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Metroid Dread
Nintendo Switch
Dreading E.M.M.I. Robots
4.5/5 stars
Finally, another 2D adventure! It's been a long time since the last 2D Metroid, and I looked forward to this game a lot. The previous 2D Metroid games were Metroid (NES), Metroid 2 Return of Samus (Game Boy), Super Metroid (Super Nintendo), and Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance).
In this latest saga of Metroid, Samus goes to investigate what is happening on a planet known as ZDR. You'll deal with E.M.M.I. robots, Chozo soldiers, other bosses, and finally Raven Beak. This game is packed with higher-than-normal difficulty gameplay resulting in many deaths and continued attempts to progress the game. I wouldn't call it “Nintendo Hard”, but it was harder than I expected.
Presentation
The game has great graphics, and occasional 3D-like cinema and several cut-scenes. It looked spectacular while playing hand-held on the Switch, but I will say it could have looked better on my 4K TV, but that isn’t the fault of the game, but of the Switch itself, which is limited to 1080P graphics. Overall, I really like the look of this game, exactly in-line with what you would want for a new 2D Metroid game.
Gameplay
As with any Metroid game, Samus is stuck without any of her suit abilities, and you have to progress through the game collecting upgrades, missiles, and energy tanks to get powerful enough to make it to the end and finish the game. Two things I didn’t care for in the game. One, the E.M.M.I. robot encounters are cat and mouse gameplay. You can’t defeat them without obtaining a temporary powerup that allow you to kill them. So, when you venture into an E.M.M.I. robot area, all you can do is run, and hope you get lucky. The second aspect of the game I didn’t care for was the very linear progression in what is a very vast, expansive world with many different areas. You are led down very specific routes, sometimes without the ability to backtrack, and when you obtain an upgrade or defeat a mini boss, you must go to the next specific task and area the game designers wanted you to go, which is sometimes obvious, and sometimes staring at the map, and wandering around for a good while looking to where you have to go next. I would rather have seen incorporation of more difficult areas, which you “could” venture into if you wanted, but probably shouldn’t because of lacking suit upgrades, rather than the impossibility of doing so.
Originality
The cat and mouse gameplay forced on you by unbeatable E.M.M.I. robots is definitely original, but also very frustrating, because it turns a platformer shooter into a platforming stealth game which is the only aspect I didn’t care for. Luckily, the E.M.M.I. are just a piece of the story and gameplay, making them a tolerable addition. There are plenty of suit upgrades, keeping gameplay interesting and never gets boring.
Replay Value
This game is vast, and by the time you beat it, you may not remember what you did at the beginning of the game. Playing it again would still be very enjoyable, as well as collecting more missile upgrades, and energy tanks to 100% each area. I would also consider speed running this game, just to get my name on the board. It is a fairly long game, but I think just short enough to play in one sitting if you knew exactly where to go to progress through the game.
Recommendation
If you have a Switch, this is a must play game for any Nintendo fan.
Ratings
Story: 4/5
Presentation: 4.5/5
Game Play: 4.5/5
Originality: 4/5
Replay Value: 3.5/5
Overall (not an average) 4.5/5
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