Metroid Dread review: The queen is back, all hail the queen
Dread has always been a driving force in the Metroid franchise. It’s what you feel in Metroid 2: Return of Samus when exiting planet SR388 in eerie silence, as the final baby of a species you’ve just eradicated lovingly follows behind. It’s a feeling that hangs in the air all through Metroid Fusion, as Samus helplessly hides from a dead-eyed parasitic doppelganger that stalks her. Metroid Dread, the first original 2D Metroid game in 19 years, doubles down on that brand of sci-fi anxiety to create a true Nintendo horror game. The basics of the series are still entirely present. It’s an adventure game where Samus explores a mysterious planet sector by sector, gets a steady drip of power-ups, and scours every corner she can for secrets. But the backdrop is more unnerving this time. Four games worth of reckless missions come back to haunt Samus in a more story-driven game where history actually matters. Metroid Dread reclaims the “Metroidvania”’ throne with one of Nintendo’s most difficult...
Genuinely creepy; Fine-tuned combat; Tough, but fair bosses; Rewarding exploration; Detailed environments;
Slow start; Some repetitive bosses;