Staff Writer Jason Ryer
“Metroid Dread” is a game that has been in development for 14 years with the project having to be stopped for technical limitations. It is a direct sequel to “Metroid Fusion” and picks up after the end of “Fusion.”
Bounty hunter Samus Aran gets a radio call that the X parasite, the main antagonist of “Fusion,” has been spotted on planet ZDR. When she arrives, ZDR is much more that it originally seems to be, and she encounters a cloaked lifeform. They battle it out. Samus loses and wakes up in the depths of the planet. “Dread” expects the player to have some basic understanding of the series as a lot of mainstay abilities from past games return main “Super Metroid”. There are some new abilities for players to interact with as well such as the Phantom Cloak and homing missiles to add to the mix.
The game is challenging and expects the player to be open minded with how they play the game. The overall completion time varies based on the difficulty setting and if the player is trying to 100% clear the game. Seven to 12 hours is a normal completion time for a first playthrough of the game. The enemies on normal mode felt like I was playing a hard mode playthrough as there are a decent number of patterns to learn in the game.
Bosses are frequent and are just as hard with some expecting you to use two of the game’s most used skills, the slide and counter. The slide allows Samus some of the same moveability as the Morph ball, but it can be used in boss battles to change the position Samus faces the boss. The counter allows Samus if she times it right to deflect an attack back at the enemy or boss.
When it comes to boss encounters the environments come into play most of the time. In regard to one such boss, I found myself breaking tentacles to power a generator to grapple to a conveyor to the other side and power the second one before I could fire missiles while dodging attacks from the boss. The only encounters that Samus can’t win without a plot device are the E.M.M.I. fights which require the player to avoid E.M.M.I. robots while in the zone until she kills a monster that will allow her to take down an E.M.M.I., which may hold one of her lost powerups.
The negatives for “Dread” are interesting as the game is very engaging to run through. The foreground art is not as elaborate as the moving background pieces. This is probably so that the player doesn’t get distracted by it. Another flaw “Metroid Dread” faces versus “Metroidvania,” “Metroid” plus “Castlevania” clones like “Hollow Knight” is map design.
“Dread” has a complex map that opens as you explore the eight similar but different areas of ZDR making it very easy to get lost in the game even with the ability to put in custom navigation points. Once the player has begun to understand the map, it becomes easier to come and go as the player picks up new power ups to unlock” new routes.
In conclusion, “Dread” does a good job in overall expanding the franchise and taking the risks needed to get more players interested in the series. The game has some bumps on the road as you play it. Once the player overcomes the steep learning cover; the rewards are worth it. The game encourages exploration and experimentation at time to get the most out of it, which becomes a fun ride over some time.
Grade: B
