’s right behind zero mission as one of the best in the franchise, an absolute return to form. Never has Samus felt better to control, never has it been this challenging. Mercury Steam should be proud, this is their best game and it hopefully starts a resurgence for Metroid which has not gotten the attention it should from Nintendo. |
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Posted by Dvader Fri, 05 Nov 2021 17:10:50
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