Sunbreak takes the already outstanding base that was Rise and trims the fat and further polishes a combat system that has been already shined to near perfection over the last several entries. Simultaneously it ups the difficulty substantially and adds several standout monsters, both new and old. New Master Rank armor gives a greater degree of control over player build options, and the new skill swap abilities gives an unprecedented level of expression and freedom. As far as combat in video games goes, it just doesn't get better than this.

Okay, since Metroid Dread was announced and seems to fix my biggest problems with this game, I think I can be more honest with myself now. I don't like this game very much, either compared to the original or the much better remake, AM2R.

You know how in the good 2D Metroid games, every area is super unique? Well, every area here feels the exact same. There's no real variance in how the levels are designed, and there's no areas with anything unique to them aside from a few chase sequences. Even in areas with pretty backgrounds, the game rarely breaks away from trying to imitate Metroid Prime's aesthetic. You never get the sense you're delving deeper into the planet. It just feels like everything is the same.

You know how in the good 2D Metroid games, combat is quick and fun? Well here it's a tedious slog, no matter what you're fighting. The Metroid fights in particular can be miserable, especially when they flee from you, forcing you to track them down. Even the smallest enemy still can take like, three missiles to kill. I guess this is because they wanted to incentivize the melee counter, but this seriously fucks up the pacing. Traversal is a pain in the ass when you have to sit still and wait for the enemy to attack every time.

You know how in the good Metroids, there's super good sound design? Well godamn, this game hurts my fucking ears. It's like the audio was processed through a tin can. And holy fuck, who decided to make the sound effect for a breakable wall when using the scan pulse to be the most ear grating awful sound of all time? The beam and missile sound effects, and well, the sound effects in general, are pathetic. The music is incredibly forgettable, and it actively pisses me off when every heated area has the fucking Ridley's Lair / Magmoor Caverns theme.

All of this being said, if a pretty bad remake gave the MercurySteam team the experience to make a good Metroid Dread, then I'll happily take it. From the footage shown so far of Dread, the aesthetic is a lot more distinct, it sounds far better, the counter is decentralized and they've emphasized how much better both combat and traversal flows. Thankfully it seems like they've been open to criticism on this game, and I hope it truly does pay off for Metroid Dread.