Metroid Dread Is The Best Game For The Switch Of 2021

Among the best Nintendo series, Metroid it is the one with the most irregular trajectory, marked by ups, downs and absences, sometimes triumphant returns, sometimes setbacks. Only for this issue Metroid dread this is already something that fans should celebrate.

Metroid Dread closes several loops: it closes the arc of 2D games in the series that began on the NES in 1986, and the last title, chronologically speaking, was Metroid Fusion, released for the Game Boy Advance 19 years ago, in 2002. It also closes up Nintendo’s long absence from desktop consoles, whose last game was Metroid Other M, released for Wii in 2010.

Pay attention to initial sales dataMetroid Dread may also be better known to the general public, breaking the familiar style of a “franchise” less popular than giants like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda.

Metroid Dread has also already established itself as Switch’s Game of the Year. While the console had a good year 2021 with some weighty titles (like Monster Hunter Rise), it lacked “that game” and Metroid Dread takes that position.

Aside from Nintendo’s hybrid console, Dread could also figure on the game of the year rosters considering all current platforms, and if a subgenre known as Metroidvania has gained popularity among gamers, with great titles like Hollow Knight, Ori, and Monster Boy in Damned Kingdom, Metroid Dread is designed to remind you who really is the benchmark in this type of game.

quickly and accurately

Metroid Dread is a game in the image of the main character: fast and accurate. The game does not waste time, contextualizing the past and telling a new story. The player takes control and already understands how agile, accurate and “correct” Samus is, that is, she responds to controls and responds to platforms and walls without being too light or heavy. Dread’s controls are so accurate and correct that it seems strange to the player to return to the previous game in the series or other metroidvanias.

This smoothness is also present during the game. Unlike Metroid Fusion, which disappointed with its controlled gameplay limiting player progress, Metroid Dread does it right. Computer Adam returns to Dread, but this time is limited to the story of evolution and the discoveries that Samus makes during her journey, at best suggesting where the player should go to continue the adventure.

Metroid Dread’s game / level design shines. There are no tedious back and forth movements, the solutions are always close to the player, and they are not linear to the point that they are obvious or in close proximity. You can get lost at some point, and Horror can infuriate younger players accustomed to guided and explanatory gameplay, the game requires constant attention and real willingness to explore as hidden blocks and walls swarm in the various sectors present.

Playing over and over

Metroid Dread forces players to return to the screen less and less often: the game is over. If Samus is agile and starts with jumping and sliding as dodge options, the early enemies are already dealing some damage and are aggressive. Mastering Samus’s counterattack (inherited from Samus Returns in Metroid II: 3DS) turns out to be very important.

The bosses are challenging, with multiple attack phases and schemes that will require quick reflexes. Some of them are not hard to read, but in others, the player will receive an unforgettable beating, only to realize that the fight could have been easier if the detail had been noticed earlier.

The source of the game’s ending, EMMIS, is chased by Samus as soon as she enters their patrol zone. It is necessary to dribble and dodge the ball, because if it is reached, the game will end like a typical ending. These encounters push the player to the line between desperate flight and focus on the path forward.

Metroid Dread was the latest game to follow the modern trend of adding an undefeated stalker on the player’s wavelength, as in the Resident Evil games, with characters such as Mr. X, Nemesis, and Lady Dimitrescu.

Renovation in classic style

Metroid Dread, developed by Mercury Steam and controlled by Nintendo, is a game well balanced between traditional items like the Morph ball and Varia suit, and novelties like camouflage, magnetic climbing and sliding.

The Castlevania experience helped Mercury Steam add a little more hand-to-hand combat, and also show that Samus ends fights more acrobatically than usual. Return to the tough bounty hunter, away from the melodramatic nonsense of Metroid Other M.

technically speaking

Realizing that Metroid gameplay requires great precision and fluidity, the Mercury Steam team had to make concessions to get the best results. The choice in favor of “2.5D” was the right choice, as the lack of depth plans and long draw distances allowed Mercury Steam to achieve a consistent 60fps performance.

Conclusion

Metroid Dread quickly went from surprise to Switch classic of the year, and today it has become a big name that soothes frightened fans that the series could return to the refrigerator. The partnership between Nintendo and Mercury Steam worked, which suggests that the series still has a future.

The fans have a masterpiece in their hands that takes many hours to unravel all the secrets and hidden objects, as well as bosses and tough enemies. For masochists on duty, at the end of the normal campaign, a hard mode is turned on.

In short, there are several of them in Metroidvania, but Metroid Dread reminds us that Metroid is one of them. The queen has returned.