Metroid Dread

[Stormspark]

This game needs its own thread at this point...looks like it's going to be huge. It's selling really well, even (surprisingly) in Japan, where Metroid historically hasn't done so well. I've had it since Friday...I'm not done with the game yet, but I'm through the bulk of it and have all of the powerups, so I'm at the "go find all the stuff before finding the last area" phase of the game now. While overall it doesn't QUITE top Prime/Prime 2 for me (my favorite Metroid games), it's the best 2D Metroid. It's definitely up to modern Metroidvania standards...while the environments and music aren't as pretty as the Ori games, in mechanics and size it's definitely on par with Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

As of right now this game is about a 9.5/10 for me. The only thing that brings it down (only VERY slightly) is how nerve wracking some of the Shinespark puzzles are. Yes, the E.M.M.I. zones are nerve wracking, but that's in a different way. The tension in those areas is more like a cross between Metal Gear and Survival Horror, it's almost a genre shift. Until you kill the E.M.M.I. and it changes back into a normal Metroid zone.

This game definitely tops Super Metroid in every way. Not to hate on Super Metroid...what it accomplished given the limitations of the hardware it was on was remarkable, and it's definitely one of the best games of all time. But this one beats it.

The best part...it pretty much finishes kicking Other M out of the timeline (after Samus Returns started it, by showing Ridley in his Omega armor from Prime 3, and subtly implying a different origin for the frozen Ridley in Fusion). It's specifically billed as Metroid 5. And when talking about the Metroids and X, it only references Zero Mission, Samus Returns, Super, and Fusion. (Yes, Prime isn't directly mentioned but the events of the Prime trilogy don't really tie into this story, since it was about Phazon - besides Samus Returns already confirmed the Prime trilogy is canon.)

[nocturnus]

This game needs its own thread at this point...looks like it's going to be huge. It's selling really well, even (surprisingly) in Japan, where Metroid historically hasn't done so well. I've had it since Friday...I'm not done with the game yet, but I'm through the bulk of it and have all of the powerups, so I'm at the "go find all the stuff before finding the last area" phase of the game now. While overall it doesn't QUITE top Prime/Prime 2 for me (my favorite Metroid games), it's the best 2D Metroid. It's definitely up to modern Metroidvania standards...while the environments and music aren't as pretty as the Ori games, in mechanics and size it's definitely on par with Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

As of right now this game is about a 9.5/10 for me. The only thing that brings it down (only VERY slightly) is how nerve wracking some of the Shinespark puzzles are. Yes, the E.M.M.I. zones are nerve wracking, but that's in a different way. The tension in those areas is more like a cross between Metal Gear and Survival Horror, it's almost a genre shift. Until you kill the E.M.M.I. and it changes back into a normal Metroid zone.

This game definitely tops Super Metroid in every way. Not to hate on Super Metroid...what it accomplished given the limitations of the hardware it was on was remarkable, and it's definitely one of the best games of all time. But this one beats it.

The best part...it pretty much finishes kicking Other M out of the timeline (after Samus Returns started it, by showing Ridley in his Omega armor from Prime 3, and subtly implying a different origin for the frozen Ridley in Fusion). It's specifically billed as Metroid 5. And when talking about the Metroids and X, it only references Zero Mission, Samus Returns, Super, and Fusion. (Yes, Prime isn't directly mentioned but the events of the Prime trilogy don't really tie into this story, since it was about Phazon - besides Samus Returns already confirmed the Prime trilogy is canon.)

This is one of those games that will have the community split in two, I predict.

Let me say in advance that I am enjoying the game quite a bit, but it's nowhere near as good as Super Metroid; the areas so far are bland and washed-out, it's extremely linear, it looks relatively worse and last but definitely not least, EMMI sucks donkey balls. The boring grey EMMI-zones break all typical Metroid atmosphere and immersion, with lame pursuit-style gameplay and cheap one-shot mechanics; it's just not any fun.

I loved all 2D Metroids with Super being the best. This one is probably the worst in the line, albeit still being good.

Having said all this, I reckon my opinion is fairly unpopular, since I never liked the 3D Metroids and Ori bored me out of my mind. That said, I'm not a Metroidvania fan, I'm a Metroid fan.

[Great Destiny Man]

It's definitely been a blast. Just finished hard mode in under 4 hours this morning and I'll work on the 100% next.

I like the fact they tried something different with the EMMIs but I personally don't feel they added too much to the overall game and having them as the main selling point seems a bit of a gamble in retrospect. On the first play through there was a slight bit of apprehension going into those areas but honestly it ended up as just dying (or on the odd occasion get the counter) until you understand where everything in the EMMI maps are and then zooming through. By the time of second playthrough I was basically just bounding past everything with barely any use of Phantom Cloak (with exception of Purple EMMI, where heavy use is non-optional).

Bosses were (for the most part) superb, the Storm Missile boss being the only exception for me since I didn't appreciate it being so overly restrictive on the attack window. Most of them are pretty unforgiving but I very much like that since the checkpoints are done in such a way that you start again the screen before and can get straight back into the fight to nail down the mechanics.

I'm in disagreement that it's the best 2D Metroid released. It definitely ranks as maybe joint second in my list but Super still presides above it. I also don't agree with calls that it's too linear, in general it does hint at you to where to go next but it's nowhere near as on rails as Fusion was.

[Multitorix Davlen]

The EMMI sections are, in my opinion, the worst sections of the game. In some ways the AI of the EMMI robots are very well designed and if we had the SA-X with EMMI ai, fusion would be absolutely terrifying. However, with how the sections themselves are designed its overly punishing and immensely bogs down the pacing of an otherwise above average Metroid game. I felt like the bosses were fun (with some of them kicking my ass for a good 20 minutes till I got good), but the EMMI never felt like that. "Getting good" at the EMMI sections felt more of a "get lucky" rather than a "get good." I ended up basically brute forcing these sections since the phantom cloak didn't feel worth using.

I do have some more gripes about the game outside of the EMMI sections but I chalk that up to me not used to the control layout of the newer metroid games (I assume samus returns is very similar), and not necessarily an issue with the game itself. The Grapple felt kind of cumbersome when trying to swing - thank christ there wasn't actually a lot of these during my playthrough. A second mechanic I don't like is space jump/spin jump/screw attack. The act of getting these to activate feels incredibly counter intuitive since it requires you to jump in a way that causes samus to spin naturally. It's not a 'double jump,' which throws my brain off. Again, not necessarily an issue with the game but it bothers me regardless.

I don't quite understand when people claim that dread is very linear in comparison to other metroid games. I felt like I've done the same levels of backtracking for new routes and powerups as any other metroidvania. I also felt like the areas were very large for how short the game ended up being for me (10:37:something was my ending time first playthrough 100% items).

[minkage]

This didnt need its own thread tbh as its gonna be talked about for maybe a week and then people will move on to the next new thing.

People claim its linear because it blocks off previous paths constantly with debris and forces you down a certain route. I constantly want to backtrack to get hidden stuff with new powers but the game will not let me as it wants me to follow a set path.

This game would be miles better if they completely scrapped the EMMI sections.

For me i'd rank this below both Super Metroid and Fusion. The game is good but not great.

[hellhamster]

Heard some amazing things about it, can't wait to play it. It obviously won't be as life-shattering like Super Metroid or Prime were, but it will still likely be a great experience.

[nocturnus]

This game would be miles better if they completely scrapped the EMMI sections.

For me i'd rank this below both Super Metroid and Fusion. The game is good but not great.

100%

A fun game but it misses the typical Metroid atmosphere and the EMMI is just a horrible idea.

[Beefhammer]

Heard some amazing things about it, can't wait to play it. It obviously won't be as life-shattering like Super Metroid or Prime were, but it will still likely be a great experience.

I consider it the best 2D Metroid. Nothing can hold a candle to Prime 1 IMO.

[Beefhammer]

This didnt need its own thread tbh as its gonna be talked about for maybe a week and then people will move on to the next new thing.

People claim its linear because it blocks off previous paths constantly with debris and forces you down a certain route. I constantly want to backtrack to get hidden stuff with new powers but the game will not let me as it wants me to follow a set path.

This game would be miles better if they completely scrapped the EMMI sections.

For me i'd rank this below both Super Metroid and Fusion. The game is good but not great.

As someone who has beaten both difficulties, it as linear as Super was. Obviously you have points blocked off until you have upgrades, but there are tons of sequence breaking if you pay attention. Every upgrade I got I went back to back track for more energy and missiles without much problem other than some areas being blocked off becasue I needed the proper power up. I guess people forget that Super did the exact same thing and if you paid attention or experimented, or took advantage of glitches, you could get around things just like in Dread.

As for the EMMIs, i found them to be a delight. Way more threatening than the 100% scripted SA-X. They force the player to think on their feet and use all their tools to escape. Even once acquiring the omega energy, you can't just go take one out, you need to plan a bit ahead. Not to mention you can just time the counter if caught easily since the window is timed differently each time.

[Niwes]

This is one of those games that will have the community split in two, I predict.

Let me say in advance that I am enjoying the game quite a bit, but it's nowhere near as good as Super Metroid; the areas so far are bland and washed-out, it's extremely linear, it looks relatively worse and last but definitely not least, EMMI sucks donkey balls. The boring grey EMMI-zones break all typical Metroid atmosphere and immersion, with lame pursuit-style gameplay and cheap one-shot mechanics; it's just not any fun.

I loved all 2D Metroids with Super being the best. This one is probably the worst in the line, albeit still being good.

Having said all this, I reckon my opinion is fairly unpopular, since I never liked the 3D Metroids and Ori bored me out of my mind. That said, I'm not a Metroidvania fan, I'm a Metroid fan.

i do not know, if this is fairly unpopular. but i can at least say, that you copy-pasted my mind. and i can for sure say, that every single char in this text represents exactly my, same, opinion.

i could not have it better said, even when i tried. so, we are 100% totally in the same boat. not sure, if we are fairly unpopular. but at least you are 100% not alone.

[Video Games]

I'm someone who hates invincible enemies chasing you around in games so i thought I'd hate the emmi, but i actually like them because there are multiple doors you can go through to get away and their sequences are short and you eventually get to kill them easily. They're what put the dread in dread because otherwise it's just another metroid game

[Beefhammer]

I found it to be more linear than SM in that SM rarely forced you in the right direction. Dread does that a fair bit.

There was much of that with Super early on with blocked paths that needed morph ball, Missiles, and what not. And I'm sure some of that was due to technical limitations. They did an excellent job of making things pretty obvious you needed to come back here with a new ability though.

[zEmini]

Finally got a chance to start playing this yesterday. It is a well made game but I like to bitch about the things I do not like:

I am not sure about the "parry" mechanic. I heard that was in SR and I am not really a fan. Music is forgettable but I am only playing around the first three sections of the game so maybe it gets better. EMMI encounters feel annoying but you can "parry" them as well but timing that seems to be off.

However the biggest problem I am having is controller drift. Why is Nintendo hardware so fucking cheap? I have been having a hard time platforming and aiming because of it. Finally fuck amiibo

[JoeMango]

Is Metroids gun attached to his arm or is it part of his suit?

[minkage]

Is Metroids gun attached to his arm or is it part of his suit?

nah you are doing it wrong

Is Metroids gun stronger then Zeldas sword!

[Daedius]

Samus is back, woo!!

[infinitemeridian]

Finally got a chance to start playing this yesterday. It is a well made game but I like to bitch about the things I do not like:

I am not sure about the "parry" mechanic. I heard that was in SR and I am not really a fan. Music is forgettable but I am only playing around the first three sections of the game so maybe it gets better. EMMI encounters feel annoying but you can "parry" them as well but timing that seems to be off.

However the biggest problem I am having is controller drift. Why is Nintendo hardware so fucking cheap? I have been having a hard time platforming and aiming because of it. Finally fuck amiibo

You have to press the button right before the flash / sound for it to work. If you hear it / see it, it's already too late. I don't think it's intended that you can parry them consistently, there's some randomness built in.

[hellhamster]

I got caught like 8 times so far, managed to parry it twice.

Liking it a lot so far, but some areas really confuse me due to their similarity, especially the EMMI areas. I don't know whether I've been in some places or not until I consult the map.

[Jastall]

I got caught like 8 times so far, managed to parry it twice.

Liking it a lot so far, but some areas really confuse me due to their similarity, especially the EMMI areas. I don't know whether I've been in some places or not until I consult the map.

It's probably my biggest beef with the game; visually the areas can be quite bland and non distinctive. I just got to the water map which is the best one so far but yeah, most of times I could hardly tell which area I was from the other. Obviously it's due to lack of familiarity as well but still. Doesn't help that the levels are kinda huge by Metroid standards.

Kraid kicked my ass, tho. I didn't even get to half HP on the first boss but Kraid killed me a good dozen times. I'm not complaining, Fusion and Zero Mission bosses were by and large far too easy, but I dread (eh) Hard mode now.

As for the EMMI parry, the first one is easy, the second one is hard to nail down. They have a couple possible animations and the parry is almost frame perfect, I think you gotta push the button a split second before the flash/sound to get it. But that's not a big deal since you failed already if you got caught, it's just a way to maybe escape if you're good enough.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Great game. Been enjoying it. I like it when some games can stick to its roots and from time to time and still pull it off.