Metroid Dread Review

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00:00:08.240metroid dread first turned up as a rumor

00:00:10.320in 2005. even got a name drop in a

00:00:12.480terminal in metroid prime 3. in many

00:00:14.400ways the metroid dread of 2021 feels

00:00:16.720like that 2d-ish metroid game we should

00:00:18.880have gotten 16 years ago in the metroid

00:00:20.800series was please forgive me here in its

00:00:23.119prime it's not often that we get to say

00:00:24.720this about a game that finally emerges

00:00:26.400from development purgatory but the wait

00:00:28.160has been worth it the epic delay allows

00:00:29.760metroid dread to use the switch's power

00:00:31.439to greatly improve upon what could have

00:00:32.960been accomplished on previous systems

00:00:34.800and makes the supposed conclusion to

00:00:36.480metroid's mainline story a grand finale

00:00:40.650[Music]

00:00:48.000everything works in handheld form but

00:00:49.600you really have to dock the system to

00:00:51.199get the full experience playing on a big

00:00:53.440hd screen reveals sprawling alien scenes

00:00:56.079and diorama-like backgrounds lit by the

00:00:58.320dynamic glow of samus arsenal and

00:01:00.239projectiles also thanks to the switch

00:01:02.719the action never seems to drop a frame

00:01:04.640that's important since combat is

00:01:06.320lightning fast and it just keeps getting

00:01:08.320faster with each power up which in turn

00:01:10.320is great because it reduces the

00:01:11.600backtracking time as you blast through

00:01:13.040fodder and later lets you make

00:01:14.479incredibly short work of once powerful

00:01:16.320enemies it reminds me that one issue i

00:01:18.000had with samus returns on 3ds was the

00:01:20.240cramped controls hindering the new

00:01:21.920twitchy combat here on the switch it's

00:01:23.759much more comfortable and more fun the

00:01:25.840counter system from samus returns which

00:01:27.600requires careful timing to react to

00:01:29.439visual cues from enemies foreshadowing

00:01:31.280their attacks is just one of many moves

00:01:33.040including dashes faints dodges and time

00:01:35.600charge attacks that make up your arsenal

00:01:37.200it's a lot of buttons and the pro

00:01:38.560controller is really your best option if

00:01:40.320i had to beat a boss i docked every time

00:01:42.640on that note these are some of the best

00:01:44.320boss fights i've ever played in any

00:01:46.320action platformer they seemed impossible

00:01:48.159at first but post victory i felt like

00:01:50.079they'd made me a better player

00:01:54.540[Music]

00:01:59.200the emmi or emmy encounters are less

00:02:01.920what you'd think of as boss fights and

00:02:03.439more akin to stealth missions and

00:02:04.880sometimes a manic race to the finish

00:02:06.320line if you were spotted regions of the

00:02:08.080map are essentially one hit kill zones

00:02:09.840which makes another new to metroid

00:02:11.360feature of dread which happens just

00:02:13.040outside these zones extremely welcome

00:02:20.430[Music]

00:02:21.760one aspect of boss fights that i'm not

00:02:23.360too keen on however is the use of

00:02:25.200counters as quick time events in some

00:02:26.879fights it seems like shooting a boss

00:02:28.640hardly matters while you dodge and await

00:02:30.239the next move you can counter i would

00:02:31.840like to be able to use my 200-some stock

00:02:33.760of missiles to just destroy a boss the

00:02:35.680old-fashioned way isn't that why i'm

00:02:37.120collecting all those missile expansions

00:02:38.720in the first place

00:02:45.160[Music]

00:02:50.000speaking of collectibles the many ways

00:02:52.080missile tanks and other upgrades are

00:02:53.599hidden is exquisite in metroid dread

00:02:55.840there are some truly inscrutable puzzles

00:02:57.760that left me thinking about solutions

00:02:59.519even between play sessions and going for

00:03:01.360a 100 run is a great way to experience

00:03:03.519the intricate way this world is put

00:03:04.959together if you aren't a completionist

00:03:06.720you can choose to shoot through metroid

00:03:08.159dread in a shorter burst according to

00:03:09.840the game log i spent 11 hours on my

00:03:11.760first run reaching 82 completion but

00:03:14.080that figure clearly excludes pause

00:03:15.920screens which you might spend a lot of

00:03:17.680time on because the map itself has been

00:03:19.440overhauled and sometimes studying it is

00:03:21.120the only cool you'll have for your next

00:03:22.560step i suspect many will turn to a

00:03:24.319strategy guide for this since metroid

00:03:25.760dread does little to direct you to your

00:03:27.200next objective but i like this change as

00:03:29.200a general opponent of hand holy

00:03:30.720waypoints and especially in a game that

00:03:32.480emphasizes probing every block the map

00:03:34.799and really the world itself isn't static

00:03:36.799it goes through some pretty interesting

00:03:38.239changes increasing the strength of

00:03:39.760enemies and altering access to areas i

00:03:41.920won't spoil the late game tricks for you

00:03:44.400but while they aren't castlevania's

00:03:46.000symphony of the night's upside-down

00:03:47.360castle they are quite cool i'm not sure

00:03:49.440i needed another length of game added

00:03:51.360onto the end of this one anyway dred

00:03:52.959gets the pacing right ramping up the

00:03:54.640speed at which you get new tools and

00:03:56.159access new map areas to something of a

00:03:58.239fever pitch it's up to you to pick a

00:03:59.920point take a breath and backtrack if

00:04:02.239you'd like otherwise you can power

00:04:04.080through to the end though i would not

00:04:05.680recommend it

00:04:07.110[Music]

00:04:12.879nintendo has touted dread as the final

00:04:14.959chapter of at least one metroid

00:04:16.560storyline and whatever you're thinking

00:04:18.079that means it's crazier despite the

00:04:20.639twistier elements of the plot there's

00:04:22.400one series peak moment when samus says

00:04:24.639something completely unexpected it's

00:04:26.240subtle and i can't wait for fans to

00:04:28.000experience it that subtlety extends to

00:04:29.919much of the story as well there isn't a

00:04:31.600lot to it a bounty hunter a bunch of

00:04:33.440innocent but very hungry aliens and of

00:04:35.360course a new reason for how you lost all

00:04:37.280your great weapons and equipment i found

00:04:39.199it refreshing that whereas games like

00:04:40.880other m went way too far in building out

00:04:43.280the world of metroid and ended up with

00:04:44.639some pretty awkward results dredge shuts

00:04:46.639that world out focuses on hunting and

00:04:48.479being hunted the sparse story and

00:04:50.320setting that runs you through

00:04:51.280subterranean oceans jungles laboratories

00:04:53.600and ruins is a much better match for

00:04:55.440that classic metroid feel

00:05:00.240metro dread gets so much right after so

00:05:02.639many years that i'm almost resentful

00:05:04.479that we didn't get the same game and a

00:05:06.080few sequels starting back in 2005 but

00:05:08.320instead i'm incredibly happy to play a

00:05:10.160metroid that is back at the top of its

00:05:12.080game even though it's the latest in a

00:05:13.840decades-old series dread has just enough

00:05:16.560clever innovation to balance its

00:05:18.240familiarity the universally recognizable

00:05:20.560mix of tough puzzles tougher boss fights

00:05:23.039ever-evolving exploration options and

00:05:25.039intricate level design that recent games

00:05:26.800like hollow knight and ori get so right

00:05:28.720has an origin point it's metroid i love

00:05:31.120those games but the metroid team a mix

00:05:33.360of all the new developers now have shown

00:05:35.280that they know how to do it best

00:05:39.900[Music]

00:05:45.280for more from nintendo check out our

00:05:46.720reviews of the switch oled model and

00:05:48.639warioware get it together and for

00:05:50.320everything else stick with ign

00:05:52.340[Music]