Metroid is one of Nintendo’s most recognizable and highly regarded game series. It stands out from all other Nintendo IPs for its more mature tone and continuous narrative that the company’s other games lack. 

The original Metroid from 1986 was a revolutionary game that, along with Castlevania from the same year, invented the Metroidvania genre. Metroidvania is the genre of video games in which the player has to discover new areas of a large map after they acquire new abilities and movement options. After discovering new abilities, the game recommends that players backtrack to get items and secrets they had previously missed. 

The Metroid games are considered some of Nintendo’s best. The mainline Metroid games have all been well received and praised for their tense horror-like atmosphere. The Metroid Prime 3D spin-off series includes some of the greatest games of all time.

However, none of the Metroid games have sold particularly well. They always turn a profit, but they are rarely, if ever, breakout successes. As atmospheric shooter horror games, the series has consistently fallen out of Nintendo’s demographic of mostly younger players. There has not been a mainline Metroid game since Metroid: Fusion in 2002. Though, ever since its release, the development team had been discussing the sequel Metroid: Dread. 

Although the idea for Dread has allegedly existed since 2004, the first reports and leaks of the game first appeared in 2006. Reports claimed that Fusion’s sequel would be releasing soon. Nintendo even included an easter egg in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption from 2007, stating that “Metroid project ‘Dread’ is nearing the final stages of completion.” But the game never came out, and fans assumed Nintendo canceled its release. 

But on June 15, 2021, Nintendo finally announced Metroid: Dread. The mere release of the game is a massive deal for the company and fans. The release of an official sequel to Fusion shows that the company is still interested in keeping Samus’ story going. And the fact that the Metroid development team chose to still make Dread specifically after all these years shows how passionate everyone is about the idea. 

The game debuted on October 8, 2021. I preordered it, and I 100% completed the game within a week of its release. The game is fantastic. Samus plays very fluidly, and even though she does not say anything and her helmet covers her face, Samus has much more personality than expected. The combat is fun, and all of the boss fights are tense and decently challenging. 

The game is only around 15 hours long, but that is still a reasonable amount of time. Almost all of this time is the gameplay, so the player is not having to waste their time going through boring sections of monotony and lengthy cutscenes. The game is short, but it’s sweet the whole way through.  

I feel as if anyone interested in this game should try to get it and play it. Of course, the main reason to get the game is that it plays well and is fun, but by getting the game, consumers show Nintendo that people do care about Metroid and want the series to continue. The development team has stated that they already know where they want Samus’ adventure to go next, so we shouldn’t have to wait another 19 years before we get to see that dream realized.