Metroid Dread (and hopefully some general Metroid chat?)

[Magnum Valentino]

I'd say Metroid Zero (GBA, but very emulatable) is the perfect first Metroid. It's a remake of the original so it's very vanilla, no gimmicks, but it's also just fucking great. I replayed it for the third time last year (along with Fusion) and had a whale of a time all over again.

Super Metroid is phenomenal, there are still ideas in it that take my breath away, but it's more tricksy and hard to get into, and dated in some ways - they improved the controls a lot in later iterations.

Might give Zero a go then as I'll already have it if it's on GBA thanks to the classic CaB 'how to mod a PSX Classic' thread.

[Consignia]

Really loving this. I keep getting stuck, leaving it for five minutes, then going straight back to it after a light bulb moment. I don't mind the linear-ness, it as it's not straight one area done progression, you keep going all over the map. It certainly feels like a natrual exploring of the landscape. I did like Fusion though, so what do I know.

Up to the second boss so far, and it is such a joy to play.

[Chedney Honks]

I feel like I might have finished it soon, I dunno. Played a good few hours today which I'm happy about because it was too tense for my caved in lungs yesterday.

I reckon I'm

Spoiler alert

five/six...........

[close]

bosses down and I've recently beaten a boss with the

Spoiler alert

grapple beam...........

[close]

which was a fun one, maybe my favourite so far. I'm expecting some sort of twist because I feel I've motored through it but maybe not. Either way, keen to try some more tomorrow depending on how I feel. I can well imagine enjoying speedrunning this on a replay. It's very elegantly designed, my favourite ever 2D MV type game at this stage.

[Kelvin]

It's hard this, isn't it? Obviously not at hard as something like Hollow Knight, but still surprisingly hard for a Nintendo game. In fact, I can't think of a major Nintendo title that's been this hard since... well, I can't think of one from at least the last couple of decades. Breath of the Wild was fairly tricky in the early game, but even that didn't maintain a consistent difficult like this. And no Luigi popping up to help!

[Consignia]

Hard, but fair. I don't think I've been stuck any point for too long. I've died loads, but the quick replay function gets you right into the action again for you to learn from your mistakes.

And the ingame clock is a lying bastard. There's no way I've only clocked 3.5 hours on it so far.

[Kelvin]

Turns out you can sequence break in the game, i.e. collect items in different orders - something the fan and speedrunning community look for in Metroid games. In fact, one they've found actually allows for a special cutscene (and early kill) when fighting the lava region's boss, therefore confirming that its been made deliberately open ended.

[Huxleys Babkins]

The game almost feels like it wants you to sequence break. There are some really obvious signposted doors that I've ignored and seemingly snuck around and done things out of sequence. The power ups not coming in a logical (for Metroid) order helps contribute to that feeling. But I'm not sure if that's what's actually happened or what they've wanted me to feel like I've done. If I'd gone through the obvious doors would I have just been blocked off and had to go the way I went anyway? To the point where I'm quite excited to finish it just so I can start it again and try different things.

[Junglist]

Game finished. Absolutely glorious thing. 13 hours as I explored everywhere. Didn't go for 100%, finished with just over 80. Some upgrades were a faff and couldn't be arsed.

Easily game of the year if not the last few years. So so good.

I've also set-up Prime, and Prime 2 via a fork of Dolphin. Full keyboard and mouse control, freeaim and freelook. No more stationary lock on, pure mouse aiming. 4k, HD textures. They're like brand new games, play magnificently. Think I'm gonna do the full Metroid series, bar Other M, because fuck that.

[Milo]

Not reading through until I've finished the game but think it's brilliant so far. The whistling of the wandering EMMIs is genuinely terrifying and the way it ratchets up the tension as they begin to track you before bursting into pursuit mode is masterfully done.

[Chedney Honks]

Easily game of the year if not the last few years. So so good.

See if you can emulate Returnal and try that.

Best Nintendo game since 2017, I reckon. It's very good, a solid 8.

[MojoJojo]

I'm interested in this but Nintendo can fuck off at £50.

[Chedney Honks]

You can just emulate it for nothing apparently.

[MojoJojo]

I would but gaming on a PC fucks with home/work separation.

[Chedney Honks]

Buy another pc and put it in another room.

[Huxleys Babkins]

I'm interested in this but Nintendo can fuck off at £50.

What about £35?

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/metroid-dread-nintendo-switch-ps3499-deliveredclick-collect-using-code-gamenextday-at-currys-3805384

[Junglist]

See if you can emulate Returnal and try that.

Best Nintendo game since 2017, I reckon. It's very good, a solid 8.

Returnal is my most wanted game. Sadly cant emulate it and dont have 700 quid spare.

[MojoJojo]

What about £35?

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/metroid-dread-nintendo-switch-ps3499-deliveredclick-collect-using-code-gamenextday-at-currys-3805384

Thanks, It turns out still no.

(well, OK - maybe if I find myself with a spare weekend or something)

[brat-sampson]

Got it! It's fun! Definitely not afraid to make you feel a little lost and kill you a bunch. EMMI bleepbloop Terminator X R2D2 mode is nerve-wracking, but it's immediately in the same ballpark as smashing against a souls boss with zero souls as there's no penalty for failing. Some of the longer runs do get pretty tense though. It's easily the first time I've had to use my map to plan a route ahead in a Metroidvania, rather than only to navigate.

[Kelvin]

Think I'm gonna do the full Metroid series, bar Other M, because fuck that.

Poor Other M, I think its a bit unfairly maligned. The story's a load of sexist crap, and I think what it does to Samus is what really sunk the game in the collective memory... but the game itself is pretty good. Probably the weakest mainline Metroid, if only because of the fiddly perspective stuff, but I honestly don't remember it being a horrible game overall. I think people just remember the plot being a joke and assume the whole game was a disaster.

[popcorn]

Apart from all the story crap sounding very unappealing, the best I ever hear of Other M is "the gameplay isn't that bad". I've never felt any curiosity about it.

[Kelvin]

It's a middling game, no doubt. But I think the collective memory is of it being a bad game, as opposed to an okay one with a terrible story. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but I also wouldn't tell them to avoid it if they said they were doing a playthrough of all the Metroid games.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Needing to shift to first person view to perform certain tasks in a 2D platformer is AIDS-tier game design and everyone involved with Other M should be thoroughly ashamed with themselves. And they are.

[madhair60]

I just did a bit in Dread that I can't decide if it's world-class game design or sloppy shit, and I'm not sure it's interesting enough to write about so I'll spoiler it (also it is sort of spoilery I guess and I'm trying to avoid spoilers myself)

Spoiler alert

I progressed to an area with an EMMI that's very clearly using the Speed Booster power from previous games, so passing that I made it to an area where my progress was blocked by a large turbine blowing me back, so I thought, right, need that Speed Booster. Went back to the area with the EMMI and got frustrated that I couldn't find a way to progress. In the end, turned out that the solution was to go to the fan area and just... shoot the floor. I genuinely can't tell if that's a great use of misdirection or simply thoughtless, irritating and badly signposted.

[close]

[popcorn]

I'm a bit confused because I don't remember either of those and I've already got the speed booster. Maybe I'm not paying attention?

[ImmaculateClump]

You can just emulate it for nothing apparently.

I downloaded the file on the 4th and then proceeded to play more shmups.
I like BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.
and I'm guessing this is more like oooooooh, dark place, walking round for ages, slowly teaching you how to play. What's that over there? Fuck aaaaall.
Oooooh, atmosphere. You got a crystal, find more crystals. You got part of a key or something, need three more, but LOOK OUT! BANG!
I'd be chewing through my gamepad urging it on. I don't want ebb and flow, I want to drown in bullets!

I will give it a go at some point, have to be in the right frame of mind before I fire it up to give it a proper chance.

[Chedney Honks]

It's actually very action packed, one room after another, fuck all exploration really. Almost too streamlined probably, I've barely had to look at the map, it just blocks you off and then gives you the ability and plonks you next to where you use it. Bosses and combat can be quite hard and challenging and shooty, albeit I'm shit at run and gun stuff generally. It's a solid 7 to me now where almost all games are a pointless 2 or 3. Fine but no reason to exist. This is good but no reason to exist. I'm nearly at the last boss and had enough, six hours or something.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Cunts complaining it's not 20+ hrs like Hollow Knight at the usual places. Fuck off, dickheads, some of us have other shit we like to do.

[Chedney Honks]

Hope all gamers are dead before the year is out.

[Kelvin]

Cunts complaining it's not 20+ hrs like Hollow Knight at the usual places. Fuck off, dickheads, some of us have other shit we like to do.

Hollow Knight had far too much flab on it, it's genuinely tedious at times, even if it there's loads to love about the game and some real highs. I prefer the pacing of this, no question. Always moving between areas, very little backtracking through the exact same rooms until you start trying to find health and missile expansions, a fairly steady ramping up of the threat.

[ImmaculateClump]

It's actually very action packed, one room after another, fuck all exploration really.

Oh, alright, that does sound more fun than I was expecting. Thank you. I'll try and steer myself into firing it up over the weekend!