Gushing About Metroid Dread

I still genuinely cannot believe that this game is real. Like… holy shit, dude!

Metroid has been one of my favorite game franchises for years now. Unfortunately, the life of a Metroid fan has been one of suffering for the last decade or so. Aside from Samus Returns on the 3DS, all we’ve gotten is *shudders violently* Federation Force. That, and four years of no news on Metroid Prime 4. Unless you count them announcing that they were completely restarting development.

But then, like a sudden flash of light in a dark tunnel, this happened!

After nineteen god damn years, we’re getting a brand-new 2D Metroid game. Not a remake like Samus Returns! An actual new entry in the series!

And not just any entry! But Metroid fucking Dread!!

For those of you who don’t know: we’ve known about Metroid Dread for well over a decade now. It was first rumored way back in the day as a supposed sequel to Fusion that would release on the DS. We even got a tease to it in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption; when you get far enough into the abandoned space station and scan a certain terminal, you get the following text:

Experiment status report update. Metroid project: Dread is nearing the final stages of completion.

I remember seeing discussions about this game way back in 2007 when I was a wee lad, searching desperately for any news of a Metroid game I haven’t played yet like an addict looking to get his fix. There were plenty of rumors, from those confirming the game existed to those confirming its cancelation. On and on it went. But for years, that’s all they were. Rumors. Eventually, all hope for Dread disappeared and the game vanished from memory.

Until Nintendo came out and said “Guess what, bitches?! It’s REAL!!” All those years of speculation weren’t pointless after all!

Even more exciting than that: we actually got to see gameplay! And through it, we learned more than a few things. For one: this game was developed by Mercury Steam, the same studio behind Samus Returns. These guys have proven that they know how to do 2D Metroid really well and I can’t wait to see what they can do with more experience and powerful technology.

And second: this is a straight-up horror game!

Metroid has never been unfamiliar with horror. One of the most important and beloved aspects of the series is a feeling of dread and isolation. Hell, Metroid Fusion was straight-up terrifying at times, especially when you’re being chased around by the SA-X! And in case you didn’t know: much of the series was inspired by the Alien movies (Ridley Scott, Metroids are like Xenomorphs, so on and so forth). Horror is literally baked into its DNA.

Now, it’s going all-in on that with the EMMI robots. These unstoppable killing machines are set to reside within certain areas of the game and pursue Samus endlessly when you enter it. And from the gameplay we’ve seen: these guys seem genuinely frightening! Just watching them play it on the Treehouse made me nervous!

And it’s balanced out by badass action! Outside of those horror areas, it’s Metroid as we know and love! It’s just Samus Returns but with a new map and more combat options! While the EMMIs may be invincible, Samus is just as awesome as ever!

Even the story seems promising! This isn’t just ‘another 2D Metroid’! It’s Metroid 5! The game set to be the final entry in the narrative as we’ve seen it so far! According to interviews, this game is going to conclude the ‘story arc’ of the Metroids. The story literally 35 years in the making is coming to an end!

I have waited. Literally my entire life. For this conclusion. And we’re finally getting it!

It’s hard to express just how excited I am for Metroid Dread. From what we’ve seen and been told, it’s set to be the Metroid game of my dreams. A horror-action game that brings an end to the series storyline. Will it become the new gold standard for the franchise, like Super Metroid? We’ll only know when it comes out. But I have full confidence that this game will be worth the wait.

And it should be suitable in keeping us satisfied until Metroid Prime 4 never comes out.