A lot of the boss fights were fun but the music was pretty unremarkable and the shine spark puzzles were so hand cramping I gave up on 100%ing it. Plus nothing I was collecting was anywhere near as interesting as what the game just gives you (most the energy tanks, all the powerups, most the +10 missles). None of the new moves were that groundbreaking. Ridley also was not in it.

It was fine, just nothing extraordinary. I think I liked Samus Returns more.

  • WhyEssEff [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 years ago

    respectfully disagree. Shinesparks were annoying at first, but they became more tame after you get used to Dread’s more fluid controls. After that it just becomes a routing issue.

    Metroid Dread isn’t the most groundbreaking, but I think it’s a long-coming modern tune-up of the classic Super Metroid formula.

    While none of the moves were really groundbreaking, they were fine-tuned to a point where there’s no abrupt stops that take you out of combat immersion into actively fiddling with the controls. Dread’s fluidity in itself is a groundbreaker for Metroid, it’s probably the best combat in a 2D metroid, I will fight people on this.

    The item pacing is a nice shakeup. Generic collectibles continue to be generic collectibles, they aren’t necessary to beat the final boss and are just there for people who like puzzles (like me). But then again, my favorite game is crosscode, and that’s a game where some of the puzzles are more precise than some of Metroid’s worst shinesparks.

    The unique bosses are amazing design. The generic bosses are boring, I’ll give you that, but I think Experiment Z-57 is one of the coolest Metroid bosses, period, in gameplay.

    The music was meh. Yeah. To me, that’s not exactly a dealbreaker, but it is annoying.

    Ridley is dead. Let Ridley die.

    • deadtoddler420 [any]
      hexagon
      ·
      3 years ago

      What did you play on? I played entirely in handheld and found the controls nearly unusable for the Shinespark parts. I do think itd have been more tolerable on the pro controller.

      The item pacing was a little meh. If I'm 100%ing a Metroidvania, I wanna feel really busted going into the final boss fight and nothing I was finding was giving me that feeling.

      • WhyEssEff [she/her]
        ·
        edit-2
        3 years ago

        I’m talking more like the morph ball shakeup. You have a point, though the screw attack would be that if it did like, anything to bosses. It shreds through normal enemies. I think wave beam is a weird final upgrade to get. Did you use the storm missiles a lot? They absolutely shred, I found they’re easy to forget you have them but when you remember they’re a mainstay in boss combat, though they’re more late-midgame of an upgrade, which again, weird, but it’s an interesting shakeup, so props for experimenting?

        I did half the shinesparks on wired controller. Half on handheld. After getting used to it on a wired, it became easier on handheld personally.

        Personally the QTEs are the most annoying thing to me in this game, but I think it’s a top three 2D metroid, remakes and originals. Four if we count AM2R. Def not as groundbreaking as Super Metroid, I’m personally a bit more fond of Zero Mission as well being my first 2Dtroid, but I think Dread as a new game with a previously… okay studio, I guess, holds up as a great metroid. If anything, I’m excited for Metroid 6. I want to see how MercurySteam applies the feedback on Dread.

    • deadtoddler420 [any]
      hexagon
      ·
      3 years ago

      It reminded me a lot of when 360/PS3 games were trying to be cinematic and ruined a lot of franchises. But ironically the more cinematic boss fights were the highlight of the game for me. I just didn't think the rest of it lived up to them.

  • ShareThatBread [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Just going to bust out a few thoughts having just completed yesterday.

    Some bosses a bit annoying and took multiple attempts. Raven Beak the absolute hardest of the lot. Felt like you had to fine tune for each boss fight.

    Shinespark puzzles a big pain in the arse for some. Was trying what felt like an hour for one (the one with the incredibly short platform. The setting the spark with down while running forward with left/right made it feel awkward.

    Combat and movement felt great after getting the first few abilities. Really fluid.

    The parry mechanic was ok to meh. Making it part a requirement of some boss fights was just stupid.

    They could have added an easy difficulty. It’s just a game, not a fucking bragging contest. If someone bought it they should reasonably expect to pass it. Don’t gatekeep this shit. It’s boring.

  • Morosaurus [none/use name]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Ridley not being in it is good actually, dudes been dead since Super Metroid, another clone/X copy would've been really annoying and make Me cry Steam seem desperate

  • Eris235 [undecided]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Mostly agree. I've heard a ton of people say the controls were great, but I had huge difficulty with them; the double jump only working while spinning sucks, and I constantly struggled trying to do maneuvers like ducking or fine jump+dash controls. I feel like the extra movement options just muddied the water more than anything else.

    • NephewAlphaBravo [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      the double jump only working while spinning sucks

      The space jump has always worked like that.

      Not that it's an excuse, just an explanation.