Metroid Dread is essentially an evolution of Metroid Fusion, in that it's a far more linear experience than, say Super Metroid. Instead focusing on tremendous freedom for open-ended exploration, Dread excels in crafting a smooth, satisfying gameplay experience; the best the series has ever seen. The level design, enemy behavior, and your combat and movement abilities are all utilized to this end. It feels amazing. Similarly, the bosses are a joy to fight, thanks to the combination of interesting attack patterns (and high damage to back it up) and beautiful visual spectacle (particularly in the grab sequences after a parry).

The EMMI encounters were neat too, though I really wish they were more varied. They were pretty cool at first, but eventually I felt like I was just going through the motions with them before I'd get the Omega Omega Blaster/Stream. The chase sequence with the sixth one was great, however.

While I do have some gripes with this game (the music isn't very memorable, and I wish the reoccurring Chozo soldier/robot bosses got more patterns), as far as I'm concerned, the positives far outweigh the negatives. In other words, this is the best game in the 2D Metroid series.

Also, they made Samus so fucking cool in this game, what the fuck?