Metroid Dread is ALMOST Perfect - Metroid Dread Review 

If you like Metroidvanias then you need to check out Pseudoregalia ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KNPgRnmvN9I.html

I like how Samus Reacts to Kraid in this game. Shes like: "Oh hey Kraid. All chained up i see. Shame.." *charges blaster*

I think that the Aeon meter was just supposed to be a cleaner way of displaying three different cooldown abilities without having to clutter the UI.

"Gotta replay Prime just to be sure" what a glorious time to be alive as a metroid fan

Ahh a Zero Mission fan, a man of taste ... AHH A MARIDIA DISSENTER, A MAN OF EXQUISITE TASTE

I'm watching this after beating dread mode and when he showed Samus taking damage I was confused for a second on why she wasn't dead.

One thing that I love about this game is the speedrun/sequence breaks that are actively promoted by Mercury Steam with a morph bomb launcher in the Kraid fight, to being able to speed boost into the Experiment boss and finish them extremely quick, with Kraid getting its own special cinematic scene like the parry scenes.

On a first playthrough, I thought Dread was alright. On a second playthrough, it became my favorite Metroid game. One of my gripes initially about the game was its linearity. There's a lot of exploring and the game does a good job locking you out of backtracking to push you to go forward (the "Artaria Loop" as I call it, going from new game to charge beam, is really clever). However, not all is as it seems. The game definitely tries to guide you along its intended path. And then I realized on a second playthrough that it opens up once you hit Ghavoran. The first time in Ferenia going through the EMMI zone is brutal. It always knows where you are, but that's not actually the difficult part. What's hard is that the zone is flooded, forcing you to traverse underwater. And you need to go through the EMMI Zone to get Storm Missile in order to get Space Jump in order to get Gravity Suit... except you don't. You can still shinespark underwater, so you can get to the Ghavoran-Burenia Teleporter once you get Ice Missile. From there, you can take an alternate hidden path for a shinespark puzzle that nets you 10 extra missiles but also a secret path right to the setpiece that opens up the room to Gravity Suit. You've frontloaded the difficulty into a shinespark puzzle, but in return make traversing Ferenia significantly easier. Experiment Z-57 isn't particularly harder without Space Jump or Storm Missiles, so it's a definite choice for me when replaying the game, and it gets me Screw Attack, which trivializes Escue as it lets you hit it through its electric shield. And speaking of shinespark, every boss that you can either speed booster within the arena or charge a shinespark entering the arena is vulnerable to shinespark. This includes the Chozo Robots, the Chozo Soldiers, the Central Units (their insides are also one-shot by Screw Attack), Escue, Golzuna, and Experiment Z-57. And while you don't have speed booster at this point, Kraid is a great showcase of how the game tells you about the multiple ways to deal with bosses. Most people on a first playthrough will do damage to his stomach until he shoots all three spikes and lowers the magnet grip. Then there is the faster way that you show in the video, where you use the spikes that Kraid launches normally to get to the magnet grip without needing to wait for it to be lowered, and careful jumps and intercepting of Kraid's projectiles means that you can stay on the grip indefinitely. And, if you manage to get Bombs early, you can insta-kill Kraid's second phase by using a hidden Morph Ball Launcher that shoots you directly into Kraid's gut. Experiment Z-57 is the other showcase. Its long wind attack that many call "Flappy Bird Phase" also gives the opportunity to activate speed booster, which is an insta-kill if you land the shinespark, making fighting it without Space Jump or Storm Missiles much easier. EMMI Zones are especially interesting on a second playthrough. In a first playthrough, you don't know where to go and are super cautious. You'd likely prefer to have Phantom Cloak ready that use Flash Shift, and you'll likely get caught by EMMIs multiple times. In a second playthrough, though, where you know where to go, the truth of the EMMI Zones is revealed: they are significantly easier if you speed through it. Speed EMMI is the only one that can keep pace with you and it relies on mines to figure out where you are (especially useful to know since it doesn't use its speed in patrol mode, only in search and pursuit mode). So long as you keep moving, you won't get caught.

Samus does speak to Adam in Fusion, and technically monologues in Prime, but it was cut.

29:44 Flash shift is also pretty useful for platforming, and I feel like it's criminally underrated. You know those sections in which you have to swing like Spider-Man with the grapple beam? You can skip most of them. You know how hard it is to avoid the blue and purple E.M.M.I, walking on the ceiling with the spider magnet, or having to get in the water? You can skip a looot of that by just flash shifting.

On the subject of the game not being "back-tracky..." Something I feel gets fundamentally misunderstood in the series is this idea that a linear Metroid is a bad Metroid. As a child growing up during the "Metroid Golden Age" that was 2002-2010, linear and non-linear Metroid were like different sides of the same three-dimensional shape. I didn't really think about which games were better or worse for how linear they were, I just played and enjoyed exploring all these different planets in my favorite gaming universe. In my humble opinion, I think it's GOOD that Metroid has varying degrees of linearity across titles. I think it helps give each individual game its own identity within the greater series. And, if this latest game wasn't quite to your taste, keep on open mind and look forward to the next entry. Who knows? Perhaps you'll grow to appreciate this current one on its own merits in the meantime. Where the problem comes in is that this was viable back in the day when it felt like we could count on a new Metroid in the next 2 years, but it felt like an unfair crapshoot in this 10-year dark age. However, Samus has returned, and with the success of Dread and Prime 4 on the horizon, I'm hoping the spark has at long last been rekindled.

The Aieon abilities were very different in Samus Returns. Instead of a stamina bar it was another resource next to energy, (super) missiles and power bombs. It was kind of a big new addition to the game. You had four Aieon abilities. The scan ability functions the same as in Dread, but is given to you near the start of the game. The other abilities were an energy shield that acts like a second energy bar but is more active against certain terrain, a powerful and fast beam that acts like an omega cannon to go, and an ability that lets you slow down time. You would also gain more Aieon back when you melee counter enemies, which is also introduced in Samus Returns. It certainly makes more sense in the context of Samus Returns. I have no idea why they brought it back for Dread, because it is also connected to SR388 lorewise. My guess is that they planned more for it and then decided against it, because it doesn't fit the fast paced style of Dread. Playing SR is certainly very interesting, seeing how they fixed the flaws of the game and improved on the good parts.

Great review! I've seen SO many other reviews on this game, and I can safely say that this is up there with the very best Dread reviews. No droning on about pointless nitpicks, you tended to be unbiased, you get your point across fluidly, and the jokes are quick and punchy. Will def be sticking around to see what you do next. Keep it up! :)

24:00 Your comment about foreshadowing just reminded me that this is probably the Metroid game that best explains how Samus not only loses her abilities at the beginning of the game, but justifies how she gets them back. Her key upgrades are absorbed from the EMMIs, not picked up in icon form (with a few exceptions that largely make sense as something that might exist on a Chozo planet). She's not picking up oddly appropriate icons or finding upgrades for her suit on a world with no reason to have them: she's directly siphoning the power of her enemies and using that to gain new abilities. She's manifesting her Metroid DNA.

This game is one of my favorites of all time. As someone who started with Fusion this game finally coming out was like a dream. Samus Returns was really good too. It's definitely worth playing, but also Aieon worked pretty differently. It was another limited commodity like missiles or health. Also, I agree that the soundtrack was slightly disapointing over all to me, but Burenia and Ferenia stood out.

Welcome back!!! Keep the quality content coming!

Sequence breaking in dread is a lot of fun just as much as super, hell even did one by accident on my first playthru

I held back on watching this because I planned to play Metroid Dread and didn’t wanna get spoiled in any way. Just beat it yesterday and loved it. Great video as always!

My only gripe with the emmi's is really not even them, it's their respective aurora units. They basically sit there and let you just destroy them. The rings and lasers increase minutely with each fight but they are extremely easy, even for this game. I wish they could've changed their patterns with each one and maybe the amount of damage they do.

I actually really hated all the points of no return that locked off areas till the game decided it was ok for you to return to explore.

About aeion regeneration. I thought it was brilliant. You make a good point about the different abillities being kind of separate. But when it comes to cloaking it's a great tension mekanism. The cloak is great in Emmi engounters, encounters in which staying still can often be a must as not to draw attention. Aeion is recharged by moving. So Staying cloaked for too long ot too often means you will sooner or later have to get a move on in order to stay cloaked or to not take massive damage (from staying cloaked with an empty aeion meter). It can get very tense when an emy is looking right at your cloaked body while that aeion meter creepes towards zero.

Another great video. Life's been a little hectic lately so I'm a bit late, but I still wanted to express my appreciation for your videos, seriously top tier stuff.

Love Dread, I've replayed the hell out of it. I'm always shocked to hear "get good game style players" mention that Dread is actually hard. It is, especially the first playthrough or 2 but I felt it was reasonable and so too punishment. I'm one of those "non-gamers" that won't play Souls or the likes of it because it is too frustrating. But I never once thought Dread was too absurd. Honestly it felt like Ori challenging and not Hollow Knight. I replay Ori a lot still with challenge and I never finished Hollow Knight nor ever will. Big differences in difficulty there. One thing I really do miss in Dread is my ability to explore as much and freely as my other favorite Metroid games like Super and Prime 1. Dread is far more locked down. I also love figuring out my own optimal routes through those games. I'm not a speed runner as the internet would think of speed runners but I do replays with speed and efficiency in mind to a degree. I do see why the structure of the game would make that difficult to design for though. However One thing I took away from Dread when Samus fires upon Ravenbeak after he tells her just to follow orders is that was a signal too me Samus may be saying forget that to the concept of being told explicitly what to do. I felt like it was saying Samus is going to go about doing things in her own way going forward. but that could just be my wishful thinking.

you're right, the EMMI counters feel fantastic when you pull them off. i got two in a row once (i kinda suck at avoiding EMMIs lol), and the rush i felt from it was absolutely incredible. great review, gonna check out your other vids too!

Excellent review. I love Dread and I've been happy to see the majority of the Metroid fanbase feels the same. I'm hopeful and confident Retro is gonna keep this momentum going with Prime 4. Great time to be a Metroid fan!

The best most indepth review I have ever seen, with amazing pacing. Great job sir 👏

I love the way you review games and how you add your own humor to it, awesome videos bro keep it up

I am inspired by a confidence a lot of reviewers aren’t so confident on what they say they always stutter or have to retret things or just mainly sounds like they’re talking in front of a class but you talk like your a professional at this Great Job Man 👍

I played Zero Mission and Fusion back in the day, but I was terrible at them and never beat either one. I got Dread recently after trying the demo out. Despite considering myself bad at games like this, the boss fights felt fair and very learnable. It took me a lot of attempts to beat some of the faster ones like Escue and the Twin Chozo Robots. But man the feeling of finally beating a boss in this game was so awesome. The exploration felt fun, and I found myself attempting all the little item puzzles everywhere. The shinespark ones were really fun, a couple of them took me like 20-30 minutes (metroid noob), but they felt so satisfying once I managed to nail them. The whole game felt like a huge learning experience. The last boss was really hard for me, I didn't know you could power bomb his sun thing. It took me a few hours of attempts. The ending made it worth it, god I love that scream she does. I died 130 times or something on normal. I didn't think I'd do hard mode but I'm like I already put in the work of learning the bosses, I might as well try it. I died 96 times on hard mode but I beat it in much less time. From the start I knew there was no way I'd ever try dread mode. But, I changed my mind. I died 262 times but I beat it. I felt like there was so much the game was teaching me on each playthrough, excellent design IMO. It almost felt like some of the rooms became puzzles on dread mode, I never realized some of the things I just shrugged off before could be such a big deal if you can't take a hit. I agree with you about the music, it's very atmospheric but I do wish it were a bit catchier too. I really loved playing this game though, still need to go back for the 4 hour runs so I'm looking forward to that

I'm happy you're back! I watched all of your DMC videos and later I started to play with them because of your reviews. I hope you upload videos more often in the future!

Love your vids man! Hope you keep posting and showing off games that I wouldn’t normally play!

I've been a Metroid fan since 1996 and this game was such a breath of fresh air. Gives me a feeling of exploration that I hadn't felt since Prime 3.

I think that finally seeing the Chozo at the height of their power really shows why the majority of the species ultimately chose to put down their weapons and lead a more peaceful lifestyle. The Chozo we see, both X revived and Raven Beak are brutal in the extreme. Their armor and everything about the way they move and act just emanates lethality. And speaking of their armor, we also get to see what Samus' armor was based on. But we also get to see that Samus' armor, IS NOT Chozo armor. Chozo armor is sharp and generally very threatening. The armor made by the peaceful Chozo to be worn by their chosen champion, Samus, was rounder. It emanated confidence and justice, rather than violence and aggression. You can see the obvious design choices between two factions of a single species, one war loving, and the other peace loving. Yet they both are distinctly Chozo.

really good review with plenty of context based on prior games. this i think convinced me to finally try this out, since i'd been eyeing it for awhile but heard mixed things - and had never played a metroid game before. thanks for the detailed review and for marking when you were talking about spoilers (and for being very general otherwise).

Hey Hyve! I just came from your King Of Cards video, and I wanted to say it was top notch work! I love your video style of "I sound like a professional video game review, but like, I'm just a normal dude." One thing I wanted to say though, (and this may just be because I'm a Specter Knight fanboy cause it's the one I dumped the most time into) is that the story is actually super deep in my opinion. He got his best friend taken away from him, and when he's given an opportunity to bring him back and live his "peaceful" life, he gives it all up so a mother can have her son back and the son doesn't throw away his life due to corruption. You even showed the scene in the KoC review, where he says "Take me instead."

Amazing video, what a treat! 🙂

Just binged watched your Devil May Cry reviews. Keep the content coming! SUBSCRIBED!

What a great vid. Echos a lot of Thoughts I had.. just a hell of a lot more eloquently!

Metroid Samus returns is a ''must play!''

Sick video Also I would love to see a video about king of cards new game + mode

I really like the fact that you're nuanced in your video and don't just straight up says it's just better to be totally free and not being guided at all cause personally I have no problem with being guided in a game, I just don't care, sometimes I even like that and I actually prefer linear games. But I have the impression players and game reviewers nowadays think it's objectively better to just be lost in a game without knowing anything in advance and without any indication while some certainly don't like that and that's not what makes the game more fun for them. So again thank you for being nuanced and talking about the good points from both approaches. That's what I call real objectivity and actual observation despite personal preferences.

so, hang on. are we not going to talk about how the final x parasite that kills Raven Beak has also taken control of Kraid and it mixes them together, like that's so cool, they didn't have to do that!

Great video, seems like a cool game! Can't wait for more content!

Dread’s music is lacking but there is at least one music that I think is criminally underrated. The ferenia theme is an absolute bangner and I cool hum it from the top of my head because it is that good.

I didnt plan to watch this whole vid, but you did such a great job with it that I stayed to the end -huge metroid fan who doesnt own a switch. Thanks

I'm not sure why, but Metroidvania video essays have always been some of my favorites, and you totally killed it with this one. I've become an adult since this game came out, and unfortunately I never have time to sit down and play video games anymore, but when I do, Dread is always one of them.

A very nice review of a game I absolutely love. If you like metroidvania styles and would like to try something a little "different" in the genre, take a look at F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Tower. It has been 7 months (regularity is not your forte, I see

Customizable controls, and a more memorable soundtrack, and this is a 10 out of 10. As it is now 9 out of 10.

this was my very first ever Metroid game and man I love this game, I am currently almost done with Metroid prime but I cannot wait for the next entry

The way you appreciate this game reminds me a lot of the ori games. I highly recommend Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It's such a well done game and a bit short but FULL of content

I enjoy your reviews! hope to see some more yakuza aswell ;)

One of the best sound design things in Dread is when you can hear Kraid roaring in the background as you get closer to him.

Wait: the teleporters are linked in the end? You can highlight icons? Man,that will help me a lot on my second playtrough! Thank you!

Hey the homeboy is back Edit: 15:52 that sounds like something I watched that involved Samus

I died so many times in this metroid game. 248 deaths total and I've been playing metroid games sense 2008

cant wait to check it out and even more cant wait to see what Samus will become in her next life and journey,.. i cant imagine that with whats becoming available she couldnt and wouldnt take the oppurtunity to clone and add to her potentials between here and than.. see you there though

my only complaint with dreads story is how the cliffhanger of "what will the federation do now that samus blew up bsl?" was dealt with. turns out: not a goddamn thing, it's easily forgiven, swept under the rug, and the federation is already hiring her with no other mention of that little cliffhanger in dread. it's a great story still, but goddamn going from fusion to dread and having fusions cliffhanger be ignored just pisses me off. at least address what happened to the mystery man adam was conspiring with in fusion.

11.27 - 11.33 how do you connect all of the teleporters to each other? i've finished the game and didn't unlock this feature

Good video. I hope you get all the subscribers in the world.

I dislike the Emmi's for one major reason: The hunt is only superficial. If you manage to get out, you might get out in the wrong place, wasting time getting back to the proper route. If you get caught, you most often die, which leads to the continue screen and then back to the area entry. Again, it is a time waste. What are the point of these time wastes? NOTHING! It is only annoying. The counter should have been made easier, or even better, the Emmi's should be fightable (although not destroyable unless if you have the correct power up). Have the Emmi, when it catches you, close all doors in and out of the area UNTIL you defeat it (temporarily). It would then be powered down for like 5 minutes, leaving you time to explore the Emmi's area.

Speaking of the sounds EMMIs make, i find it so interesting how much they sound like birds chirping. Aside from their unnatural symmetry and movements, their structure seems based on the anatomy of the Chozo, even down to their probe looking like a beak as it shoots out of their face. And even as far as movements go, when the Mawkin you fight move on all fours, they do seem to move similarly to the EMMI (not to mention that the Mawkin can also wall cling). I hope some future game goes into where they came from/how the Federation got possession of them, because there definitely seems to be more there beneath the surface.

i think the problem with metroid dread is that they think we are dumb enought to not remember where something is in the map. Super peroid is so good because everything that you ought to remember leaves a great impression on you, so you'll remember where it is. Same for hollowknight. I think they could've made a better experience over this, giving it a bigger sense of wonder and investigation.

Lawd have mercy… he’s gonna be thankful for that melee counter on DREAD MODE… promise you that! 😂

Excellent review

'Almost perfect' is actually a great description of how good Dread was. Maybe it's because the last game I played was Samus Returns, which I thought was great, but the way the story moved Samus forward was also phenomenal. I'm not sure where the series goes form here, but more of this, please!

Holy moly you came back wow 🤯

I think people overestimate the linearity. Yes, it’s more linear than super, but it’s less so than Fusion and about the same as Zero Mission. The difference is that it blocks you off into smaller areas a bit more due to the size of the world, and, for the more experienced Metroid veterans, the “invisible hand” can be a bit too easy to see. It still has plenty of exploration and backtracking, especially when you’re going for 100%

Dread is an amazing game and I loved the review. Three things that I didn't personally care for in this game. First the lazy transition load screens. I understand the need to load but I honestly would have preferred a map or something else to look at than watching a very short animation loop over and over. The transition animation could have been a bit more varied or something as a solution as well. Second the Emmi counter timing slot machine. I'm not sure the exact pattern but the counter system for the Emmi being randomized doesn't feel fair considering it's an instant KO. The timing necessary is already so narrow that I could see this turning a lot of players off. This is added to the fact that some Emmi have an evil search AI that paths them to a place you would think to hide with the stealth thus they walk into you or has them sit for uncomfortable amounts of time while you use up your energy bar. This requires many times to drop the stealth approach and manuveur which depending on the Emmi can be easy or will put you into the cutscene counter in record time. This varies on the position as well. The Emmi are constantly roaming but they hover around the door or area to their zone you last entered. Overall I don't hate having a counter for it but it shouldn't be randomized in timing or alternatively injure you but majorly damage. Third is the missles. Or more the the point the need to aim and hold a button to fire missles. I understood the need for this slightly better with the missles power up providing a locking but my issue is having to hold an additional button. When you use grapple or missles you are required to hold the aim button, then hold the middle or grapple button, then press the fire button. This could be simplified with the button that readies the powerup, deploying the power up instead. In the older games there was a toggle for missles. This made it easy to just unload on a boss or enemy. But with the lack of a toggle the ability to just press the missles button to fire is possible. How to utilize the lock on would be the only question.

def agree about the music in-game being a not exactly iconic other than the title screen rendition which was redone but I did like it. great review tho!!

If the sequel to astral chain is announced, you are my to-go to for a review. Im curious (should you get into the new IP of Nintendo) about your thoughts.

I'm still shocked this game came out and is as good as it is, great video man, have you ever heard of the Nier /drakengurd series I'd love to see your thoughts on those games mainly Nier....

Aeion in Samus Returns takes a lot of time to recharge cause its refilled by killing enemies that drop aeion orbs (much like life orbs do) and theres an ability that’s literally an automatic blast that drains it at lightspeed, so its much better that it works like a cooldown here imo

Looking forward to seeing what u have to say about Dread with Prime now remastered

he's back!

6:03 I'm with you on that. That's one of the main reasons why I enjoyed almost every game in the Metroid franchise that I've played. It's also the main reason why I love games like Breath of the Wild, and tears of the kingdom... And to a certain extent, almost every open world game by Rockstar. Sure, your destination is marked on your map, but how you get there is up to you. Nowadays, games have GPS.

I love this game and have become a Metroid freak, playing all of the games in the series multiple times. Except the first Metroid. But this was the coolest, most in depth review of this game I've seen online.

Okay sheesh. You blew my mind. I've beaten this game about 10 times and I did just learn that you can do this: 11:30...

Emmi sections were terrible. The emmi is never actually patrolling, its just off screen waiting for you to enter no mater where or when you arrive. So, it becomes a matter of trial and error to find the way past. There is no surprise or "dread" , except for the dread of frustration at finding the next checkered door. Otherwise , this Metriod was awesome.

I didnt know it had a dread mode. THANK YER!! I will have to go back and beat that mode then. I just beat prime remastered. It's almost perfect but the grapple swing is a little weighty and turning is a tad annoying. Dread literally has no faults I can remember and everything is just so fine tuned and smooth. Can't say for sure but Dread might be my fav. Lol Maridia Grrrr! I agree man! Fun to hear your thoughts.

My only issue with the game was the "lack" of bosses. Almost every boss in the game was shown in the trailer and after experiencing Hollow Knight, I was bummed to find out the game had so few boss battles. Nonetheless the game is still amazing. Edit: I had some issues with the EMMIS as well, since it became tiresome after a while.

What an amazing review, really hit the nail on the head just like the game did!

i like the plue color sceme, also this suit builds of the fusion suit so blue is legit

It lives up to its title.

I love u for the the World reference

Wall of text incoming. You've been warned. The one thing that holds Dread back from being my new favorite Metroid over Zero Mission is definitely the constant points of no return, preventing voluntary backtracking. Fusion did the same thing, but that game leaned into what could be done with a linear structure to tell a compelling narrative. Dread, on the other hand, is meant to be a more traditional Metroid with a focus on environmental storytelling, no waypoints, and a sprawling interconnected world littered with hidden pathways built for sequence breaks, so it felt unnecessarily restrictive and left me frustrated on multiple occasions. It's also a shame it takes about a third into the game before sequence breaks can really start being done (outside of crazy speedrun shenanigans). Regardless, this is easily my #2 Metroid to date. The fact that it _does_ still live up to classic Metroid design with those aforementioned aspects more than makes up for what grievances I have. I ended up playing 6 back-to-back playthroughs, and each time I found something new, which is something I haven't experienced in this franchise _since_ Zero Mission. It feels crafted to be a balance of Super, Fusion, and Samus Returns, taking what those games had to offer to the next level - especially in Samus Returns' case. The parry in particular has been greatly improved, and the combat has been refined to near perfection, offering up some of the most intense encounters of the entire genre. No more is this the case than in the boss fights. Dread easily has one of the most legendary boss lineups of any video game, right up there with the likes of Metal Gear Rising if you ask me (which is no small feat to say the least). Every time I got my balls kicked in by one of them, I never felt discouraged, but _motivated_ to get another crack at it, learning its patterns better each time and eventually coming out on top. It was satisfying in a way very few games not named MGR or DMC have left me feeling. As far as power-ups go, I do wish there had been one or two more new ones, but what we got was still satisfying, and the repurposing of returning ones helped keep them feeling fresh. I do think the Power Bomb having an ammo count despite needing to be charged akin to Other M was a bit lame, however, especially when it's acquired at the end of the game - plus getting expansion tanks early doesn't give you access to them. It's a minor gripe, but it's the one ability that I felt was undercooked. I suppose there's not much harm in having one odd ball out, however. Narratively, it's 100% worthy as a sequel to Fusion. Living up to 19 years of anticipation is a virtually impossible task, and yet I wasn't left feeling disappointed. The way it follows up on the X-Parasites and makes them feel even more threatening than they did before is commendable. How they so quickly take over the entire planet you've been exploring emphasizes just how much of a threat to the galaxy these things are in a way Fusion never managed to, which is something I never thought I could have said before. The fact that there's a blink-and-you-miss-it detail implying that some of the X managed to escape the planet's destruction via Chozo ships, as well, is just... god, it's so great. These things refuse to die, and I'm super keen on having them become the next recurring threat (if that is indeed the intention). I also love the choice to focus on Samus' Metroid DNA awakening within her. It's such a no-brainer after Fusion, yet I wasn't quite sure it was going to be done going in. I'm glad my concerns were put down. Seeing Samus decked out in full-on Metroid armor was one of the coolest things I've ever seen, and I'm actually a bit sad it was so short-lived, even if I understand why it needed to be. It's not just a sequel to Fusion, however; it's a sequel to Samus Returns, and oh boy, is it ever a sequel. The final Chozo memory from that game left such a tantalizing cliffhanger, and it was capitalized on expertly. The way Dread brings the series' lore full circle is, in a word, cathartic to someone who's spent the last two decades playing these games, waiting for a proper fifth entry. The expansion of the lore with the Chozo couldn't have made me happier, especially finally getting to SEE a Chozo in person for the first time in one of the games. Having Samus' one line be in the Chozo language, man... nothing could have been more appropriate in acknowledging her history with them like that. In addition, the revelation of Raven Beak giving some of his DNA to Samus in conjunction with Old Bird and Gray Voice was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. It was always odd to me that Samus gained superhuman abilities from a species depicted as wise and non-violent, but now it makes sense having knowledge that these abilities came from the leader of a warrior faction. It's also great that Samus herself doesn't seem to give a shit about it. She just wants to take the bird man down, preventing it from being an "I am your father" type moment. It's more of a revelation for the audience than Samus, which I think is nice. But of course, I can't just ignore the E.M.M.I., can I? If you want to talk about taking something from Fusion to the next level, there's nothing more adequate than these mfers. The feeling of helplessness (as "ADAM" so adequately put it) was exactly what I was hoping for out of them, truly _dreading_ every encounter with them. That's no mere pun, either; it's no secret the title Dread comes from them, and do they ever justify it. The way they track you down in dynamic chase sequences, combined with well-disguised scripted sections must have been what Sakamoto wanted to be able to do with the SA-X all those years ago, and I can see why he ultimately decided to scrap Dread for the DS, as there's no way the hardware would have been able to accomplish such a feat. On top of all that, the feeling of empowerment upon taking them down is no better described than satisfying, and acquiring a new power-up is the perfect icing on the cake as your reward. TL;DR: Metroid Dread is a phenomenal achievement, easily worthy of being called Metroid 5. There are a few bumps in the road, but it's exactly the evolution the franchise needed to keep itself relevant among so many recent titans in the very genre the series invented, and it's a satisfying conclusion to a story arc 35 years in the making. Here's to Metroid 6, Sakamoto and Mercury Steam. You've earned it. Edit: Something I can't believe I forgot to comment on is Samus' body language. It's literally perfection. She's exactly the kind of character I'd envisioned after the events of Fusion; someone hardened and experienced, but not invulnerable and emotionless. She knows when she's in control, but also when she's on the ropes. I already mentioned her speaking in Chozo, but there's also the scream of pure, unfiltered rage at the end, taking out all of her pent up aggression on her "father" manipulating and trying to use her to conquer the galaxy. This followed by the obliteration of the X version of him (featuring Kraid!) with the Hyper Beam was as Samus as it gets.

Would love to hear your thoughts on Bayonetta 1 and 2, since you enjoyed the DMC series :)

Bro back! Review Castlevania games!

what song is that at 25:47 I feel like I can just barely remember what it is but not quite lol its driving me mad

29:01 Samus Returns is a phenomenal game, still sucks it didn’t sell well

I missed you, dude.

Metroid 2: Remake was a great game. It feels like they started with that game as the foundation for this game. Metroid 2 is gonna feel slow after Dread though. You should still play it if you are a fan of the series. If you go back and play Skyward Sword you realize how much of what they used in that game was the foundation they perfected in Breath of the Wild. The same could be said about Metroid 2 and Dread.

For me it was the game of 2021 and I've got only a 4k gaming pc!!! I've played it 100% on pc and it was FKN AWESOME!!!

Great video kind of had some spoilers going on there

I almost want to get the game even though I've never played a Metroid game before... the movement looks really fun, but I also don't know if I can handle the difficulty (assuming it is difficult, I haven't played it before so I dunno).

If you haven’t played Samus Returns I highly recommend it. Loved both games, but I personally liked Samus Returns better than Dread (even though Dread is objectively the better game). It also sets up some of the story for Dread.

for samus speaking it would depend on what you count as speaking if you meant having dialogue (outside of exposition logging) then fusion would be her first time

Probably the only thing stopping me from saying Dread is perfect is its odd pacing at times with certain power ups Namely the pace of the Missle upgrades and Power Bombs coming so late they frankly feel like theyre a formality here (still useful, itd just be better if it came sooner) Past that, Dread is a dream to play, and despite it being the first Ive personally beat (played Super and SR, never beat em tho) I also get the feeling the rest of the fanbase understands

The thing about the music in Dread has nothing to do with you playing in handheld mode, and everything to do with it just not standing out at all. Zero Mission and Fusion are handheld games with absolutely banger and memorable soundtracks (of course, Zero Mission reuses the music of the original Metroid and some of Super, and both of them are console titles), and while I know you haven't played Fusion in its original handheld form, I have and I can absolutely tell you not even the puny GBA speaker can make it sound underwhelming. On the "no one probably has played Samus Returns" thing, we actually have no idea what the real sales numbers are. Nintendo and/or MercurySteam have never disclosed them, and the ones publicly available are estimates from when the game was like 3 months old and only counts the digital copies sold. The game has been out for like 5 years now, and we don't actually know how many physical copies were ever made or sold. Digital copies are still available for purchase until Nintendo closes up the 3DS eShop.

Your criticism of the melee counter is pretty funny to me, because that's exactly what I said about Samus Returns They changed it in Dread and it feels so much better to use now, I'd recommend trying Samus Returns and comparing the two, it might change some of your opinion on it

Loved Dread. Fusion is one of my favorite games of all time so for its sequel to deliver this well was amazing. The story in Fusion really propelled my interest so I didn’t mind the game telling me where to go. I still got lost a lot and had to get creative in order to progress. I never felt lost in Dread and I never felt stuck. Maybe I just knew what to look for, but I would have liked more complicated puzzles in Dread. As for backtracking, I’ve never seen a better example of it than in Fusion. Narratively, it brought you back to an area you now had more access to with unlocked hatches or new powers and it always felt so seamless. A new problem arose and you would return to a sector and be able to access what you couldn’t before without having to go out of your way to do it.