Metroid Dread

 Switch
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2790 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,386 out of 2790
  2. Mixed: 158 out of 2790
  3. Negative: 246 out of 2790
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  1. skeletorcares
    Oct 27, 2021
    6
    Reminiscent, but modernized. The game is quite hard, but that adds to its value. The maps are huge. Probably the most "adult" game I've played on Switch. Sadly, like most switch games, framerate and performance are an issue for this 2021 game; this game could run better on a PS3.

    * After beating the game, I'm going to lower the score from a 8 to a 6. I beat it in less than 10 hours and    Reminiscent, but modernized. The game is quite hard, but that adds to its value. The maps are huge. Probably the most "adult" game I've played on Switch. Sadly, like most switch games, framerate and performance are an issue for this 2021 game; this game could run better on a PS3.

    * After beating the game, I'm going to lower the score from a 8 to a 6. I beat it in less than 10 hours and there is no replay value. The game was surprisingly linear and no great appeal to complete finding items as the game was already beaten. Hard mode is of no interest to me. I'd wait for a price drop, this is not a "must play" game.    … Expand
  2. kirrwed
    Oct 27, 2021
    6
    This game was probably an 8 or 9 for at least half of it, but it slowly dwindled.

    PROS: The game does produce a decent atmosphere of an abandoned planet, and indoor corridors, often claustrophobic. Some of the controls are very fluid (see the CONS for the bad controls). Jumping, dashing, sliding are all intuitive and responsive, and the animations correspond well to where you are    This game was probably an 8 or 9 for at least half of it, but it slowly dwindled.

    PROS: The game does produce a decent atmosphere of an abandoned planet, and indoor corridors, often claustrophobic. Some of the controls are very fluid (see the CONS for the bad controls). Jumping, dashing, sliding are all intuitive and responsive, and the animations correspond well to where you are trying to move. The upgrades were also fun and did give a sense of getting stronger and better. The metroidvania style of getting abilities to go back and reach new areas were there (although some traveling was too long as described below). The map, although a little daunting for it’s size, did reveal with gradients into emptiness areas where you knew the map extended - which helped give you a sense of where to go. I was only unsure where to go maybe once, despite hearing this was a problem for other players. The map development and upgrades all worked together to provide a key element to any video game - progression. The map also marks key items which is very helpful, especially when backtracking is required. The early EMMI encounters are good, atmospheric, and feel like a good stealth opportunity that invoked tension.

    CONS: Some of the controls are poor. At the top of this list is the shinespark mechanic, which is just atrocious. First, the game does not tell you multiple ways this feature can be used - such as extending the spark by wall bouncing or hitting a slope at the right angle. Another way is doing it in middair. You can look up online how to do these, but the mechanic is still vague to decipher. For instance, you can extend a spark by hitting a spark that is sloped - but not a slope against a wall, as she will end the spark as soon as she hits the wall. The whole thing is unclear, the controls are convoluted and unintuitive, and really soured that feature and any attempt at 100% completion. Even the games instructed method of using shinespark involves depressing L3 in tandem with moving that same stick in a direction. It’s a terribly unnecessary combo requirement that can lead to unwanted results. Related to that, the slide motion and morph ball motion are almost the same (L2 and diagonal down vs L2 and down). I know I and many others have experienced going into ball or slide when we wanted the other. Again, it's an unnecessary setup.

    QTEs - how these remain common in games is vexing. Multiple bosses - and even some of the regular creatures like the worm door guard things early on - need QTEs to beat. The feature remains an unimmersive fault in games and is very prevalent in Metroid Dread.

    Multiple boss fights slip into a cinematic sequence. Most of the time, you have no control over how this unfolds. But at least one fight requires you to continue shooting as part of an on-the-rails cinematic sequence. Of course, the game doesn’t tell you when. Furthermore, there is a fight where one of your weapons doesn’t work during an interactive cinematic - but your other weapons do. So if you tried the non-working weapon first, you could think it was a non-interactive cinematic. Which would result in confusion as to what to do or extend the fight to be finished way longer than necessary.

    The later EMMI encounters pretty much lose stealth as a viable option. You’re better off just bolting to the next area on the map and not care if you’re spotted. They lost their mystique here. And the game trains you early to avail yourself of stealth to succeed at these.

    Getting around also becomes a chore as the map expands. Teleporters and transports can take minutes to get to if you haven’t memorized routes. Eventually, the teleporters all unlock interchangeably, but late in the game. Most of the time, it’s just tedious to get around. Also, the game tells you that a blinking section of the map indicates hidden item. But, early on, there was a spot where you couldn't advance unless you started randomly shooting everywhere (but the map wasn't blinking to indicate anything hidden) to reveal a hidden passage. There is never any instruction about hidden pathways, which you would expect since they told you this with "items." So either passages should be included among hidden “items” or given a similar in-game instruction as “items.” Either way, the game communicated hidden passage rules poorly.

    For even a decent B-level gamer, the boss fights will require much trial and error to learn a “pattern.” And eventually, they can become easy as a result. Although some are just bullet sponges. Some gamers may find this an appropriate part of a challenge. But others will find it redundant, and boring—like learning a deck of memory cards over and over. Thus the “difficulty” is less about the flow of the fight itself, but merely learning a pattern.

    ____
    All in all, the game was largely enjoyable, but largely hurt by unclarity and some bad mechanics    … Expand
  3. BenSan
    Jun 23, 2022
    6
    I think the map forces you to take unnecessary detours (even by the standards of other Metroids). There is an imbalance between exploration and combat. In other Metroids the combat takes a backseat while in Dread the boss and mini boss fights are exaggerated. There were times where I was fighting three bosses or mini-bosses in a row. 40% exploration and 60% combat.
    In other Metroid games I    I think the map forces you to take unnecessary detours (even by the standards of other Metroids). There is an imbalance between exploration and combat. In other Metroids the combat takes a backseat while in Dread the boss and mini boss fights are exaggerated. There were times where I was fighting three bosses or mini-bosses in a row. 40% exploration and 60% combat.
    In other Metroid games I enjoy exploring and figuring out the new routee to follow. In Dread I am constantly fighting a boss which is exhausting.    … Expand
  4. wingZero21
    Oct 16, 2021
    6
    This is definately an overated game. I like Metroid games, however I would not class this as one of the better ones.

    The gameplay is generally good and some of the bosses are interesting. The incorporation of the upgrades throughout the game is generally good as well. Some of the story elements have potential. However there are some problems I found with the game. The graphics while    This is definately an overated game. I like Metroid games, however I would not class this as one of the better ones.

    The gameplay is generally good and some of the bosses are interesting. The incorporation of the upgrades throughout the game is generally good as well. Some of the story elements have potential.

    However there are some problems I found with the game. The graphics while not terrible just don't seem that great in my opinion. The EMMI addition just seems like time wasting to pad out the game after the initial first experience, I feel this could have been handled in a much better way. Some of the mini bosses as well are literally exactly the same copied and pasted over the course of the game with some slight differences on occasion. It also feels like when fighting the bosses initially they take a larger amount of damage and then after a few attempts they make each phase a little easier so that you eventually win, again similar to before it just feels like padding over actually beating the boss due to skill. Some of the backtracking is good, however I don't really understand the point of the Warp points as they felt unnecessary and not really useful in their implementation in the game. Warp points can be great generally, but they are handled much better in other games and here it just detracts from the game. There is also annoying time loads when moving from one area to another seeing the same transit screens again and again.

    There is also a potentially interesting upgrade at the end of the game but again its never fully utilized. This feels to be the re-occuring theme of this game, there are good ideas but they are not fully accomplished.

    The story elements as mentioned earlier have potential, however overall just don't fully work. This game feels like it has some good ideas but just not quite executed in the best way to reach its potential. I cant understand why this is getting 10/10 scores as it is certainly not a perfect game or anywhere as near good as Super Metroid/Fusion or Zero Mission in my opinion.

    I think with some tuning they could make it a lot better in the future, hopefully they pick up on the gripes and resolve the problems people have with it.    … Expand
  5. sal_4
    Oct 21, 2021
    6
    I'm only giving this a six because of the lack of autosave
    Seriously, this is 2021 and when I die in the middle of collecting upgrades, it is unacceptable to lose half an hour of gameplay just because I didn't go through one of those manual save stations.
    Yeah, that's right manual saves are back ladies and gentlemen. Before you take out the armored robots (EMMI) autosave works well    I'm only giving this a six because of the lack of autosave
    Seriously, this is 2021 and when I die in the middle of collecting upgrades, it is unacceptable to lose half an hour of gameplay just because I didn't go through one of those manual save stations.

    Yeah, that's right manual saves are back ladies and gentlemen. Before you take out the armored robots (EMMI) autosave works well enough. These guys gurds large sections of the map make it hard to travers safely. So, usually you'll do some clean up after taking them out

    Other than losing over 30 minute of play time to this stupid design, the game is great     … Expand
  6. Psychocadet
    Oct 25, 2021
    6
    Music is very bad. Plot is 50% copy-paste from previous games. Locations are easily forgettable because of how much plain grey is used. Enemies are, too. It doesn't add much to lore, for example anything to Adam's personality, and I feel ending is strange instead of satisfying. The cut-scenes are made right sometimes, but it becomes cheap worship of Samus coolness pretty soon, a way to winMusic is very bad. Plot is 50% copy-paste from previous games. Locations are easily forgettable because of how much plain grey is used. Enemies are, too. It doesn't add much to lore, for example anything to Adam's personality, and I feel ending is strange instead of satisfying. The cut-scenes are made right sometimes, but it becomes cheap worship of Samus coolness pretty soon, a way to win praise of long fans. By the way, the game itself isn't by any means cheap, while it's 2.5D Metroid game with no changes to its very old formula. People say ”rate it high for new Metroids to come out”, but I don't want a series to continue like that, nor rating it any higher.… Expand
  7. CaptainCharisma
    Jul 29, 2022
    6
    Although the gameplay is strong as was expected, it is a rushed effort. The chases are great fun but the game lacks atmosphere that classic games in the series had such as Super Metroid and Zero Mission. On top of that the game isn't running at optimal 1080p resolution when docked, that is unacceptable for a 2.5D game when a game like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe runs at 1080p even in split screen.
  8. starrymia
    Oct 10, 2021
    6
    It's a good game, but the "dread" part of the title is easily the weakest part. It smells of corporate meddling.

    The dread in Metroid games is supposed to be the feeling of walking through the totally unknown, not forced encounters and jump scares.. Making Metroid explainable as "A space thriller like Alien!" instead of needing to play it to understand it, is a bad move, is    It's a good game, but the "dread" part of the title is easily the weakest part. It smells of corporate meddling.

    The dread in Metroid games is supposed to be the feeling of walking through the totally unknown, not forced encounters and jump scares..

    Making Metroid explainable as "A space thriller like Alien!" instead of needing to play it to understand it, is a bad move, is detrimental to the creativity of the video games industry, and is an insult to science fiction because it dumbs down a vibrant genre into the cliches that Nintendo thinks casuals will recognize.

    I think the game is a masterpiece, but being locked in a room with someone in a video game is as bad as QTEs. It removes your agency in the world, deletes your ability to do anything according to your own choices, and reduces a masterpiece to a bunch of stupid twitch reflexes. And worst of all, they're LAZY forced encounters. A robot with smooth curved white armor like Portal, that chases you while making friendly high-pitched chirping noises (like the turrets in Portal)? Come on, that rubbish is just to drum up word-of-mouth sales.

    Considering how good the rest of the game's design is, I think there was corporate meddling involved, the kind where people who are afraid of losing profits tell the designers what needs to be in the game, instead of just letting the designers do what they want. No designer this talented would include all of these hamfisted cliches and badly-done references, unless they were forced to.

    I feel like a lot of this game was optimized so that as many 10 year old boys as possible would shout "COOL!" as they played, and it's a pity because it could have been 100% original and special.

    Instead we have to deal with 50% good and 50% pandering. I hate that.

    Let me say it clearly: Somebody up top thought that this game wouldn't sell on its own merits, so they added a whole bunch of junk in hopes that it would get less intelligent people excited. It really makes the game feel like a hodgepodge chaotic mess.

    P. S. Even if you disagree with my review in general, I think almost everyone can agree that some of the soundtrack is weak. Not a small "that's not perfect and I wanted it to be perfect!" type of weak, it sounds like stuff a first-year music student would make. The jingle when you get a new item is overly fruity and flowery instead of punchy and orchestral, some of the BGM is hyperactive and annoying as it prances around the notes. All of the music tracks could inspire awe but instead a lot of them make it feel like a $20 budget game. For every good piece of music there's one so horrible that it literally makes it difficult to keep playing without feeling a little annoyed.    … Expand
  9. lukeo53
    Oct 12, 2021
    6
    I have been diligently waiting for news on Metroid Prime 4, and when this game was announced, I thought it would be a great game to play while waiting. I expected it to be reminiscent of Super Metroid, and while I certainly did not expect it to be in the same ballpark as the ageless classic, Dread was a let down.

    The pros: The game looks great, and has an interesting plot. The graphics    I have been diligently waiting for news on Metroid Prime 4, and when this game was announced, I thought it would be a great game to play while waiting. I expected it to be reminiscent of Super Metroid, and while I certainly did not expect it to be in the same ballpark as the ageless classic, Dread was a let down.

    The pros:
    The game looks great, and has an interesting plot. The graphics are strong and the game looks amazing without suffering from significant performance issues. I have heard others complain that there have been frame rate drops when using certain abilities in the game, but I have not encountered this. Likewise, the plot is unique and without spoiling it, takes the game in an interesting direction that is tied to Fusion.

    The cons:
    The control scheme is annoying and in my opinion poorly designed. I had hoped that it would be more like Super Metroid in which one could cycle through missiles, super missiles, and the grappling beam. However, in Dread, one has to hold down the various buttons for aiming, grappling, and shooting. This means that if one wishes to fire a missile while grappled to a surface, they have to utilize 4 separate buttons, which can become tedious and frustrating in combat. Aiming with a control stick rather than the control pad seems to make aiming a bit too sensitive at times, and the game offers no way to remap controls to suit individual preference. The other big problem with the game is the map. The map does not do a good job of showing where you should go, and while I do not want the game to hold my hand, it is extremely easy to miss a small feature on the map such as a morph ball tunnel, or bomb slots, which are not marked on the map. As such, one can spend a long time wondering around, being unable to figure out where to go next because the map is too vague, I understand that exploration is a big part of the Metroid series, but this makes it annoying and time-consuming. The game is supposed to be difficult, which I have no problem with, but there is a difference between being difficult and tedious, and this game is more tedious than truly difficult.

    Overall, the game was decent, but not great. I hesitate to even call it good. It definitely has some strong features, but it gets muddled by the game's problems. I feel like this was a hastily created game to keep everyone occupied until Prime 4 releases. I hope that if and when Prime 4 does ever eventually release, Retro does a much better job than the developer did with Dread.    … Expand
  10. Locklogic
    Oct 15, 2021
    6
    Great graphics and animations and the world is really deep and beautiful, the game just isn't very fun. LONG TIME Metroid fan and have played every game since Super Metroid but this one is different. The difficulty is pretty high all around but spikes to PUNISHING and often leads to frustrating repetitive deaths. Honestly kind of disowned. let's
  11. louisbody
    Oct 15, 2021
    6
    There seem to be very few objective reviews, or ones that speak from experience or a long-time appreciation for the series. This game has some serious issues relating to progression, pacing, and level design. A good way to illustrate this is the order of abilities.
    You get stuck between the first and second areas because you don't have morph ball or bomb yet and shooting the floor isn't    There seem to be very few objective reviews, or ones that speak from experience or a long-time appreciation for the series. This game has some serious issues relating to progression, pacing, and level design. A good way to illustrate this is the order of abilities.
    You get stuck between the first and second areas because you don't have morph ball or bomb yet and shooting the floor isn't intuitive. You get spin boost and then space jump 30 mins later. Screw attack comes before both cross and power bomb and basically breaks the game. This is immediately after an intense difficulty spike and makes for a kind of whiplash.
    In Super, screw attack is optional and along with space jump, the last item in the game. It is there to facilitate backtracking and accessing 100% items, not to trivialize the game. Furthermore, the level / enemy / hazard design is an impedance to cheaping out.
    Either Mercury Steam did not do their homework or did not come to a very good understanding of what makes metroid special. The thought put into crafting a story through environment, progress, and atmosphere is just not in this game.
    It's main innovations are faster movement, difficulty, and boss design, but these are held back. Free aim and button combos for weapon selection feels clumsy on the tiny joy con controls. The pacing of difficulty is off, or perhaps the length of the campaign is. Boss fights are weirdly concentrated in one part of the game. The boss design of the 2nd half of the game is redundant and noticeably inspired by hollow knight, but unbalanced missing mechanics that help it to make sense. Healing, badges, deflection are basically replaced with QTEs from 2009.
    The 100% end-game challenges add some depth, but have you pulling off feats that you didn't even know were possible in the campaign. I couldn't help feeling like they would have played so much better as story puzzles, and that the game could have either been longer or designed to encourage better utilization of resources.
    Bottom line is this game doesn't really have a clear idea of what it wants to be. The music is completely forgettable. The story is basically Star Wars. I mean, c'mon people. Mercury Steam does not have the experience to build a truly immersive and meaningful metroid world/story, and is compensating for that with Hollywood visuals and derivative design elements.
    This does not feel like a $60 game to me, and I expected more from the first 2D Metroid designed for home consoles and AAA sensibilities in a long time. Reviewers seem like they need to go study Super Metroid.    … Expand
  12. ilikecustard
    Oct 16, 2021
    6
    Metroid Dread is certainly an enjoyable game, however only the first half. The second half becomes a repetitious bore and an absolute slog of a game.

    I've played most of the 2D Metroids including Super Metroid (played 3+ times), Metroid Fusion and also gave Samus Returns a go. The Spanish studio that made Samus Returns co-developed Metroid Dread and brought a lot of the bad aspects of    Metroid Dread is certainly an enjoyable game, however only the first half. The second half becomes a repetitious bore and an absolute slog of a game.

    I've played most of the 2D Metroids including Super Metroid (played 3+ times), Metroid Fusion and also gave Samus Returns a go. The Spanish studio that made Samus Returns co-developed Metroid Dread and brought a lot of the bad aspects of Samus Returns. Samus Returns had too many parry attacks and repeat bosses, yep you heard right, the same bosses over and over again with minor tweaks.

    Metroid Dread came out with positive reviews so I decided to try it out with an expected game length of 10 hours.

    Pros:
    * cool blend of 2D and 3D
    * EMMIs towards the beginning of the game are kinda cool
    * some good cut-scenes
    * some of the bosses were fun

    Cons:
    * EMMIs became more of a gimmick towards mid-game and didn't add much value to the game
    * the power upgrades are all over the place and you barely have a few moments to use it before you get another power upgrade
    * this game is actually very linear in that it provides teleportation points every where
    * some parts of this game have awful level design and you can barely tell the cue points, particularly when you're on a small screen
    * mini-bosses are repeated over and over again and it's OK to be seen twice but not 3 or 4 times
    * counters in boss fights are awful if you miss the counter you have to do some repetitious moves for a few minutes before the counter becomes available again, counters seem more appropriate in a Playstation button-smash game
    * some of the cut-scene close-ups has PS1-level graphics
    * some noticeable frame-rate drops, particularly in boss battles

    Overall it's great to have another 2D Metroid game however a lot of the bad aspects of Samus Returns are in Metroid Dread, there are noticeable glitches in the graphics and bad level design and repetitious bosses. It would have been better if Nintendo just produced it by themselves.    … Expand
  13. Gazglum
    Oct 28, 2021
    6
    It's definitely a -decent- game, but by the end I wanted more. It does nothing new with the formula except the EMMI fights which to me were the most boring part of the game. I appreciated the return to old-school labyrinthine maps, but this game costs a lot more than Metroid knock-offs like Ori or Hollow Knight, and they have improved on the formula to make much better games.

    The main    It's definitely a -decent- game, but by the end I wanted more. It does nothing new with the formula except the EMMI fights which to me were the most boring part of the game. I appreciated the return to old-school labyrinthine maps, but this game costs a lot more than Metroid knock-offs like Ori or Hollow Knight, and they have improved on the formula to make much better games.

    The main issue is that the map is boring. There are numerous zones, but each one is just 'generic sci-fi background'. The theming is very slight, and because the connections between zones are handled with a cut-scene you don't have the same sense of excitement tunnelling thorugh a wall back to the beginning and seeing how it all links up organically. Metroid is driven by its exploration and I just wasn't driven to explore this world.

    The world is pretty linear too, the game guides you to your next destination each time. Which is good or bad depending on your preferences.

    Music and atmosphere is forgettable, which is a shame since Super Metroid sticks in my hand as having some of the most atmospheric design of any game I have ever played.

    The pacing of the power-ups is poor, they come so thick and fast by the end that you barely have time to register or use them and there is not enough reward to go back and unlock secrets with them. Just more missiles.

    Finally, though maybe this is just me, my controller would sometimes become semi-unresponsive on the final boss fight when there was too much going on. Made it much more frustrating.

    Maybe I'm just jaded after playing these games for thirty years. And having said all that, the movement controls very nicely, Samus has some REALLY cool little cutscenes, and I have to say that two of the boss fights were absolutely superb and made me laugh with delight.    … Expand
  14. hof85
    Nov 1, 2021
    6
    Being a fan of Metroid franchise I was looking forward to this new episode!
    The formula has not been changed but the introduction of the EMMI which is rather fustrating than creating any tension.
    The graphics, level design and gameplay are great however what is this ridiculous level of difficulty? After 5 to 6 hours of play through and around 100 game over; I am giving-up and    Being a fan of Metroid franchise I was looking forward to this new episode!
    The formula has not been changed but the introduction of the EMMI which is rather fustrating than creating any tension.
    The graphics, level design and gameplay are great however what is this ridiculous level of difficulty?
    After 5 to 6 hours of play through and around 100 game over; I am giving-up and disappointed by this new episode that I will only recommand to people that don't mind dying every 5 minutes and 10-15 times in a row against almost each boss.    … Expand
  15. Yohnstoppable
    Jan 10, 2022
    6
    Metroid Dread has some great ideas, and I did have fun with it. But it is flawed and held back by a few minor issues and one majorly not fun mechanic

    What it does well: Controls - The gameplay and combat is the strongest part of the game. The controls are responsive and smooth. New abilities make it a lot of fun to move around and avoid enemies. My only complaint is that some    Metroid Dread has some great ideas, and I did have fun with it. But it is flawed and held back by a few minor issues and one majorly not fun mechanic

    What it does well:

    Controls - The gameplay and combat is the strongest part of the game. The controls are responsive and smooth. New abilities make it a lot of fun to move around and avoid enemies. My only complaint is that some abilities could be mapped better. Particularly any spot you have to run and jump then have both bumpers pressed to aim and fire the grappling hook. The game is a lot more combat focused than exploration focused, which I didn't like, but the controls made that not as bad

    Boss fights - besides the scorpion boss that I found a little tedious, the boss fights were a lot of fun and challenging. I'd say the boss fights are the best part of the game. Some of them are pretty hard at first, but they are very rewarding.

    Collectables - Like other Metroids, it is fun to get upgrades and go looking for secrets. The map blinks when there is a hidden path, which is a nice qol upgrade.

    What it does poorly:

    E.M.M.I encounters - The worst part of the game by far. They are tedious, slow down exploration, and just aren't fun or interesting. And every single one has you do the same boring miniboss fight to get a one time use item so you can kill it. If E.M.M.I. were not in the game I'd probably score it an 8. They ruin the game that much.

    Inconsistent difficulty - I found myself rarely ever dying, then I'd get to a point and die 10 times in a row. Then breezing through puzzles before finding one that isn't remotely intuitive or just badly designed. The 2 bad ones that stick out are standing by something in the foreground to lower the water level, and magically knowing you can shoot through a wall to hit something to explode it. I liked the challenge, but it doesn't seem to know if it wants to be easy or really hard.

    Music - the music is just bad and boring. It is not an exaggeration to say that Super Metroid, a 16 bit game released over 2 decades ago, has much better music

    Story - The story sucks, but that was never a strong point of the series.

    Summary: If you want a more combat oriented Metroid, you'll probably enjoy it. If you are yearning for the more exploration based titles like Super Metroid, you'll probably be disappointed. I really, and I mean REALLY hated the E.M.M.I. encounters.    … Expand
  16. dhammett
    Feb 25, 2022
    6
    As a long time fan of the series this game was a real heartbreak for me. I wanted to like it, but it turned out to be Dark Souls in Samus's power armor.

    The benchmark for every side-scrolling Metroid game is Super Metroid, so I played through both Dread and Super Metroid back to back. They are worlds apart on normal difficulty. Sure, the control scheme of super was clunky (with the    As a long time fan of the series this game was a real heartbreak for me. I wanted to like it, but it turned out to be Dark Souls in Samus's power armor.

    The benchmark for every side-scrolling Metroid game is Super Metroid, so I played through both Dread and Super Metroid back to back. They are worlds apart on normal difficulty. Sure, the control scheme of super was clunky (with the shoulder buttons doing angle up/ angle down aiming, a run button b/c D-pad, and the select button changing weapons) but that's about the only thing that made it any more difficult, and that's something you'll get used to with a little time. Dread has a great control scheme, but unfortunately there are 6 enemies with plot armor that can one shot you no matter how many energy tanks you pick up and you have no choice but to try and bypass them because none of your weapons will damage them until you can get the one thing that penetrates their plot armor, and it's a one-off, so you have to redo that for each one. - not fun

    All I wanted was Super Metroid with better graphics and control scheme, but they had to ruin it. Try again Nintendo, I'm sure you could do it if you tried.    … Expand
  17. Hyperion7361
    Jun 13, 2022
    6
    This was my first Metroid game, and I found it quite entertaining. The skill involved in defeating the many enemies and bosses makes the game challenging and appropriate for more experienced gamers, especially when compared to simpler Switch platformers like Mario. I haven't yet completed the full story, since the game does have a considerable length. A downside, however, is that it canThis was my first Metroid game, and I found it quite entertaining. The skill involved in defeating the many enemies and bosses makes the game challenging and appropriate for more experienced gamers, especially when compared to simpler Switch platformers like Mario. I haven't yet completed the full story, since the game does have a considerable length. A downside, however, is that it can get boring after a while (like most games for me).… Expand
  18. hhedd
    Mar 31, 2023
    6
    6 out of 10. It does not look and play as AAA game and does not cost 60$. The game is made cheap and lazy, a lot of strange puzzles where you have to guess which wall to shoot at. A lot of repetition, which is very boring. I've played other metroidvania and it wasn't so bad there, like The Fist. That game pulled me in with its story, the variety of locations, game mechanics, visuals,6 out of 10. It does not look and play as AAA game and does not cost 60$. The game is made cheap and lazy, a lot of strange puzzles where you have to guess which wall to shoot at. A lot of repetition, which is very boring. I've played other metroidvania and it wasn't so bad there, like The Fist. That game pulled me in with its story, the variety of locations, game mechanics, visuals, music. In metroid there is nothing of this, the music from the last century and there is very little of it, almost the same locations, boring same battles with EMMI, even the cutscenes are almost absent, and on those that are you just look at the emotionless faces, listening to a monotonous dialogue. No wonder I skipped a lot of things in this game, just to get it over with quicker. Battles with bosses are also nothing interesting. I don't understand why fans love this game, they probably just haven't played other games.… Expand
  19. Thunder5555
    Feb 27, 2022
    5
    Good game but meant only for a small demographic of gamers.
    Unless you enjoy insanely difficult games, stay away.
  20. Psyclerk
    Nov 5, 2021
    5
    As a long-time Metroid fan, I was disappointed in this outing. I didn't like revisiting the SA-X gimmick in the EMMI areas. I found the bosses to rely too much on 'gotcha' gameplay, which requires you to either have incredible reflexes or simply die a few times while you learn all the patterns.

    I liked getting all of Samus' toys, but there's nothing really new or compelling about her    As a long-time Metroid fan, I was disappointed in this outing. I didn't like revisiting the SA-X gimmick in the EMMI areas. I found the bosses to rely too much on 'gotcha' gameplay, which requires you to either have incredible reflexes or simply die a few times while you learn all the patterns.

    I liked getting all of Samus' toys, but there's nothing really new or compelling about her abilities in this game. When you get a new ability, you get to use it only once or twice before you're off to the next area. Controls for switching weapons and equipment seemed overly complex, making stuff like grapple beam swinging more difficult than it's ever been.

    There are a lot of cut-and-paste fights, particularly with bosses/mini-bosses. All enemies seem overtuned for damage, and getting more energy tanks doesn't alleviate that. Too many common enemies require the use of the melee counter. The time and reflexes needed to play well are higher than any Nintendo game in recent memory. Rarely did I finish a boss fight or other battle and feel a sense of accomplishment. I usually felt relief that it was over and I had made it through without dying again.

    Having said all this, it looks like a lot of people love this game and I'm in the minority. I give it a 5 out of 10, with a point of that coming from its pedigree. I'm not sure if the series is losing its touch or I've reached a point in my life that I can't commit to these types of games.    … Expand
  21. Promotheus
    Oct 30, 2021
    5
    A perfectly fine entry in the Metroid series but it has some serious drawbacks. The EMMI encounters are very annoying, and I can’t for the life of me understand how they could think that they were a good idea. I absolutely hate stealth sections in games, especially when you shoehorn them in a genre such as an action-adventure game. They should be skippable but are not and just become moreA perfectly fine entry in the Metroid series but it has some serious drawbacks. The EMMI encounters are very annoying, and I can’t for the life of me understand how they could think that they were a good idea. I absolutely hate stealth sections in games, especially when you shoehorn them in a genre such as an action-adventure game. They should be skippable but are not and just become more and more frustrating as the game progresses.

    The SA-X that they obviously were inspired by was scary and much more sparsely inserted in the game. The EMMI seem friendly with their Portal 2-look and feel.

    The next major drawback is the controls. There are just too many buttons and too many combinations to remember. It’s unintuitive and clunky.

    I think the game is a little too hand-holdy in its design, but it is by and large the old Metroid formula that provides a few hours of fun, minus the EMMI-parts. I had no problem with the trial-and-error difficulty. Graphics are not that good, but the Switch is getting old and really underspecced now.    … Expand
  22. landi
    Jun 27, 2022
    5
    To difficult for my taste and also my teenage boy wasn't really able to finish it... But I really liked the style of the game
  23. Focs
    Feb 18, 2022
    5
    Отличная игра если убрать боссов. Мне понравилось, разнообразие способностей, разные биомы (огненные, ледяные, джунгли, база). Красивая графика. Интересный подход к мелким деталям. Например некоторые враги не нападают, но когда появляется враг который может мимикрировать в разных врагов он выдает себя агрессией. В игре прямо не показывают куда идти. По этому вам интересно гонять поОтличная игра если убрать боссов. Мне понравилось, разнообразие способностей, разные биомы (огненные, ледяные, джунгли, база). Красивая графика. Интересный подход к мелким деталям. Например некоторые враги не нападают, но когда появляется враг который может мимикрировать в разных врагов он выдает себя агрессией. В игре прямо не показывают куда идти. По этому вам интересно гонять по локациям и находить секреты. Попутно разбираясь куда вам нужно идти дальше. Что не понравилось. Короткая, босы нуторыне и убиваются по одному паттерну. Нужно повторить 3-6 раз одно и тоже действия. То есть вы бьете его потом нужно либо отразить атаку либо нанести свою атаку. И так по кругу до победы. Так же они довольно однообразные. И частенько повторяются. так же они так сделаны, что вы не чувствуете прогрессии. Вы вроде открываете секретки и новые способности. Но каждый босс сильнее раза в 2 или 3 и по этому не важно на сколько хорошо вы исследовали вам со равно будет тяжело его убить. Да и бой может затянуться а это всегда скучно. Последний бос вообще при лучшем раскладе убивается за 10 минут и у него где то 6 или 7 фаз. В общем пробежать один раз сойдет. Но не более.… Expand
  24. j_obediah
    Oct 12, 2021
    5
    BUYER BEWARE:This game is NOT casual and should have a surgeon general's warning on it.

    The later bosses specifically are essentially designed to make any tendonitis in our hands permanent. The EMMI robots certainly make the game more difficult, so much so that it stops being a shock if you die from them. It's just something that happens and you start over and try again until you    BUYER BEWARE:This game is NOT casual and should have a surgeon general's warning on it.

    The later bosses specifically are essentially designed to make any tendonitis in our hands permanent. The EMMI robots certainly make the game more difficult, so much so that it stops being a shock if you die from them. It's just something that happens and you start over and try again until you figure it out.

    It's very clear that the developers were deathly afraid that this game would be "too easy." If you enjoy combat that is brutal for brutality's sake, then this game *might* give you a challenge, but if you have other life skills that you'd like to hone other than gaming, this game is not for you.

    I gave it a 5 because that won't hurt the game's success, but it will increase the chance that this warning gets to casuals who might think this will be and experience like Super Metroid. It's not. It's WAY harder.    … Expand
  25. Falkenauge
    Oct 17, 2021
    5
    sorry but whoever came up with the Emmis should be fired.
    Without that, the game would have deserved an 8 or 9 but only a 5 from me. 0 fun when you are at the emmis and pure waste of playing time every time you get caught and you get caught very, very often.
  26. kraftw33rk
    Mar 16, 2023
    5
    The game series "Metroid" has been at the top of the gaming tron for me since Super Metroid. For me, the peak of the series is Metroid Prime 1 and then nothing comes for a long time!
    I'm even a fan of the taunted "OtherM" part. Pretty much everything about this game is extraordinary and interesting.
    Of course, I pre-ordered Metroid Dread immediately when it was possible. I enjoyed    The game series "Metroid" has been at the top of the gaming tron for me since Super Metroid. For me, the peak of the series is Metroid Prime 1 and then nothing comes for a long time!
    I'm even a fan of the taunted "OtherM" part. Pretty much everything about this game is extraordinary and interesting.
    Of course, I pre-ordered Metroid Dread immediately when it was possible. I enjoyed playing this game to the max. Music, location and gameplay again create a powerful reverberation that will probably provide a sugar-sweet aftertaste for life.
    Unfortunately, the final boss is way over it, dear developers. The whole game has wonderfully delicately increasing challenges and then comes the final boss, who almost scratches the edge of unfairness and causes me far too much stress. I can't defeat it either. I bought the game at release and after a few days I was in front of the final boss. In the meantime, I've been trying to get this over with with easily five hundred plus attempts in over a year without success. Sorry dear developers, this is not well done! It would be nice if I could change the combat to "easy", but then I have to play the whole game again! I will probably never buy another Metroid game from this developer. Gaming should be fun, not frustrating!
    --
    Die Spieleserie "Metroid" steht seit Super Metroid für mich ganz oben ungeschlagen auf dem Gaming-Tron. Den Gipfel der Serie stellt für mich Metroid Prime 1 dar und dann kommt lange nichts!
    Ich bin sogar ein Fan des verschmäten Teils "OtherM". An diesem Spiel ist so ziemlich alles aussergewöhnlich und interessant.
    Metroid Dread habe ich natürlich instant vorbestellt, als es möglich war. Mit Genuss habe ich dieses Spiel bis an den Anschlag gespielt. Musik, Location und Gameplay erzeugen hier wieder einen wuchtigen Nachhall, der wohl lebenslang einen zuckersüßen Nachgeschmack liefert.
    Leider ist der letzte Endboss deutlich drüber liebe Entwickler. Das ganze Spiel gibt es herrlich zart ansteigende Herrausforderungen und dann kommt der Endboss, der schon nah an der Unfairness kratzt und erheblich zuviel Stress bei mir erzeugt. Es gelingt mir auch nicht diesen zu besiegen. Ich habe das Spiel bei Release gekauft und stand nach wenigen Tagen vor dem Endboss. Diesen versuche ich inzwischen mit locker fünfhundert plus Anläufen in über einem Jahr immer wieder erfolglos hinter mir zu bringen. Tut mir leid liebe Entwickler, das ist leider nicht gut gemacht! Es wäre ja schon gut, wenn ich den Kampf auf "leicht" umstellen könnte, aber dann muss ich gleich das ganze Spiel neu spielen! Ich werde wohl kein Metroid-Spiel dieses Entwicklers mehr kaufen. Spielen soll Spaß machen und keinen Frust erzeugen!    … Expand
  27. TwistedNine
    Feb 13, 2022
    5
    I've played every game in the series so far and this is the first one I didn't finish. The graphics are good and so is the gameplay. Where all the fun goes out the door is with the Emmi encounters. You'll be having a great time exploring and then you're faced with going into an EMMI area that turns gameplay into a cat-mouse trope.

    Sorry Nintendo. If this is what your plans are for the    I've played every game in the series so far and this is the first one I didn't finish. The graphics are good and so is the gameplay. Where all the fun goes out the door is with the Emmi encounters. You'll be having a great time exploring and then you're faced with going into an EMMI area that turns gameplay into a cat-mouse trope.

    Sorry Nintendo. If this is what your plans are for the future of the series, you just lost a 30 year fan.    … Expand
  28. Kratosine
    Oct 11, 2021
    5
    Bastante mediocre en general, la sensación de apuntado esta bien lograda, pero la dificultad del juego no esta para nada bien medida, muchas zonas son frustrantes y repetitivas. Y en el apartado grafico, podría estar mejor.
  29. AstralCritic
    Oct 13, 2021
    5
    Highly Over rated as a Metroid game. This is the most on the rails Metroid I have played. Sure the action is highly polished and dynamic, but the cutscene invasion during boss battles are unwanted and only serve as "here is how you beat me" giveaways. Sequence Breaking is a staple of Metroid and this game intentionally prevents that from happening as nauseum. It is anti-Metroid in myHighly Over rated as a Metroid game. This is the most on the rails Metroid I have played. Sure the action is highly polished and dynamic, but the cutscene invasion during boss battles are unwanted and only serve as "here is how you beat me" giveaways. Sequence Breaking is a staple of Metroid and this game intentionally prevents that from happening as nauseum. It is anti-Metroid in my opinion and should be called something else. Nintendo is clearly coasting on Metroid fanbucks. It's a shame. Super Metroid is still the best in the series but this is a different kind of game. Wish I had not bought it. It is subpar in every game mechanic aspect with only the visuals and atmosphere being high quality.… Expand
  30. GeoKorf
    May 18, 2023
    5
    Overhyped game. Good for newbies.

    True good games have got an insufficient amount of cupcakes to make them. And the people who wish to make a good sequel should be put in the position of amateurs like R&D1 staff were at the time... The room was too small and was stinky, with sweat and tears. If you had money and were patronized by Nintendo in every way there is no chance that you are    Overhyped game. Good for newbies.

    True good games have got an insufficient amount of cupcakes to make them.
    And the people who wish to make a good sequel should be put in the position of amateurs like R&D1 staff were at the time... The room was too small and was stinky, with sweat and tears. If you had money and were patronized by Nintendo in every way there is no chance that you are going to create a masterpiece. This is just an over-hyped piece of trash, even with Chozo they cant hold up to Japanese development roots. And also Nintendo being outsourced their franchise to 3rd party. By doing so they completely neglect the fanbase... after Metroid Fusion it was over. AM2R was a good remake, long enough and beautiful enough. if Nintendo had only could see their potential, they were one those who be able to recreate the perfect Metroid 2.5 d remake of M SR. It's a shame but I think Nintendo became something like Konami, too much power too much money too much risks.
    OH, here are some facts the spanish guys who made this game rely on post-modern their destroyed canon of Metroid. Metroid was a good game (DREAD,OTHERM,MSR,FFORCE not included) and its system was very rewarding, you get an upgrade after a really long detour to get it. First, it was a puzzle to find them! Before the puzzle however you have encountered a foe to defeat, and the pace in-game was right and the item was very close to the foe's location, it was challenging and rewarding. But now it's not. Also, do you remember how the staff who made Metroid fusion rely on the changes in the landscape in the game, you know I am not saying there ain't happening in dread, but it's different in a lousy way! Emmi sequences get very repetitive and after a while, you get used to it and it's getting boring. That's my facts. and the difficulty was above normal so you didn't see a lack of details there aren't put in the game, and the puzzles were still solely for this reason. mic drop. welcome to the new age of gaming, they feeding you the wrong retro product!

    P.S.
    I AM PRAYING FOR RETRO DON"T LET US DOWN TRY TO BRING BACK ANDROID JONES ONCE MORE SHOW CHOZO HOW THEY SHOULD BE LIKE HOLY AND TRANSCENDENT, with NO HORIZONTAL EYE LINE. Give em proper design!.

    P.P.S
    PARDON MY FRENCH but 10/10 reviewers have reminded me of a simp who gets to touch **** for 60 bucks for the first time. Or Gollum who gets corrupted by the ring.

    And last but not least i think Yokoi Gunpei san doing shinespark in his grave, bless his soul, you should be ashamed mr Sakamoto! For the last time gather R&D1 and stop outsourcing my beloved franchise. Alien FS is already fallen but Metroid one could take a more interesting route once more! Try to Tell a story from a different point of view, change it get deeper be more thoughtful Metroid always was a more than a game it was mystical experience not emotional rollercoster or speedrun feature was just a addition to alien landscapes and deep narrated "show don't tell" stylized story!

    Ppp.S FOR CHIRST SAKE, How can Kraid Came did came back? You were must to bring back good ol Crocomire aswell lol!    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best Switch Game of 2021
1
#1 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 124 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 116 out of 124
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 124
  3. Negative: 0 out of 124
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 18, 2022
    100
    Quotation forthcoming.
  2. IGN Adria
    Jan 20, 2022
    90
    After almost 20 years we finally have a sequel to the 2D series of Metroid games! Considering that, Dread does a great job of combining the new modern combat with the old elements of research and advancement, and it doesn't hurt that we have some of the best boss fights in the series. A true gem and a must have for all Switch gamers.
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  3. JeuxActu
    Dec 13, 2021
    85
    Taking up the torch of a series interrupted nineteen years ago is never an easy task, but the MercurySteam studio is doing it with honors! The developers have chosen the path of security while perfectly respecting the spirit of the previous episodes, to the detriment of true modernity.
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