When you’ve been waiting some 15 years for a game, I think it’s probably fair to express a little bit of trepidation going in. Metroid Dread was first conceived as a Nintendo DS sequel to Metroid Fusion, back at a time when not only had the series served up a 2D offering that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Super Metroid, but we were also in the midst of the brilliance of the Prime series. Whatever your take on the likes of Metroid: Other M, Federation Force or Samus Returns, it’s fair to say that the series has been far from its prime ever since.
Metroid Dread previewPublisher: NintendoDeveloper: Mercury SteamPlatform: Played on SwitchAvailability: Out October 8th on Switch
You can forgive long-time Metroid fans going into the first original game since 2010’s somewhat divisive Other M for having some nerves, then. But, after a couple of hours with the opening of Metroid Dread, I have wonderful news. This one looks set to be the real deal – a classic 2D Metroid, delivered with some serious production values and all the polish you’d hope for from a game that’s helping launch Nintendo’s latest Switch hardware, next month’s OLED refresh.
Set shortly after the events of Fusion, Dread sees Samus once again responding to a mysterious signal beckoning her down to a hostile planet surface in her latest attempt to wipe out the X parasites. And, once again, events conspire to strip her of all her abilities – this time by way of a powerful figure donned in Chozo armour you encounter on the surface of planet ZDR, who subsequently defeats Samus in what leads to a bout of ‘physical amnesia’. The result is Samus waking up groggy-headed and effectively empty-handed deep in the bowels of the planet, tasked with working her way up to her ship that’s waiting abandoned on the surface as she rediscovers her old powers and a few new ones besides – a sort of neat reversal of Super Metroid’s adventure which had you burrowing down into the planet Zebes.
We Played Metroid Dread and It Really Is Terrifying – New Metroid Dread Nintendo Switch Gameplay Watch on YouTube
After so many years, the most comforting thing about those first few steps in an all-new Metroid game is how discomforting it is, the eerie atmosphere and sublime sense of loneliness that marks out the very best of the series present and correct in Metroid Dread. The two hour section we played through highlighted the opening areas, the chilly isolated Artaria giving way to the more industrial, furnace-fuelled Cataris where lava flow must be redirected to find your way forward. Exploration in this particular Metroid has a brilliant new twist, however.