Metroid Dread Critic Reviews

Metroid Dread is a triumphant return for both Samus Aran and developer MercurySteam. This is a super-slick, hugely entertaining and exquisitely designed entry in the Metroid franchise that plays better than anything we've seen from the series so far. With a bunch of fantastic new abilities, super tense and enjoyable stealth sections, plenty of great big boss fights and a story that fans will definitely enjoy, we can't really see how this one could have been any better. Best Metroid game ever? This could be the one.

Metroid Dread is an instant classic. Its seamless blend of exploration, combat, puzzle-solving, and light touches of story creates one of the most engaging experiences on Nintendo Switch.

Metroid Dread perfects the metroidvania formula that its predecessors established, while also elevating the series to new heights with highly rewarding combat, stunning 3D cutscenes and new stealth segments that provide greater variety to the gameplay. It won’t be for everyone due to its high difficulty and a lack of accessibility options, but this is nevertheless one of the best games in the Nintendo Switch library. If you’re a fan of Super Metroid, you’ll love it.

With a near-perfect balance of nods to the past and fresh ideas, Metroid Dread brings cinematic flair, fast-paced action and a surprising story to the side-scrolling classic. This is the comeback fans have been waiting for.

This is no Metroid Prime, and that’s a good thing. Rather, this is a reminder of what it means for a game to be of the Metroid half of a Metroidvania, and then some. That this IP exists in both the first-person genre-defining Metroid Prime series, and in its traditional 2D side-scrolling self is a testament to its flexibility and EMMI-like defiance of not being confined to a single shape...And in Metroid Dread, you’re not only getting arguably the best Metroid game to date, but maybe the best game of 2021.

A decades-in-the-making celebration of 2D Metroid that’s unafraid to take risks by stretching into horror, Metroid Dread lives up to both halves of its name and serves as a satisfying cap to a story started in 1986.

Over the years I’ve heard many people demand a sequel, in terms of gameplay, to one 2D Metroid or another. No matter what sequel you’ve wished for, Metroid Dread is it. It is simply Metroid, in the best way possible. Metroid Dread is the culmination of 2D Metroid in its entirety. It is a testament not only to what the genre has always been, but the potential of what it could become. It is a triumphant return of Samus Aran as the undisputed queen of the genre. Long may she reign.

Metroid Dread is definitely the game that explores the full potential of the 2D franchise with praise, doing justice to the producers' proposal to bring fear and exploration to players, valuing and ending the saga in an excellent way, besides leaving that desire and hope that Samus Aran reward us with more titles with this level of quality in the future. Essential not just for fans of Metroid, but for everyone that likes quality games released in 2021.

Its playability matched with MercurySteam doing right by Samus Aran has turned me into even more of a fan of Metroid. Even beyond the context of my own affinity toward the character and world, Metroid Dread is some of the most fun I’ve had with a game in 2021. It’s a contender for game of the year.

Metroid Dread is a triumph.

While the nineteen-year hiatus was a difficult one, Metroid Dread delivers what fans have waited for and more, building a familiar yet unique experience with brand new ideas to help push the genre forward.

Metroid Dread takes risks for the series, but it succeeds in doing so. The ending was completely grand, and the interpretations of the final scenes will leave me thinking about the game for a long time to come.

The game delivered on its promise in a very big way. As a long-time fan of the franchise, I couldn't be happier with Metroid Dread. It's the kind of game that frequently made me say to myself "just five more minutes" when it was already two o'clock in the morning. Super Metroid is considered by many to be one of the best video games ever made. Gamers will have to judge for themselves if Metroid Dread managed to surpass it, but there's no doubt in my mind that it deserves to be considered among the best games in the series. It has its challenging elements, and they might scare some players off. However, those that stick with the game will be rewarded with one of the year's best experiences.

Metroid Dread is a superb mix of action and exploration that brings Nintendo’s classic series into the modern era in a way that feels like a new beginning even as it positions itself as an end to a 35-year saga. Samus, her abilities, and the challenges she faces have changed and expanded over time, but the excitement and satisfaction her adventures provide continue to this day.

Metroid Dread is an achievement in every dimension we use to look at it. This exquisite work brings the Metroid formula up to our day, yet it doesn't compromise on what made Metroid such a colossal name in gaming. With brilliant level design, marvelous looking visuals, frantic and demanding combat, long lifespan and replay value, perfect performance on any screen, an overarching plot that binds everything together, and pretty much everything else that goes along, Metroid Dread is an instant classic and one of the finest pieces ever crafted for the Nintendo Switch.

Quotation forthcoming.

Probably the game that I have enjoyed the most in this 2021 and one of my favorites from the wide catalog of the Nintendo Switch. MercurySteam did it and Samus is back better than ever.

This final 13-16 hour instalment is an exquisite showcase of 2D Metroid in its prime. Newcomers and die-hard fans of the series can revel in a Nintendo Switch game that not only provides one of the most deadly and thrilling experiences on Nintendo’s latest handheld to date, but one that’s such a joy to play thanks to control refinements and HD graphics. Metroid Dread is an explosive and emotional end to a beloved story that cannot be missed, and we’re already itching to see where the next mission takes us. Just as long as it doesn’t include the dreaded E.M.M.I.

Metroid Dread is the sequel that everyone has been waiting for. A great game that can be hard and complex, but at its core, it's a true evolution of the classic Metroid formula. A must have for every Nintendo Switch user.

Metroid Dread is an amazing return for Samus with fantastic controls, excellent sound design and a wonderful overall aesthetic. Even as someone who’s not normally fond of Metroidvania-style games, the intensity of Metroid Dread held my attention to the point where I felt heartbroken the first time my Switch let me know the batteries were about to die.