Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread is a 2021 action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on October 8, 2021. Set after Metroid Fusion (2002), players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran as she investigates the source of a mysterious transmission on the planet ZDR. It retains the side-scrolling gameplay of previous 2D Metroid games and incorporates stealth elements. The Galactic Federation receives evidence that the X, a dangerous species of parasite that can mimic any creature it infects, survives on the remote planet ZDR.

They dispatch seven EMMI (Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifiers) robots to ZDR to investigate, but lose contact. The Federation sends Samus Aran to ZDR to investigate. Underground, Samus encounters a Chozo warrior, who destroys the exit, defeats her in combat and strips her suit of most of its abilities. Her ship’s computer, Adam, instructs her to find another path to the surface and return to her ship. Samus is attacked by the EMMI, which have been reprogrammed. She escapes and absorbs a mysterious energy from one of the planet’s central units. The energy temporarily enables the Omega Blaster, with which she destroys the EMMI and regains some of her abilities.

In the process, she finds out that Kraid, one of her old foes, survived the destruction of Planet Zebes and kills him. Metroid Dread is an action-adventure game in which players control bounty hunter Samus Aran as she explores the planet ZDR. It retains the side-scrolling gameplay of previous Metroid games, alongside the free aim and melee attacks added in Samus Returns (2017). As the player explores, they discover new items and weapons, allowing them to access new areas. Dread features stealth mechanics, with Samus avoiding the EMMI robots in certain areas by hiding, reducing her noise, and using the Phantom Cloak, camouflage that makes her invisible but slows her movement.

If an EMMI catches Samus, the player has two narrow windows in which to perform melee counters and escape. If they fail, Samus is killed. EMMIs can only be destroyed when Samus obtains the temporary “Omega Blaster” upgrade, which is lost upon using it to destroy one; destroying an EMMI however grants Samus a new permanent upgrade. Upgrades can also be found by finding Chozo statues or destroying a Core-X like in previous games. Players unlock images in an in-game gallery based on their completion time, difficulty level, and percentage of items collected.