‘Metroid Dread’ Brings Back More Alien Threats With Mechanical Menaces

Announced along with many other games at the E3 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation, Metroid Dread is confirmed to launch on October 8 this year, continuing the 2D Metroid story after 19 years.

Although Samus Aran seems to have exterminated the X-parasite and planet SR388 in Metroid Fusion, Galactic Federation has received a video transmission indicating X-parasitic activities. They send a unit of seven EMMI robots to ZDR to investigate the situation, but the unit then strangely vanishes. As an experienced interstellar bounty hunter, Samus Aran descends upon planet ZDR, striving to unveil the mystery along her dreadful journey.

As in the trailer, planet ZDR is rife with danger exceeding the level we’ve seen in Metroid Fusion. In addition to vicious alien lifeforms, the E.M.M.I., which are supposed to guard humanity, also turn into mechanical menaces for unknown reasons and threaten to take Samus’s life in various ways.

Metroid Dread also shows many technical enhancements in the gameplay. Instead of directly facing celestial threats, there’s the new “stealth” element to overcome the dread more strategically. Samus is given a brand-new cloaking device called a Phantom Cloak to evade detection from the machines, and there’s a new tool called a Spider Magnet that allows her to access alternate paths.

For those who want to take the first step into the Metroid series but are worried about falling behind in the story and mechanics, producer Sakamoto Yoshio has promised that newcomers will feel as welcomed as longtime fans. “So as long as you embrace your role as the most powerful warrior in the galaxy and unleash that power, anyone should be able to enjoy playing,” he said. As for the content, there will be a prologue introducing the world of Metroid to keep you updated, so don’t feel thwarted by this 19-year-old game.

While Metroid Dread is available on October 8, 2021, preorders are already available.