Metroid Dread (Primed and Dready)

Yeah but it's probably just at my parents so not really worth a fiver

I'm off this week, so I'm definitely spending most of Friday playing it!

I've got it preordered, so I'll be tucking into it after work on Friday and Saturday provided it's delivered on time.

I got round to pre-ordering this last week myself. I haven't pre-ordered anything since Pokémon Shield (and we all know how that one turned out).

Absolutely must support Metroid though, and I'm pretty confident that this will be worth it. And I got a 'free' keychain and poster. Yay?

Nintendo Life just dropped a 10/10.

Cannot wait.

I've heard "potential GOTY" bandied about by some impressions coming in, which has me incredibly excited!

I'd normally say wind it in a bit when it comes to N-life handing out a ten but my views on games generally line up fairly well with the guy who's reviewed it.

Mine's still coming from Curry's which is great as I've only paid £27 for Dread, but it won't be shipped till tomorrow and not beforehand because that's the day the game out.

That not sure when Dread will arrive as I went for the free postage option, however like I said I'm, weekend in that I would really get to play much till Monday anyway, just I want it.

Edit

Had email saying DPD is delivering the game tomorrow which is completely different to what I was told this afternoon.

I’m amazed that Currys have gone through with my £26.99 order. Even so, it definitely sounds like Dread is worth the full asking price. I don’t have a strong connection with Metroid and it’ll take a lot of effort for me to get into it, but I’m going to try and commit myself to it all the same.

The impression I'm getting from reviews is pretty much what I expected. That it's a highly competent game but a bit on the safe side. Which isn't bad for a first original instalment for 20 years in the 2D series, and is probably what it needs.

As a big Metroid fan with a lot of hype for this game, it'll probably be elevated to a firm 9/10 or even 10/10 for my first playthrough, and like most of the games I'll not be able to avoid playing through the game again.

We'll see though. Maybe it will just be incredible, full stop.

My copy should be with me today, and coincidentally I finished Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX this very morning.

First thoughts: I REALLY HATE EMMIS.

I've played probably a bit less than an hour so far, and I've spent most of that time being murdered by EMMIs again and again.  After a while it just stops becoming fun.  There's no time to figure out what's going on in the area because BAM!  EMMI.  I'm sure there are some collectables in said areas I've missed out on because I was trying not to get a spike shoved through my face.  

I thought this was a dead cert to be my favourite Metroidvania on Switch; but between the budget intro, switching to 30fps for cut-scenes for some reason, and the sodding EMMIs, I'm actually a bit disappointed at this early stage.


EDIT: In retrospect it's less of a glaring problem and more of a psychology shift. I tend to find Metroid games, outside boss fights, are slow and considered, with a focus on mining everything for secrets. EMMI sections can't be played like that. It's an adjustment, and one I'm not sure I like, but it's not bored the game below the waterline or anything... and when you finally find a way to take out an EMMI, that's very satisfying.

Mine hasn't arrived yet, which I was sad about, because I only remembered it on the steps up to my flat and so when I got in and it wasn't there it was a very sudden disappointment. Hopefully it arrives tomorrow and I can play it after work then!

I definitely get the EMMI frustration (don't think I've got the parry/stun window since the tutorial bit which I think is given for free ) but they at least live up to how the game describes them and after being caught a couple times it rams it home to get your running boots on.

I've now made it through the first area in about an hour and a bit & I think this is shaping up nicely.

I've only played a tad, just come across the amiibo EMMI but that tad seems good and I really like the aesthetic can imagine it looking grand on the OLED.

I've done the parry maybe two or three unscripted times. It's not easy. I've also done my first bit of backtracking to a previous region: the game made it clear enough where I needed to go and I've felt shepherded towards the 'true path' but the directing's felt entirely natural and unscripted.

Question: Is the parry done as it's arm tries to pin you or is it when the eye flashes? As it isn't really clear to me if I'm too early or too late.

EDIT: Never mind I think you can parry on both.

I have never successfully parried an EMMI, but mainly because ADAM literally tells you it's "virtually impossible" so I thought "oh well, can't be arsed".

I'm really enjoying this so far. While Samus is obviously weak-ish to start with, it feels like she's actually pretty tough and there's a nice fluidity of movement available from the get go. I have noticed that there are a lot of small spaces that I can't get through so I'm also pretty excited to eventually get the Morph Ball and explore lots of nooks and crannies that I haven't been able to get to so far. It seems to have been designed in such a way that you can gain access to new areas pretty quickly (I'm on the third now) while knowing there's loads in the previous ones you haven't discovered yet.

I've also been killed by EMMIs a few times but the loading spots have been pretty forgiving - you're not sent all the way back to a save room all the time (quite often you're just put back at the door into the EMMI area for example).

Plus, I was a little meh about how it looked in screenshots, but it looks really great in motion.

I've played a few hours of this - I've defeated the first two EMMIs and also the big spoilery trailer boss that I still can't believe they showed off before the game released. I'm really enjoying it!

I did share that initial frustration that Balladeer mentioned up above in regards to his initial impressions of the game. I found running like a maniac away from the EMMI wasn't exactly what I was expecting from those enemies and I was getting frustrated with the map design as I often found myself barred from backtracking due to the amount of one-way exits in the opening area.

Having played a bit more of the game, those concerns have faded away. The EMMIs have begun to feel suitably suspenseful following getting the Phantom Cloak ability. The third EMMI you encounter in particular makes you rely on that ability as it's nigh impossible to out-run the bugger. I've had a few moments where I've been cowering in a corner curled up in a ball whilst the EMMI is scanning for me and in those moments, I properly got the sense of dread that the game wants the EMMIs to instil in you.

As for the map design, I think it's actually quite clever. Despite having this sprawling area filled with nooks and crannies to explore, the game subtly funnels you towards the next power-up you need to actually explore said nooks and crannies. I think my stubbornness in wanting to fully explore the opening area was the issue there.

In regards to parrying the EMMIs... I've not done it once! I've tried and failed miserably each time. I think I'll eventually nail it as the enemies I'm encountering in Dairon have quite a narrow parry window, so I hope that'll train my muscle memory if or when I get grabbed by an EMMI.

It's a bit good isn't it? I think I'll be repeating a lot of what others have already said except I'm maybe less frustrated by the EMMI than others have been, I'm quite enjoying figuring out which route to take to outmanoeuvre them (I've also done ok with the parry when necessary). I want to give a shout out to the perspective change when you use the Omega Beam too, having the camera behind like that as the EMMI approaches and you try to take it down just builds the tension perfectly.

Got proper lost for the first time last night/early this morning, I found a few upgrades in quick succession so had no clue where it was actually wanting me to go.

I ended up having to hunt through 4 areas several times to eventually find it, before that though I stumbled into an all new area for another upgrade thinking it was the way forward but no luck so I gave up for a good while and mopped up any items I could and even risked it in some ice areas trying to find the right way.................stupid

Post area 3 spoilers:

Double post!

Reading that back makes it seem I'm down on the game when it's actually pretty damn great & the story part after I made progress was well worth all that lost time.

I'm reaching the point where there's fewer and fewer barriers preventing me from flying across each zone with Samus's near full arsenal at my disposal, and this is the point of a Metroid game that really shines in my eyes. Combing each area for upgrades is still bloody good fun, as you'd expect.

I've got a few issues with the later areas of Dread, though. I remember this being a problem in Samus Returns as well, but some of the boss encounters are pretty overtuned in regards to their difficulty level. It feels like there's only room to make a couple of errors in judgement before you're toast. It's felt like my first attempt at the later bosses has led to a guaranteed game over, whereas I don't recall learning boss patterns being so punishing in previous Metroid games. Plus, the penultimate EMMI can royally do one - very frustrating, that section.

Coupled with things like no real memorable music tracks to accentuate the sense of atmosphere and some control issues (seriously, using things like the Speed Booster and Grapple Beam in this are very fiddly) and I don't think I'd proclaim this to be a 10/10 masterpiece akin to Super Metroid at this point.

But, it is very bloody good nonetheless.

It's definitely not a 10/10. I haven't been as bothered by the lack of distinctive music as many, but the EMMIs are going to be a sticking point. I keep wavering back and forward as to whether they're good or not, but that sort of wavering isn't something I'd be overly worried about in a 10/10 game. (I think I've reached number five? and it's an absolute tosspot. )

I've found the art design variable too. A lot of time there'll just be a rather dull room in the background, and then suddenly there'll be machinery working on a monster or little gribblies heading off into the undergrowth and it'll all be rather wonderful.

I quite like the bosses so far. I'm not up to where Jay is - I think I'm at the mid-boss on Feneria? - and that may change, but in particular boss 2 nailed the growth from 'how the heck are you supposed to beat this?' to 'I AM UNBEATABLE' in a really rewarding way. To be fair to them, some of the EMMI have had the same thing. I also quite liked the (really tough) few Speed Boost challenges I've done so far, although I have had to check in a walkthrough to confirm that I can do them where I am!

I haven't got lost either! Like Jay says, I think the game's really clever at shepherding you down the right path, even if that's not always what you might want... There have been a couple of moments where I've had to backtrack, but even then it's normally the first thing you just got the ability to get past that you come to. (The sublime map helps no end with this.) Although... there aren't a lot of clever uses of items, are there really? It's all a bit, 'use the x-coloured power-up to open the x-coloured door'.

I've not had the best time with this so far. I think it looks super ugly and I've found navigating especially difficult, ending up inappropriately backtracking too often. I must've lost 30 mins after getting the Spider Magnet thing as I just didn't shoot a wall that I saw no indication was shootable. I've then ended up wandering into the fire area and appear to still be lost as to where to go. I'll persist, but this is definitely not the start I was hoping for.