Nintendo Metroid Dread for Nintendo Switch

Great game, works perfectly on switch

I started playing this and this became the only game I play. Good graphics, excellent gameplay and boss fights. I really enjoy this game.

Awesome but difficult game

Pricey but amazing game.

IntroductionIt is often seldom that one is taken aback by a game announcement - since often the element of surprise is ruined by the plethora of rumors and leaks about any given title weeks or months before it’s official reveal. but on June 15 2021, during one of Nintendo’s annual Nintendo Direct, a certain reveal/announcement had viewers and especially fans jaws hit the floor, that announcement was the reveal of Metroid Dread.While no one was probably expecting or anticipating Nintendo to officially reveal Metroid Dread during the 2021 Nintendo Direct - fans of the series were still familiar with Dread as a title which was being developed for the Nintendo DS in the mid-2000’s but was cancelled due to the DS’ technical limitations. It would take Nintendo and the Metroid team 19 years to finally release the title that not only acted as the continuation to Metroid Fusion but would also be the final chronological game in the series. How well does it hold up and was the wait worth it? Read on to find out.Story 7/10Metroid Dread’s story picks off right after Metroid Samus Returns. Samus Aran, the galaxy’s most respected while at the same time most feared bounty hunter receives a message from The Galactic Federation. In the message, The Galactic Federation briefs Samus about an anonymous short-video they received showing a surviving X Parasite on planet ZDR. X Parasites are a dangerous life-form that can mutate any organism it latches itself onto; turning the organism into a horrifying monster. Aware of the threat it poses, The Galactic Federation dispatches 7 EMMIs (Extra-planetary Multiform Mobile Identifiers) to find and eliminate any and all remaining X Parasites on ZDR. But upon reaching the planet - The Galactic Federation loses all contact with the EMMIs.As a last resort, The Galactic Federation asks Samus to head to the planet ZDR to investigate the situation as she is the only known person in the solar system that has immunity to the X Parasite infection due to the Metroid DNA in her body. So Samus rushes to the Planet to investigate and upon landing on the planet - she is ambushed by an armor wearing Chozo (a thought to be extinct species of human-bird hybrids that adopted Samus as a child when her people were killed by Ridley and the space pirates).Unable to match the armored Chozo’s strength, Samus is easily overpowered and subdued. Samus later wakes-up in the depths of the planet with all of her abilities and powers gone. She must now reach the planet’s surface to find out who the mysterious armored Chozo is and what is his involvement with the X parasite while at the same time facing the many hostile creatures on the planet and evading the EMMIs that are not actively hunting Samus.The story is good. It’s not as narrative focused as some other titles. But that is not to say there isn’t any form of story telling, just that it’s not all that interesting if you are not a fan coming in to it. For fans and individuals well versed in the franchise? It will be more of an enjoyable experience. While Dread does attempt to catch you up to speed with what happened in the previous titles, it’s more of a quick recap and you will still miss out on many of the plot lines explored in the previous games.Gameplay 9/10To understand Metroid’s gameplay design, it is important to first understand what a “Metroidvania”is; for those of you that are well aware of this type of genre - you then very well know exactly how the game plays. But for those of you who are unaware, let me explain;A Metroidvania is a 2D side-scrolling action platformers where the player character traverses through a large interconnecting world, often unlocking new paths after gaining new abilities. Back-tracking is a staple for Metroidvania titles so expect to visit the same locations multiple times. A Metroidvania game always treats its gameplay as the primary focus with everything else taking a back seat. Metroidvania titles also seldom guide the character to their next destination instead often leaving that for the player to figure out.if you still find it hard to understand just think of some modern popular titles such as Hollow Knight, The Messenger or Shovel Knight. Metroid Dread follows the exact same formula. Now that you have an idea of what a Metroidvania is, let’s get back to Dread.So as mentioned before, Samus finds herself in the inner-parts of the planet and she much reach to the surface. On your way to the top, you go back & forth between different sub-worlds with each having its own theme. As you advance in your journey, you’ll unlock a host of abilities and weapons. These abilities and weapons will give you access to previously unreachable areas on the map.The gameplay is exceptionally well polished. Samus’ movements feel quick and responsive; combat also flows well with the game getting more and more fluid the more abilities you unlock and boss battles are well designed and a fun experience. ‘Samus Retuned’ introduced a parry system which when timed perfectly let’s you deflects enemy attacks and kill them instantaneous.If I’d had to point out any negatives about the gameplay it would have to be getting use to the unique control style Dread offers and the lack of explanation of the sheer versatility some abilities offer. You will not know the full extent of some abilities like the ‘Speed Booster’ and ‘Shinespark’ offers unless you Google about them or experiment with them as the game does not give you a detailed explanation and instead opting to provide a basic explanation of how to use the ability.Performance 9/10Metroid Dread is a Nintendo Switch exclusive game and being a Switch title you get the opportunity to play the game either on your TV or in portable mode. While docked - the game outputs a resolution of 900p and 720p in handheld mode. In terms of FPS, the game runs at 60fps in both docked and handheld mode with the frame capped at 30fps during cutscenes.Visually speaking, dread is a beautiful looking game. Everything from lighting to the way colors are used makes the world of Dread pop. But of course at it’s core, it’s still a title running on an aging portable device, so don’t expect the level of visual quality that are offered by Sony’s PS5, Microsoft’s Xbox series X/S or a beefy PC as you can spot things like jaggy edges, lower texture details which are even more noticeable when docked but for what it is and on what hardware it’s running? The game looks and runs beautifully.Audio 9/10Surprisingly, Metroid Dread is one of the few games on the Nintendo Switch platform to offer 5.1 Surround Sound and you will notice it immediately as soon as you start the game and Samus’ space ship zaps through from one side of the screen to the other and since the game offers 5.1 surround sound, it makes the experience even more immersive. Especially if you play the game with a decent pair of headphones. Dread unfortunately offers very little in terms of voice acting, opting for transcripts instead. But what little voice work that’s present is performed really well.Final ScoreStory 7/10Gameplay 9/10Performance 9/10Audio 9/10Total Score: 34/40Metroid Dread gets a 85% Approval ratingConclusionMetroid is an iconic series in the gaming world. It is one of the two titles that gave birth to the Metrodvania genre which in turn lead to the creation of some of gamings most endearing and entertaining experiences. But not only that, Metroid Dread also concludes a story that began more than 20 years ago, a story that most fans thought would never see an end. So was the wait worth it?… Absolutely.(This review was written after 100% completing the game with a total playtime of 15 hours and is based on my personal experience with the game which was played on a V2 Nintendo Switch model. The Performance section is based on my personal observation as well as some secondary information. Photos provided along side the review were captured by me during my play session.)