Forum - View topicGAME: Metroid Dread
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Kicksville
 Posts: 1260 |
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I nearly didn't get this because I hated Samus Returns 3DS, mainly on account of the stupid counter system and its poor implementation - stupid enough to sour the experience. But yes, Dread seemed to learn from that, and counters both work better and aren't forced upon you quite so much.
There are some control annoyances. That you can't remap anything or use the D-pad if you want is ridiculous - I guess it's because of their precious 360 degree aiming, but c'mon, not even an option? The reliance on the shoulder buttons gets silly, since you'll find yourself having to hold or release buttons in weird patterns (I'd forget which button you're supposed to hold to keep the grapple beam active, since it's different from the button to MAKE it active...) I do feel like this review is kinda reaching as far as Samus' personality goes. She didn't have much beyond mostly silent tough bounty hunter before, Other M tried to give what it thought was depth and it didn't really work, and this is back to mostly silent tough bounty hunter. It's not bad, but what little "characterization" this has isn't that notable. Still, Dread is good, and the most Super-like Metroid that has officially come out since Super (that's quality aside - I'm saying it doesn't feel like, say, Zero Mission, which is good in a different feeling way). I do think they're going to have to change things up and do more new stuff next time around, but this was probably a good time for this sort of thing. |
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wolf10
 Posts: 931 |
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The boss tuning is more than a little unfair, and I found it hard to care about collecting energy tanks when either way you'll still die in two hits (waited to get 100% until after beating the last boss, just in case it decided to pull a Mecha Ridley; fortunately, it didn't). The later shinespark puzzles are also pointlessly technical, especially with how the analog stick seems to be biased against diagonals. You'll get to the end of a really complicated sequence only for it to fizzle out or shoot off in a different direction entirely because you messed up some part of direction+jump -> shoot -> neutral+jump -> hold diagonal, or even just because you were at 50 degrees instead of a precise 45.
But it definitely felt like a Metroid game, and the world needs more of those. |
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4632 Location: New York |
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Dread as far as Samus’ personality goes seemed to lean heavily in what Doom did. Not so much the “silent badass” part (but there’s plenty of that) but using her body language and movements to express emotion, be it a clenched fist, dismissive shrug, or similar tones to point out exactly what she’s thinking without her actually saying anything. And that’s not an easy feat to accomplish.
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4830 |
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Great timing for this, as I finally got the chance to sit down and pop in my copy last night. After about an hour or so, I'm really enjoying it. It feels like a much more refined version of Samus Returns in pretty much every way: it's clear that Mercury Steam took a comprehensive look at what worked and what didn't there and tweaked things accordingly. Combat in Samus Returns was tilted very heavily toward the melee counter, with even most minor enemies acting as bullet sponges without it, but in Dread it's more like something you can use instead of something you have to. The ability to use it on the run is a huge help, too. I'm really impressed with just how nimble Samus feels, much more so than ever before; it really makes those E.M.M.I. chase sequences all the more intense. (I've managed to counter the initial grab once or twice, but I wasn't even aware there was another opportunity at the final killshot, so that's something to try for now.) I've only really had one full-fledged boss battle so far (the one with the spoiler[cloak power-up]) but I enjoyed how it utilized the counter kill-cam angles from some of the heftier Metroid variants in the previous game. I hadn't thought about it explicitly in the moment, but the game does do a good job of subtly guiding you through those first moments; there were one or two instances when I wasn't immediately sure where to go next, but I soon realized that the game had dropped me off near the next accessible area. I can't wait to dive into it more.
(I did get a good chuckle at the latest round of "here's how Samus lost all her abilities!" but that's as much of a series staple as Link not talking so you just roll with it at this point.  )
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RR529
Posts: 46 |
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I'm at the very end (arrived at the final boss last night), and I have to say the main bosses are a delight. They are very tough and will rip you apart in a handful of hits that first time, but I find myself surprised how quickly I found myself getting acclimated with them (I'll usually get shredded that first time, then prevail by the 3rd try). The exceptions are the boss you have to fight to heat things back up (you'll know which one I'm talking about if you're that far) which took me 5-6 times, and the final boss, which I haven't beaten yet (I've tried about 5 or 6 times, but do get just a bit further each time). I think what's astounding is that they seem almost incomprehensible that first time, but they're easy enough to figure out that it never feels unfair/cheap (and this is coming from someone who doesn't play a lot of the games that are generally considered hard).
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Yuvelir
 Posts: 1629 |
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Finally, after 17 years we finally got a good (official) 2D Metroid game.
Honestly it's hard to believe it was by the same people as Samus Returns as it fixed most of its flaws. Still, I think they haven't quite nailed the metroidvania formula. They're using a heavy guiding hand and points of no return until it becomes abuse. For those of us who care about exploration in action-exploration games, how far the game goes to guide your every step feels patronizing, and the points of no return impede exploration and backtracking - something I usually do in these games is backtrack as far as I want when I get major upgrades to see just what I can get, but this game impeded it so much and so often that I just stopped trying. Energy and missile tanks are meaningless when they drain and refill so fast anyway. As for the EMMI, they could easily be the poster child of "cheap gimmick". For how important they were made to be, story-wise they're unimportant (and nonsensical) and gameplay-wise they don't offer much other than being a mild annoyance (not even that when you realize how optimal it is to just ignore them and run) and making huge parts of the map empty and sterile. Although I won't deny sometimes they're exciting, in the end they're a zero-sum that adds just as much as it takes away.
I disagree with this statement. I mean, it's entirely true for the first game with its cryptic BS and copypasted hallways, but Return of Samus was structured in such a way that even without a map it was hard to get lost and easy to get back on track and Super is probably the closest the series has ever gotten to striking the perfect balance. |
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danpmss
 Posts: 784 |
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The one thing I would say that this game didn't do perfectly compared to the games that came before it (though Super Metroid still is my favorite), is that the difficulty for normal completion alone is WAY harder than any other Metroid game except perhaps one of the 3D ones named Echoes (ARGUABLY HOWEVER, they are very different thingies).
The difficulty has been escalating a lot since Samus Returns (which was already hard as balls when it wanted), and that was already escalated from a game with a particularly hard segment (Fusion) and a game with a particularly hard 100% completion (Zero Mission), which unlike Dread, Samus Return lacked. But other than the game being hard? It's likely the best Metroid game in every technical aspect I can think of, it controls amazingly smooth and has a lot of new additions that really makes for a better exploration experience than the other games (even if Super Metroid still is the most close to perfection in an overview, imo). This became my top 2, followed by Prime 1 for top 3. |
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Yuvelir
Posts: 1629 |
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That I would say is entirely due to the checkpoint system, since it basically impedes the loss of any progress beyond the battle itself. When you die against the boost guardian or Nightmare, there's a chance that you will lose map and item progression plus you'll need to retread your steps with the loss of time (and annoyance) it carries every time and the chance you'll start the battle with less HP and missiles than the first time. When you lose against the Experiment, all you lose is the time you spent fighting it. Because the punishment is minimal, they can let themselves make bosses that will easily kill you. Then again, there aren't many hard bosses in the history of 2D Metroid. I'd say it's Queen Metroid (original), Dagon (if you get there without Gravity Suit), Mecha Ridley (with 100% items so not really much punishment) and... 3 from Fusion yeah: Nightmare, the plasma beam guardian and SA-X (until you figure it out). |
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danpmss
Posts: 784 |
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Fair point, the game goes hard on you with all it has since it is much more forgiving with checkpoints and don't waste your time backtracking all the way up to the boss over and over again (which honestly, it's a unproductive chore, this was a great decision indeed). Still, making the bosses so hard still makes for a frustrating counterpart of an experience in some ways haha Honestly speaking, I'm a veteran and all (know my Metroid tricks and finished them all playing alright and without walkthroughs so far, except for the NES one), but this game kicked my butt very hard, and I actually thought a few times after dying dozens and dozens of times to the same boss "Do I really have what it takes to finish this game? (Damn this godforsaken metal bird thing!)"
So I can't even imagine casual players and newcomers to the series, this game will be a hellish hardcore ride of death to them. Seeing even famous great gamer streamers struggling for hours on the final boss was very fun and relatable tho (hell, even Ryukahr, who has an entire video series dedicated to "extraordinarily hard games"). |
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vidjamouse
 Posts: 21 |
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Hey friend! Myles here.  I totally agree with a lot of what you're saying here. I hesitated while writing this segment, specifically because of how well Super manages to tout that line. (It's also notable that I was not referencing Zero Mission, Fusion, or Samus Returns under the umbrella of "earlier games") At the same time, throughout my time with Super, I was flabbergasted at how easily and how often I became utterly lost, and how much I despised my time with the game when that was what was happening
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Yuvelir
Posts: 1629 |
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For some reason I also didn't consider "earlier" to consider, well, all earlier entries, instead of just the early ones. Honestly I know those pains. I got lost quite a few times on my first playthrough of Super although I always managed to find my way back sooner than later as that game expertly places locks and roadblocks (and I will forever remember that infamous wlk-through wall in Norfair that x-ray doesn't show up), and even on Fusion I've managed to get lost, mainly on PYR. But I'd argue that's pretty much necessary? You can't really explore and "find the way forward" if that way is always right on your nose. Getting lost is how you start the puzzle of exploration. Digging a bit deeper in the provided examples, I can't comment much on Ori because I haven't played it or Axiom Verge because I've completely forgotten the level design (beyond the very clear "come back here later" spots for upgrades), but Hollow Knight is very different to Metroid in its structure, I'd say it doesn't even have a critical path. That game is so open and so huge (bloated, I'd even say) that even if you get lost or get sidetracked, there are so many places and so much stuff to find that you will be making progress no matter what. It's purer and a way to go at it, but probably not a good fit for Metroid. |
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