Metroid Dread

[OCH]

That's how you get that one!😲

[spatular]

yeah i had no idea you could smash those blocks like that!

[mmmark]

Not long after I started I jumped and as I landed I fired off a shot and she stood with her back to the screen, arm reached out. There’s literally a little stance made for just a small window of activity.

 

Ive explained that poorly but be impressed. 

[OCH]

There is an impressive amount of little touches like that. Like when you are stationary with the Morph Ball, you press one button and perform a cartwheel to get out of it.

[Maryokutai]

8 hours ago, OCH said:

There is an impressive amount of little touches like that. Like when you are stationary with the Morph Ball, you press one button and perform a cartwheel to get out of it.

 

That's also the animation used for the melee attack during the slide, which I pointed out as a nice detail as well. It's cool they made two versions of that depending on whether she's standing or crouching.

[Maf]

Got lost for the first time

 

Spoiler

Just beat 2 Chozo soldiers and got the space jump. 

Really not sure where to go now. This is what happens when you don’t play the game for days/week at a time

 

Edit: Can’t touch this duh-na-na-na

 

EDIT#2: Oh, I get it now, I’m really stupid I should have known it’s usually the stupidity that gets in the way 

 

EDIT#3: Damn it took me 20 minutes of running up and down this hallway trying to figure out how to get this energy tank 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Maryokutai]

I parried that exact same EMMI twice in a row yesterday too, was definitely not his day.

[mfnick]

Completed last night, overall I really enjoyed it. 
I did think there were 1 or 2 too many EMMI encounters, when the last one showed up I was definitely more than done with them

Spoiler

however Samus kills it in the cut scene thank fuck. 

 

The recycled content with the EMMI’s and the repeated Chozo Soldier enemy things, including the wall jumping ones was disappointing, got a bit boring fighting them repeatedly. 

I never got fully used to the controls either. Right up until the end I was pressing the wrong buttons and getting my fingered mixed up on which buttons needed to be pressed. 
 

For some reason I never felt compelled to return to areas for extra energy or missiles unless I was already passing through either. I thinks it’s due to how many times the game blocks certain paths off making it more of a faff to get back and whenever I did go looking I was usually missing a ability or 2 so ended up being a waste of time. Sure that always happens in Metroid type games but just felt it more here for some reason. So just didn’t bother. That shines Park ability thing is leaned on too much for most of them and it’s just a annoying ability. Didn’t find that one fun to use, although the charge thing looks cool as fuck. 
 

But, even with all that negativity, I still loved it. Even though I struggled with the controls, when you do get it right and are charging through and bouncing around the screens it feels great.
 

The actual proper boss encounters were all great and fun. Loved the designs. I also found the difficulty to be the right level throughout, surprised how much of a deal is being made about it to be honest, I’m not the best but didn’t find it particularly hard but it’s not a pushover either. So refreshing to have a Nintendo game where the opening hours aren’t just a boring slog due to lack of any challenge whatsoever. 

The pacing is really good & it’s great at pushing you forward with pretty obvious signposting where you should be going next which made it hard to put down. Especially with the frequency it throws new abilities and upgrades at you. 
 

I just enjoy Metroid and Metroidvania type game’s too and this is just a really good one of those. Personally I think the Ori games and Hollow Knight are superior to this though. & my memories of Super Metroid, Zero Mission and Fusion are superior but that could just be my rose tinted specs playing tricks.
 

8/10

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Maf]

I'm unsure about the Emmi's. There's something odd about the balance of penalty and difficulty. The lack of penalty, just a quick restart, counter weighted by how easy they kill you, pretty much guaranteed, is odd to me. You just have a series of quick restarts until you get it which fills me more with annoyance than dread. I might have preferred it if they were easier to survive but there was a bigger penalty for dying to them. Or easier to survive but harder to escape. Maybe they would feel more substantial. 

 

I think really they should of been like Alien Isolation where they can pop out anyway but I guess that was too hard design wise. 

 

The only thing I don't like about the controls is I can't use the D-Pad. Analogue stick for 2D games, is just a bit more clumsy than I would like. 

 

Apart from that I love this game. I don't know about Fusion because it's been along time but I definitely take this over Super Metroid and the Prime games. It plays better, it's faster, the abilities are cooler. It's a great video game. I'm just getting into exploring in the game because now I think I have most of the powers. 

[Maryokutai]

I agree with the EMMI part. It's an interesting idea for the series and probably goes all the way back to that Zero Suit segment in Zero Mission, but like you say the balance isn't quite there. I wonder if letting them roam freely in every area would have been better or just infinitely annoying. It'd probably have to result in a similar setup where you have to deactivate them first before being able to explore and that could have turned the game into something super formulaic, which it kind of manages to not be right now, despite some recurrent elements.

[Maf]

I think maybe they could pop up anywhere outside of set pieces and you're constantly on the run and being hunted, until you get the Omega cannon and then you can hunt them back in that area. Might have given it a bit of variety and planning/hunting to it. But yes it might also suck like Mr X in RE2 Remake when you just want to get to a room but can't because he is in the way. Or stuck in a save room while they pound around outside forever 

[Maryokutai]

But like I said that would have turned it into a somewhat formulaic vidoegame. You arrive in an area, you run from the EMMI, you get weapon, you kill EMMI, you start exploring. I'm not saying it wouldn't work but I think the approach they took here gives them more freedom to design around. Yes, you are ultimately doing the same thing a couple of times but it feels organic.

 

Also forgot to mention earlier but that patch they promised is out now, about that one little glitch that could happen if you use the feature to emphasise certain hotspots on the map (is anyone actually using that?).

[mfnick]

For the first 2 or 3 EMMI’s I was leaning more into thinking they were a neat gimmick. But after the 3rd one I was tired of them. Luckily I didn’t struggle in those sections really or it could have been a deal breaker. If I constantly died on one I think I’d have rated it a lot lower. 
 

As for a alternative, not sure of what they could do either. I absolutely would not want them being a threat at all times per map section though. I would have hated that. Personally I’d have just kept them to 3 or do away with them, sure there’d have been no real differentiator between it and other Metroid at that point but I think I would have enjoyed it more. Or have them more as a set piece moment like the Ori chase sequences just as a example. Or even just as extra bosses. Fuck knows. I just know I didn’t think much to them. Weren’t a deal breaker either though so whatever.
 

I disagree with them not being super formulaic though because that’s absolutely how they felt to me. Run away, eventually gain access to same mother brain mini boss room, get canon, run to long path bit, kill EMMI. Same everytime. 
 

I do want to reiterate just how fucking cool Samus is in this though, forgot to mention it in my last post. Love her in this. The whole ending sequence is fantastic too.

 

 

Also - people with the special edition - that art book. Does it cover all games or just Dread? If it’s all & good I might open it and have a look. If it’s just Dread I’m going to keep it sealed for more moolah when selling it. 

[Maryokutai]

I meant not formulaic in the sense that they mix up the order around it a bit. Yes, the actual disposing of them is always the same, more or less, but sometimes you spend a lot of time in their area until you get to that point, sometimes it's rather early one, they have somewhat different skillsets that makes traversal a bit different and there's also the part where

 

Spoiler

Quiet Robe deactivates them for a bit, luring you into a false sense of safety.

 

I'm just saying it's not quite UbiSoft-style, but there's room for improvement for sure.

 

The artbook is roughly half about Dread and the other half is Metroid 1, Super, Fusion, Zero Mission and Samus Returns (and absolutely nothing on Other M). The stuff about the prior games is mostly just about Samus herself and her suit design(s) though.

[OCH]

31 minutes ago, Maryokutai said:

and absolutely nothing on Other M

That did make me laugh, when I saw it😄

[mfnick]

3 hours ago, Maryokutai said:

The artbook is roughly half about Dread…

Thanks, think I’ll leave it then. 

[Maryokutai]

It's not in a sealed bag though, you can just take it out and have a look without reducing the value of the package.

[mfnick]

Really? I’ll have to double check that but was sure the book was in a proper seal you have to tear off. 

[mmmark]

Not to poop on something people like but I’ve never understood the point in these. You might look at it once and that’s your lot. It’s never exactly something you’d find hanging in a gallery. 

[Maf]

If you want to figure out how to get all the items yourself then don’t watch the video below but man it took me a long time to figure out how to do this