Metroid Dread, a game anticipated for the last 19 years, has finally released guns blazing. Returning to the role of Samus Aran, Galactic Bounty Hunter (and Fugitive), is an absolute delight and Metroid fans should feel right at home.

Gameplay-wise it's very similar to Metroid: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS, a remake of the original Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Nintendo Gameboy (although personally I unfortunately have yet to play either). The game feels extremely responsive to inputs and adds a plethora of new movement options and abilities to experiment with. Although I hadn't experienced any "Sequence Breaking" myself, upon looking at other players footage it appears that there is plenty to go around which should make a lot of hardcore fans very happy. The game has very familiar abilities return such as the Plasma Beam and Space Jump, but we also see the return of an upgrade from Metroid: Other M for the Nintendo Wii, a game I'd never expect to be referenced again, in the form of the Diffusion Beam which definitely put a smile on my face.

Map design is top notch this time around. The areas were extremely fun to explore and the area design is absolutely stunning. Metroid Dread has a very nice art direction that gives a unique taste to the game while also managing to still feel familiar to me through my experience. There were times where I was a bit confused on how to proceed, however those issues were soon discarded as it didn't take long for me to discover my own errors (however all the areas where I could definitely use the Morph Ball did leave me absolutely DROOLING to get it which helped to stir me on to play more).

One of the major new gameplay elements this time around are the E.M.M.I robots scattered throughout the game. There's 7 in total, one for each main area of the game. Each of them brings a somewhat unique experience, but overall feel generally the same. Despite that I never felt it got too repetative. With the addition of the new abilities added to the game it was always a fun time manuevering around them. The way they stalk Samus sends shivers down my spine whenever I see a door leading to them, which helps give you that sense of Dread the game is going for. As the E.M.M.I are indestructible it has players learn to use their abilities better to help avoid them in many different circumstances. Once one touches you, it's game over. There is a catch however. Should you time your returning Melee Counter ability when the E.M.M.I flashes yellow during it's attacking animation, you'll knock it back into a stunned state allowing you to escape. You have two chances to trigger this, however they are VERY difficult to time, albeit extremely rewarding and satisfying when you manage to land it. Despite the punishing instant-death you will always respawn right outside the door you entered to get into the E.M.M.I's territory which definitely feels great. Having to backtrack all the way to the door would be both annoying and time consuming so it's a very nice compromise.

Difficulty has been a hot topic regarding this game. I refuse to expand on it in great detail, however I will state that personally I enjoy the difficulty. Never does this game feel too punishing (as stated before you will respawn outside the E.M.M.I's territory, but the game will very often do this for bosses as well) and it's always extremely satisfying to nail a boss pattern down. Upon completing a playthrough you will get a prompt to play the Hard Mode. As of this review I have only played the Normal difficulty and may update it at a later date.

The story is extremely interesting. It plants seeds very early on to the point where the twist at the end is extremely satisfying. I do not want to go into detail as I personally believe everyone should experience it for themselves, but they manage to expand on the lore of the franchise and Samus' own backstory without having to needlessly retcon older information to better fit the story. It genuinely had me shocked by the end and left me feeling cathartic.

Metroid Dread delivers on every possible level I was hoping it would. Seeing the Metroid storyline FINALLY continue after Fusion has me over the moon with joy. With solid Gameplay, Visuals and Story I have no problems with giving this 5 stars. It might be the most fun I've had playing a Metroid game to date and I am anticipating my next run to further my skills to prepare for a Hard Mode playthrough. I highly recommend anyone with a Switch to pick this up.

Update 1:
It just occured to me that I failed to talk about the music. Personally it's easily one of the weaker soundtracks in the franchise. Excluding the original Metroid on the NES and Metroid II: Return of Samus as either had next to no music due to them being a product of their time I can arguably put this as my least favorite Metroid soundtrack right alongside Other M. It's extremely forgettable baring a few tracks which are remixes of compositions I already enjoyed in previous games. Some were very nice such as the E.M.M.I chase music and the use of instruments and samples similar to ones used in the Prime Trilogy were very nostalgic for me, but overall it was only okay. I should note however that this only applies to listening to the music by itself. I feel the tracks are very atmospheric and don't quite catch me by themselves, yet fit very well during actual gameplay. They aren't too noticable during gameplay, but are present enough to not make the game feel bland.

On top of that I realise I might have been too easy on the game as I recollect how short I feel the game is. Perhaps it's due to my experience, but I remember my first playthroughs of other 2D Metroid games taking just a few hours longer than this one did. I won't be changing the rating of the game for this as I would like to experience the game more, but I expect to come back with a finalized opinion of the matter at a later date. As of now I'm lowering the core to a 4.5.