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After a long 15-year wait, the rumored Metroid Dread project has finally come to life.
The announcement was certainly a surprise to Metroid fans, who were primed and ready for a Metroid Prime 4 announcement during the Nintendo Direct. According to Nintendo, though, that game is still being developed.
In the meantime, they gave fans a new 2D Metroid title. 2D Metroid was often considered a thing of the past, with the last release in that genre being Metroid Fusion in 2002. It looks like it’s making a strong comeback though, with some new innovations and a big graphic update.
What new innovations will be in the long-awaited sequel to Metroid Fusion?
As it was promoted as Metroid 5, Metroid Dread will take place after the events of Metroid Fusion. In that game, Samus fused with the X parasite, turning her suit light blue and giving her new abilities. It would seem that some of the X parasite still remains in this game, since Samus’ new suit has some light blue around the shoulders.
The plot of Metroid Fusion revolved around Samus freeing a spaceship from the X parasite while being hunted from SA-X, a Samus clone. In Metroid Dread, it looks like the E.M.M.I. will be hunting down Samus in a similar fashion.
The beginning of the trailer shows Samus using her entire toolkit on the E.M.M.I., all to no avail. Being chased by a much more powerful villain gives off big SA-X vibes. In Metroid Fusion, several parts of the game involved running away from SA-X, since it could easily shred Samus until endgame, where Samus grows to full strength.
Some observant fans might notice some similarities to Metroid: Samus Returns, a remake of the second game in the franchise. This is because MercurySteam, the creators of Metroid: Samus Returns, are also behind Metroid Dread.
As a result, some features from Metroid: Samus Returns are also present in the new game. One of these would be free aim, an ability that allows Samus to be more accurate with her shots. With free aim, the player can control where Samus’ arm cannon points with full range and not just the cardinal directions like in past titles.
The melee attack is also returning in Metroid Dread. This allows Samus to hit and disable incoming enemies. It can also be used to stun some bosses and reveal weak spots.
Metroid Dread is scheduled to release on October 8th, 2021.
