Test Conclusion
Test note
1.9
Well
With Metroid Dread , Mercury Steam shows that his first-class 3DS remake became a game-boy classic Metroid 2 – Return of Samus no mayfly and underlines its genre expertise. For Metroid Dread , it is not quite enough for the absolute high-flyer, but the very classic approach, enriched with a lot of nostalgia and seasoned with fresh game mechanics, makes Samus Aran s new adventure for a weighting title for series fans. But even if they had nothing to do with the Metroid series so far, they will have fun with a lot of fun, because the positive aspects outweigh the negatives. The prerequisite for this is that they can not be deterred by the genre-typically upscale claims: the combat mechanics, crisp platform passages, and especially the later increasingly tricky removal in the game world born frustration potential. But who bestern out is paid with a first-class Metroidvania.
Read product reviews at Amazon
Per
Very big, motivating offer of skills and upgrades
Spectacular boss fights
Predominantly precise and incident control
Audiovisual extremely coherent
Faire storage and checkpoint system
Ordinary solo playing time (about ten to 15 hours)
Helpful map function with freely placing markers
Attractive, complex Leveldesign
Contra
For a metroidvania a touch to linear
In later course, high demands on the sense of orientation
E.M.M.I. partly annoying
to offer
To the offer at Amazon to the offer at Idealo
The starting signal for the Metroid series already fell in the mid-1980s on Nintendos 8-bit console NES. Since then, protagonist Samus has returned well a dozen times on almost all platforms of the Japanese manufacturer. Most recently in the form of a remakes of the second series of production originally published for the GameBoy, which appeared for the 3DS in 2017. Reclaimed new edition for the implementation of the Metroid – Samus Returns was the Spanish developer Mercury Steam responsible, which has made a name for itself mainly by the modern continuations of Konamis Castlevania series.
An apparently perfect choice, because the remake harvested a lot of praise from players and critics. Above all, however, the two series put the foundation for a completely own subgenre of the Action Adventures, the so-called Metroidvanias. Metroid Dread now continues the plot exclusively on the switch. Computer picture has felt the Squel on the tooth and will tell you whether the game only addresses series fans or can delay Switch owners deliberately confidently.
Classic 2D Metroidvania
As a direct continuation of the Metroid Fusion published in 2002, Mercury Steam As expected, Mercury Steam chooses a classic approach to Metroid Dread . They experience the game events predominantly from the side perspective and control Heldin Samus through a complex, completely connected game world. In it, among other things, with energy projects and missiles, they must prove their arts in combat with the opponents, but also cope with platform passages and solve puzzles that are predominantly related to the increasingly tricky removal.
Because even if your task is conceivable simple and after landing on the foreign planet ZDR only consists of finding a way back to the spaceship, you can not simply march in Metroid Dread . Most passages into other local areas are only through the help of special skills and equipment objects that you will find in the area or even as a reward for victory in one of the spectacular boss fights.
These capabilities comprise from the predecessors known elements such as the Morph ball, with Samus forming a small ball with which they can squeeze themselves through closest corridors. In addition to many well-known, but partly significantly expanded skills, there are also a few brand new as the Spider magnet. Thus, Samus can hold on to certain surfaces and along with the sticky legs of a spider along the ceilings. Another ability allows a kind of storming, with which Samus is able to break certain walls. Almost every skill will be expanded by upgrades later in the later course, so you can additionally drop bombs in ball form.
One for metroid completely new ability is the phantom slope, with which a clever mechanism catches into the series for the first time. This allows you to temporarily invisible your character at the push of a button to override a door scanner that would otherwise deny access to you. Above all, it is often possible to pass completely unnoticed opponents, which is important not least in one of the central new finest types: the E.M.M.i mentioned guard robots.
Deflected only on a detour
The E.M.M.I. Are simply expressed wake-up droids that visit certain local areas after intruders and kill Samus immediately when they catch them. With the help of Samus counter hook, which returns in Metroid Dread again, you can use the E.M.M.I. Stun for a short time to avert the threatening screen death at a confrontation. However, Samus can not fight the guard robots. Probably the E.M.M.I. Even truly perceived as a deadly danger, Mercury Steam uses the timing window for a successful counterattack extremely scarce. So short that most players do not fail at most in one of five cases.
A direct contact should therefore be avoided, which is possible to a certain extent by routing, but also with said phantomum slope. Activate the cape, the E.M.M.I. Do not see you with your red-glowing search eye. They also move considerably quieter, so they virtually no noises produce more, which call the pursuers on the plan. However, the energy for the cape is greatly limited and efficient hiding opportunities are in short supply in the environments. That also guarantees later that you are the E.M.M.I. perceive as a great danger. However, their superiority is somewhat too much on the nerves of the player. Because too often it depends on coincidence and less of their own abilities, whether they escape or not.
Thankfully, you can use the total seven E.M.M.I. But later then defeat permanently because special intermediate gutting will temporarily miss a thick upgrade to your blaster. Then Metroid Dread also shows off the beautiful intermediate sequences that the game looks like 2D, but the creators have realized it mostly using a 3D engine. The traditionally not squared in the metroidvania genre, in this case fixed level of difficulty falls in Metroid Dread despite the E.M.M.I. Overall, comparatively moderate. The boss fights, however, are likely to create the fewest players in the first start. But there are you to learn with every attempt what happens in the individual fighting phases and learn the right behavior in the duels accordingly formally memorized.
What is very important as usual is the collection of all previously accessible upgrading objects, with which you increase the maximum amount of hit points and the carrier missiles. Because these bonuses usually can only be achieved with the acquisition of new abilities, the voluntary return in already traveling area components remains in Metroid Dread (optional) part of the game principle. The ability acquisition itself takes place in the Genre comparison, however, much more linear than in metroidvanias such as Hollow Knight or Ori and the Will of the Wisps . The biggest challenge is in the way finding, which is often unnecessarily difficult due to no further recognizable, only with certain skills blocks unnecessarily difficult.
Great design at the switch performance limit
In Puncto presentation, Metroid Dread leaves a good impression overall. The design of the environments is manifold and stretchly pretty pretty. In the audio domain, the game shines with an atmospheric soundtrack and rich effects, which find a nearly perfect balance between contemporary class and retro charm. However, Metroid Dread is not technically impressive, which is less due to the developers as the limited possibilities of switch hardware.
Get players in handheld mode – as so often on the current Nintendo console – the visually better experience on the small monitor, especially on the new Switch model used by computer image for the test with the slightly larger OLED screen. However, since the overall concept fits Metroid Dread , the owners of an older switch model do not have to make any significant cuts.
Release: Metroid Dread appears on 8 October 2021 exclusively for Nintendo Switch as a standard version and collector s output with some physical and digital extras. The price is around 60 or about 90 euros.
