Metroid Dread

Gameplay

Metroid Dread is an action-adventure game in which players control bounty hunter Samus Aran as she explores the planet ZDR. It retains the side-scrolling gameplay of previous Metroid games, alongside the free-aim and melee attacks added in Samus Returns (2017). As the player explores, they discover new items and weapons, allowing them to access new areas.

Dread features stealth mechanics, with Samus avoiding the E.M.M.I. robots in certain areas by hiding, reducing her noise, and using the Phantom Cloak, camouflage that makes her invisible but slows her movement. If an E.M.M.I. catches Samus, the player has two narrow windows in which to perform melee counters and escape. If they fail, Samus is killed. E.M.M.I.s can only be destroyed when Samus obtains the temporary "Omega Blaster" upgrade, which is lost upon using it to destroy one; destroying an E.M.M.I. however grants Samus a new permanent upgrade. Upgrades can also be found by finding Chozo statues or destroying a Core-X like in previous games. Players unlock images in an in-game gallery based on their completion time, difficulty level, and percentage of items collected.

Plot

The Galactic Federation receives evidence that the X, a dangerous species of parasite that can mimic any creature it infects, survives on the remote planet ZDR. They dispatch seven E.M.M.I.s (Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifiers) robots to ZDR to investigate, but lose contact. The Federation sends Samus Aran to ZDR to investigate.

Underground, Samus encounters a Chozo warrior who destroys the exit, defeats her in combat and strips her suit of most of its abilities. Her ship's computer, Adam, instructs her to find another path to the surface and return to her ship. Samus is attacked by the E.M.M.I., which have been reprogrammed. She escapes and absorbs a mysterious energy from one of the planet's central units. The energy temporarily enables the Omega Blaster, with which she destroys the E.M.M.I. and regains some of her abilities. In the process, she finds that her old foe Kraid survived the destruction of planet Zebes and slays him in combat.

In Ferenia, Samus is captured by another E.M.M.I., but is saved by a Chozo named Quiet Robe, who deactivates it. Quiet Robe explains that long ago, two Chozo tribes, the scientific Thoha and warrior Mawkin, banded together to trap the Metroids on the planet SR388. The Thoha intended to destroy SR388, but Raven Beak, the Mawkin leader, wanted to use the Metroids as a bioweapon to conquer the galaxy. He slaughtered the Thoha tribe and spared Quiet Robe so the Metroids could be controlled with his Thoha DNA. He planned to use ZDR to house Metroids, but had to contain an infestation of the X while Samus eradicated the Metroids from SR388. Raven Beak reprogrammed the E.M.M.I.s and lured Samus to ZDR to extract the Metroid DNA implanted in her, which would allow him to revive the Metroids.

Quiet Robe opens a barrier to allow Samus to progress before he is assassinated by one of Raven Beak's robotic soldiers. Adam encourages Samus to defeat Raven Beak and destroy ZDR. In Elun, Samus encounters the X parasites and inadvertently releases them into the rest of the planet. One of the X infects Quiet Robe's corpse and reactivates the remaining E.M.M.I. robots. Samus arrives on the surface, where she is attacked by the last of the E.M.M.I. She destroys it by sapping its energy with her hand, a power that her Metroid DNA has granted her. As a side-effect, Samus is slowly becoming a Metroid.

On the floating fortress of Itorash, Samus confronts Raven Beak, who has been masquerading as Adam. Raven Beak reveals that he spared her before so that she would awaken her Metroid powers, at which point he would clone her to create an army of the most powerful Metroid of all. Samus battles Raven Beak and is nearly killed, but the Metroid abilities within her grant her incredible power. Samus attacks Raven Beak, draining energy from Itorash and causing it to crash into ZDR. Raven Beak is infected by an X which had possessed the previously killed Kraid's corpse earlier, and Samus uses her new-found powers to destroy the X. Samus reaches her ship as ZDR begins to self-destruct, but is warned by Adam not to use it due to her energy-draining Metroid powers. The X mimicking Quiet Robe appears and allows itself to be absorbed into Samus to neutralize her Metroid abilities, allowing her to escape the planet before it explodes.

Development

Nintendo DS version

The Metroid producer, Yoshio Sakamoto, conceived Metroid Dread for the handheld Nintendo DS console. It came from the concept of having Samus followed by "dread" on an unfamiliar planet. Sakamoto wanted to expand on the stealth sequences in Fusion and combine them with traditional Metroid gameplay. Though he did not want Dread to be a horror game, he aimed to explore "fear-based gameplay".

Development for DS began around 2005. The title Metroid Dread first appeared that year on an internal Nintendo software list of "key DS games set to be announced in the future", triggering expectation that it would appear at the E3 conference. There was no public announcement, but a plot summary at E3 2005 was shown to select members of the press at the event, including the IGN journalist Craig Harris. In late 2005, rumors spread that Metroid Dread had been canceled or was in development hell. A release date of November 2006 was listed in the February issue of Official Nintendo Magazine. The March issue listed a release date for 2006, with a suggestion to look to E3 2006 for further details, but the game did not appear. According to an episode of IGNs Nintendo Voice podcast, Nintendo "pulled the plug at the last minute" on this version of Dread.

A message reading "Experiment status report update: Metroid project 'Dread' is nearing the final stages of completion" appears in the 2007 game Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, developed by Retro Studios. The Corruption director, Mark Pacini, and the producer Bryan Walker denied any connection and said that it was coincidental. The Wired writer Chris Kohler expressed skepticism over the denial. ComingSoon reported that Mike Wikan, a senior designer on Corruption, posted on a fan forum that the reference was a joke. In the Japanese version of Corruption, released later that year, the message instead refers to a "dread class turret". Fans visited Retro Studios in Texas asking for information about Dread. Following the Corruption launch, Nintendo released a statement denying that a 2D Metroid game was in development.

A second attempt at developing Dread was made around 2008. A playable prototype was shown to Nintendo Software Technology and Nintendo of America staff at E3 2009. The project reportedly did not retain the Dread title at that point and had an art style similar to Metroid Fusion. The prototype did not meet Sakamoto's expectations, so development was halted. A major reason for this was that Sakamoto's desire for an intimidating, unsettling antagonist was difficult to achieve with the DS hardware.

Later discussion

In 2010, Sakamoto said that Nintendo would "start from scratch" if they returned to Dread, and said they were monitoring fan comments for interest in the project. In other interviews, he denied that the Wii game Metroid: Other M (2010) and the Nintendo 3DS game Metroid: Samus Returns (2017) were connected to Dread. In May 2010, IGNs Craig Harris said that the story for Dread was complete and that Nintendo could "bring it back at any time".

Critics expressed interest in Metroid Dread or a similar 2D side-scrolling Metroid project. In 2011, IGN cited Dread as a "game in danger". K. Thor Jensen included it in his list of "video games you will never, ever play". He felt that Metroid: Other M was a disappointment and it made him nostalgic for Dread. Thomas East included Dread and its apparent reference in Corruption in their list of "11 amazing Metroid facts and secrets", and said he was hopeful for a 3DS release.

Marc Zablotny, a writer for Official Nintendo Magazine, included Dread in his 2013 wishlist, saying he was more interested in "what it stood for rather than the specific game itself". Zablotny later named it one of the most infamous cancelled Nintendo games. Nick Chester from Destructoid criticized Nintendo for its focus on games such as the Brain Age series over Metroid. In 2015, the researcher Liam Robertson contacted former IGN and Game Informer staff who had encountered the project in the 2000s. He released a video detailing his findings, some of which was corroborated by official sources when the revived Dread was revealed years later.

Revival on Nintendo Switch

During Nintendo's E3 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation on June 15, Nintendo revealed Metroid Dread for Nintendo Switch, with a release date of October 8, 2021. Dread was developed by the Spanish developer MercurySteam, the studio that developed Metroid: Samus Returns, and Nintendo EPD. Sakamoto said that Nintendo revived the project after seeing what MercurySteam could do with its technology on the Switch. Dread is the first original side-scrolling Metroid game since Fusion.

Release

Metroid Dread was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 8, 2021. The special edition included a 190-page art book, holographic art cards featuring the covers of the five 2D Metroid games, and a steelbook case. Two Amiibo figurines were released.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Metroid Dread has a score of 88 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Samuel Claiborn of IGN praised the boss fights, writing that they "range from the traditional big, drooling monsters with patterns and weak points to learn, to almost Smash Bros.-esque encounters with enemies that mimic your move set". Chris Carter of Destructoid said Dread "masterfully" executed the Metroidvania formula, and that it "doesn't take a lot of big swings, but it rarely bats a foul ball". Nintendo Lifes PJ O'Reilly liked the returning mechanics and the newer additions, saying "it always feels as though you've got a ton of choice in how to explore and move around your richly detailed surroundings". Joe Findly of CGMagazine wrote that "Metroid Dread is a wonderful, modern take on a classic game from childhood". IGN wrote that it "brings back the legendary exploration and progression and merges it with excellent modern combat and some of the best boss fights ever".

Sales

Metroid Dread pre-orders topped the Amazon Video Game Best Sellers list in the US, UK, and Japan. It was also the most pre-ordered game following E3 2021 at GameStop.

Dread had the highest-grossing physical launch of the franchise in the UK, debuting at number three on the weekly video games sales charts. Including digital copies, it became the fastest-selling Metroid game in the UK. In the United States, Dread debuted at #3 and sold 854,000 copies in its first month, making it the fastest-selling Metroid, according to Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser. In Japan, it debuted at number one, selling 86,798 retail copies in its first week of release. Including digital copies, Dread outsold the life-to-date sales of nearly every Metroid game in Japan in its first week. As of December 2022, Dread had sold 3.07 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Metroid game.

Awards and accolades

At The Game Awards 2021, Metroid Dread won the award for Best Action/Adventure Game. At the Golden Joystick Awards, it won in the category Nintendo Game of the Year. It was also named Game of the Year by Time and Digital Trends.

Notes

References

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