r/Metroid • u/Kikisilvania • Aug 22 '26

Discussion Metroid dread any good?

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I’ve never played any 2D Metroid games. I recently played Metroid Prime Remastered and Prime 4 Beyond. I gotta say I liked them both. I did play the Metroid Dread’s Demo a few years back but couldn’t get into it. Today I was in a game shop and saw a lonely copy just sitting there so I decided to pull the trigger. Got a nice discount as well. Anyway, what do you guys think about this game? Is it any good? I remember it reviewed well but some players didn’t like it too much. So not sure what to think.

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413

u/Ikrit122 Aug 22 '26

You'll find that most members of this sub rate Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, and Dread as the top 3 Metroid games (the order will vary).

So yes, give it a shot!

19

u/ScotWithOne_t Aug 23 '26

I place Dread above Super. I don't care. Downvote all you want.

8

u/Ikrit122 Aug 23 '26

Dread absolutely has some things going for it over Super. It'a a different style of game though. Super is really about exploration, while Dread focuses more on combat.

I don't think it's a super controversial opinion.

1

u/rkk455 Sep 08 '26

"Focuses more on combat" is wild considering the game is just spamming easiest parry known to mankind.

1

u/Defiant-Start-1156 Sep 14 '26

My first play through of dread I basically just ignored the parry and beat the game without it. Only used it on ravenbeak and on the bosses that made you parry as the finishing move.

It's honestly hard to compare super and dread in any meaningful way. Dread has a way faster paced movement and combat system allowed by better technology and controllers. Super paved the way for the entire genre, and was the first to do a bunch of things that have been iterated on by other games for literally three decades. The size of dreads map absolutely dwarfs super when you try to compare them now. But Super felt impossibly large and complex when I was a 8 year old playing it in the 90s.

I do like the elegance of super's progression and sequence breaks. I don't like how dread uses a bunch of one-way doors to lock you in an area until you find the intended path.

40

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

I sure will. How long is it approximately?

92

u/socaldude879 Aug 22 '26

Like 8ish hours. About 10-12 if you go back and grab all items

72

u/JHerbY2K Aug 22 '26

It’s kinda hard. So it feels longer imo.

14

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

😂😂, I bet!!

6

u/kazsassin Aug 23 '26

It's a joycon killer for sure ..... Took me closer to 15-18hrs and I play a decent amount of Metroidvanias. It's not usually a discounted game so nice pickup, but don't go in expecting it to be like prime

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 23 '26

Noted. Thank you

4

u/inmy_head Aug 22 '26

Lmao 😂

1

u/socaldude879 Aug 22 '26

As a long time metroid fam, the only difficult part for me was learning how to deal with the E.M.M.I movement and finding the paths to land the omega blast, but that was pretty much it. Everything else plays the same as the other 2D games (mainly Fusion), but way smoother.

1

u/Lord_Humungusss Aug 25 '26

Yeah ive been stuck on that final boss, 3 phases is rough

0

u/stevediperna Aug 22 '26

It is SOOOO hard. Put it on rookie mode. Sincerely.

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

I wouldn’t mind playing in the easiest mode. I like a challenge but I don’t like to suffer in games. Thanks for the warning

1

u/stevediperna Aug 22 '26

I got it at release, before people complained that it was too hard and Nintendo eventually released a patch that included rookie mode.

I got to probably about 85% through the game and quit because it was so hard that i stopped enjoying it. Tried it a few years later on rookie mode, much better. But the difficulty still ruined that first play through experience for me.

3

u/EpsilonChurchRVB Aug 22 '26

When I played Metroid Dread for the first time, it wasn't even as hard as most people made it out to be, and I'm not a hardcore platformer person either.

The hardest 2D Metroid game, imo, is the original Metroid 2, followed by original Metroid 1 and Super Metroid. Anything else past that has been fairly decent for me, and the easiest was actually Dread due to its fluid and responsive controls, at least for me. It just has those Zero Mission controls that I liked best, but better.

0

u/stevediperna Aug 23 '26

Ninja, please. The bosses in dread kill you in like 4 hits. I'm an adult now, i don't have multiple hours to whittle away while replaying the same boss fights over and over. After two times, or once I realize the amount of time I'm losing while making zero progress is enough to make me say nope, not for me. Rookie mode should've been included at the start.

2

u/EpsilonChurchRVB Aug 23 '26

It also depends on how many energy tanks you have, too. Also, the bosses have very specific movesets that aren't that hard to study after several tries. You wanna talk about hard? Go ahead and play OG Metroid 2 or OG Metroid 1. They are almost beyond unforgivable.

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

Ah I’m so sorry about that. Didn’t know difficulty modes came in later. I’ll be playing it in rookie mode for sure

4

u/Shumoku Aug 22 '26

It’s not that bad if you enjoy challenging games, the normal difficulty is more than doable and I’d recommend that if you want a challenge for sure.

After you beat it on hard it unlocks Dread difficulty, which is a one-hit death mode from any enemy attack. That one’s quite tough the first time around, but all the enemies are predictable on subsequent playthroughs, so that’s what I always replay it on now.

The game is relatively short, but with the difficulty options and smooth gameplay, I honestly find that to be a boon. probably my most replayed game of all time.

2

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

Great! Thanks for the tips

1

u/phoenixw88 Aug 23 '26

Dude don’t do rookie mode unless you absolutely can’t get through it. The sense of “dread” is the point and easily doable if you don’t rush. This guy above is correct

8

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

I don’t usually really 100% my games but if I can I will. 10-12 hours is not bad

14

u/JAvatar80 Aug 22 '26

To note: There are two galleries. One has an image unlock for every zone you collect 100% of the items in. The other is to beat the game in under 8/6/4 hours on normal, and again under 8/6/4 hours on Hard Mode(Samus takes double damage, enemies do NOT have more health/take less damage), with a 7th image that unlocks by getting the previous 6. Yes, if you beat it under 4 hours, that unlocks all 3 images for that difficulty level.

I'm by no means a speed runner, nor am I a particularly skilled player, but I have both of the full galleries unlocked.

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

Didn’t know this! Thank you so much. I’m no speed runner either. Usually I take my time😁

3

u/JAvatar80 Aug 22 '26

Same. The series has always had timer-based rewards, going back to the first title on the NES.

My first run(normal mode), I 100% collected all of the things, unlocking that gallery. Then I learned how to do the other gallery, so I did a new game on the same save file, and my first attempt was at four hours and like 12 minutes, but got my second attempt to 3:55. I then did my hard mode run, first attempt was 3:45. It was hard for me, because I had to NOT collect everything that wasn't easily on my path.

I've since replayed the game(normal modes only because it's fun) 4 more times.

3

u/Kikisilvania Aug 23 '26

Oh wow!! That’s awesome. Glad to know you had so much fun

10

u/Miaoumi Aug 22 '26

If anything I really enjoyed all the Speed Booster puzzles. They're an intricate sequence of actions you have to do perfectly, very fun and satisfying.

5

u/ArcaneSnekboi Aug 23 '26

it helps that dread has the best speedboost/shine puzzles in the entire series

4

u/hooplafromamileaway Aug 23 '26

Dread is the first game where I've liked the Speed Booster puzzles. Usually I just skip em unless they're prerty simple. I find the Speed Boost in Dread is a lot easier to control, imo.

2

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

That’s awesome!

3

u/Worried_Affect9121 Aug 22 '26

It may be 10-12 hours but I’ve pumped over 80 hours into the game.

3

u/eeeezypeezy Aug 22 '26

Yeah my first playthrough took me a little over 12hrs and it was a completionist run

1

u/DMyTeaDuck Aug 23 '26

Or longer if you’re a perfectionist and aim to gather all the stupid stinkin’ shinespark-challenging pickups. They’re 182763538% “I know HOW to do this… but somehow I just physically … CAN’T?!” … (… Can you tell I put it down last year for this very reason and haven’t finished it since? 2nd playthrough. First, I just wanted to see it to the end. Second time I wanted to clear ALL the pickups. … NOPE.)

1

u/socaldude879 Aug 23 '26

I loved how easy shinesparking felt tbh. Some of those puzzles in Zero Mission on the other hand give me PTSD

1

u/Nietsoj77 Aug 23 '26

Depends on how you play. I decided to explore everything and 100% the game on my first run. It took about 24 hours. My second play through was about 6 hours.

1

u/socaldude879 Aug 23 '26

24 hours is insane!

1

u/Pale_Mine_7001 Aug 23 '26

I’ve beaten on hard mode in under 3:30 not 100% backtracking and getting 100% I’ve gotten down to 4:15.. trying to get to 100% under 4 hours

1

u/InterKnight4421 Aug 24 '26

Don’t forget, the boss rush mode is one of the most fun modes if you wanna practice your skills after beating the game.

15

u/Tehpunisher456 Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26

My first run was about 11 hrs cause i tried for 100%

I then managed to get it down to about 2hrs 20 after

7

u/LazyGardenGamer Aug 22 '26

I put about 120 hours in tbh. I think first playthrough was 12 hours for full 100%, then I played again on all difficulties, and I loved the movement so much I learned the speedrun. Got just under two hours by the time I was satisfied with my route!

I'm itching to play it again actually, been nearly a year since I did last. Been heavy into Hollow Knight and Silksong.

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

120 hours? Impressive!! Glad you loved the game so much. I haven’t played any Hollow knight game either. I wasn’t too big on Metroidvenia’s altho that kinda changed when I played PoP The lost crown. Loved it. I also have Castlevenia Belmont’s curse on pre order. Game looks good

3

u/LazyGardenGamer Aug 23 '26

Oh mate, if you enjoy Metroid or Castlevania, you'll LOVE Hollow Knight.

It's a wicked blend of the two and has all of my favourite parts of both. I loved the atmosphere of Metroid, always the sense of solitude and foreboding, whereas with Castlevania I loved the gothic aesthetic and the amazing music.

Hollow Knight takes all the best parts of both franchises and mixes them into something that I can only describe as an instant masterpiece.

The slick movement of Metroid, the myriad of combat options in Castlevania, I honestly don't know why I waited so long before playing it. Did my first playthrough in October just before Silksong came out and I fell absolutely in love with it. I reckon give it a go. Only like $10 on most eshops and just fkn mountains of content.

2

u/Kikisilvania Aug 23 '26

Thank you so much. I saw Fangamer is releasing Hollow Knight and Silksong for the Switch 2.
I still prefer my games physical so I might pick them up later this year. I have so many games and so little time to play it’s not even funny. I also still have Mio: Memories in Orbit in my backlog. Another amazing metroidvenia, or so I’ve heard. Wish me luck😁

6

u/Farokok Aug 22 '26

Arround 10-15 hours.

6

u/tetsudori Aug 22 '26

Depends on how many playthroughs you do. It's basically made for speedrunning, so it's unlikely you'll play it only once. With the item completion, different difficulties, and gallery unlocks you'll probably play through it a few times if it's up your alley.

2

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

I wouldn’t mind a second play-through. I do have a backlog tho so many more games to play as well

2

u/usernamedstuff Aug 22 '26

Not long enough, but it's still an excellent game.

1

u/Zarguthian Aug 23 '26

All 2D Metroids are pretty short. Samus is so bad-ass she doesn't need much time.

2

u/Links_Unk Aug 22 '26

Keep cool though because it can be pretty tough on Normal Mode. And Hard was tough x10. If you beat hard, you unlock Dread mode and that is the definition of insanity.

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

So I’ve heard😁

2

u/Links_Unk Aug 22 '26

Dude. I'm trying to play Dread mode right now, and I just keep dying relentlessly in the 2nd boss.

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

Ah damn!! Well best of luck. I don’t like to suffer so I’ll be skipping harder modes for sure

2

u/HaxMastr Aug 22 '26

Depending on playstyle. My first save took me 7 hrs,. 100% 12ish, and about 2 for fastest time

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 23 '26

Thank you! Usually I think my time so I’m very curious how long it’ll take me

2

u/Drogon- Aug 23 '26

Or like 50+ hours when you're like me and become addicted to the game and like replaying it on every difficulty as well as emulating it for randomiser runs lol. Easily my favorite Metroid game.

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 23 '26

Awesome😁

2

u/Legitimate_Street510 Aug 23 '26

That part is kind of on you, if you beat both normal and hard mode in less than 4 hours, you'll get the secret bonus ending and all the art galleries

2

u/JarvanRobonaut Aug 27 '26

I have been able to complete it under 4 hours (with some speed, no fancy glitches).

2

u/TheNewTonyBennett Aug 26 '26

I might put Prime 2 above Dread, but yeah in all honesty Dread is excellent and is absolutely a stellar entry in the series.

2

u/Ryno4483 Aug 22 '26

Fusion and Zero Mission are better than Dread

6

u/DoctorNurse89 Aug 22 '26

Fusion is one of the best by far. Got me emotionally too

1

u/Kikisilvania Aug 22 '26

Need to check em out

1

u/Putnam3145 Aug 22 '26

Fusion's even more of a linear action platformer than Dread is! It's one of the best linear action platformers ever made, but that doesn't mean it's not one

1

u/Regular_Tie2507 Aug 22 '26

I'm partial to Fusion but I did have a lot of fun with Dread.

1

u/Ikrit122 Aug 23 '26

Fusion has a place in my heart as my first Metroid, so I get it. But I don't think it is as good a game as those 3, objectively.

I like Fusion and Zero Mission more than Super or Prime, mostly due to feel and preference for 2D, respectively. Heck, I like Prime 2 more than Prime (it's also more fun randomized).

1

u/cerealkilla774 Aug 23 '26

I thought it was great. A different take back to what felt like the original 2d but great play through

1

u/jlm0013 Aug 23 '26

It's funny you say that. I commented Dread is a top 3 game for me, and I got down voted. That's Reddit for you...

1

u/Odd_Promise_9938 Aug 24 '26

Include the original game the first Metroid game

1

u/rkk455 Sep 08 '26

No clue how anyone can like Dread tbh. As a metroidvania, it is one of the most linear experiences ever. As an action game, it is just spamming parry. And as a continuation to the story for Fusion, it is mega lazy writing on par with "Luke, I am your father", quite literally so.

Had I dropped the 70 euros when it was released and then finished the game in 4 hours, I would have been beyond livid. Even one man studio metroidvanias take more time than that. And when I did a little sequence break to obtain power bombs I get a text "you can't obtain this yet, dumbass".

First EMMI encounter was kind of interesting, but then all the other EMMIs work literally the same, that got boring very quickly. Unlike most Metroid games, I have zero intention to go play Dread ever again.

But I guess videogames have become so mainstream that the easier the game is, the more well received it is. No thinking required, the game just kind of completes itself for the player.

1

u/Ikrit122 Sep 08 '26

While much of it is linear, especially on a first playthrough, there are some key intended sequence breaks that allow you to get power-ups out of order (and plenty of unintended ones that do as well). The Power Bombs are locked in the late-game, certainly. But getting Grapple Beam or Bombs early, for example, add more to the game. It's actually less linear than Prime or Prime 2 in that (unless you include unintended sequence breaks like Early Space Jump, then I'm not sure).

I definitely disagree about Dread being easy. The EMMIs all have their gimmicks to catch you more easily, and while you just respaen outside their zone, you still have to cross it multiple times and then beat it. And bosses can be quite tough on Hard Mode.

I'd like to hear what you consider to be better Metroidvanias.

1

u/rkk455 Sep 08 '26

I admit that I haven't played the hard mode, but to me, the first playthrough is what defines a game. And just to clarify, I am by no means above average gamer, yet Dread was still over in 4 hours and some loose change minutes.

To answer your question, a good metroidvania is not just challenging. It combines beautiful music, interesting environments, challenging gameplay and the feeling of being lost and running into obstacles that you cannot advance through without proper items or creative use of the existing game mechanics. Some of my favourites that everyone should definitely play:

Super Metroid (duh)
Metroid Fusion
Metroid Prime
Ender Lilies / Magnolia
Rain World
Blasphemous
Hollow Knight
Shantae games (most of them anyway)
Pseudoregalia
Momodora
And a honorable mention to Axiom Verge, which didn't quite hit the mark but was close.

1

u/Ikrit122 Sep 08 '26

I haven't played most of those, as my experience is mostly limited to Metroid. Maybe I'll give theme a shot!

But I'll point out that Fusion and Prime are more linear than Dread (though Prime doesn't feel that way due to the illusion of choice). In fact, Metroid hasn't really done non-linearity since Zero Mission, and I'd argue that much of Super's is due to unintended sequence breaks (such as suitless Maridia or early Supers via mockball).

My first run of Dread was 11 hours, though I decided to 100% it, and figuring out where every item was (and how to get them) took a while. But that's part of what endeared me to the game. I loved the speed booster challenges.

I will definitely agree about the music. It's my main complaint about the game, in a series that has traditionally excelled at that. The visuals are fine. And I definitely got lost a couple times.

I think you should give it another shot, maybe on Hard. At worst, it's a few hours you lose.