Metroid's rebirth and return to its roots on the Switch : Metroid Dread
I love talking about this game, not only because it has shown the potential that Spanish video game studios have to make high-level experiences but because it's a 2D Metroid! and we all know that we already missed the classic Samus in side scroll after almost 20 years without having an installment with this peculiarity that points to the classic, to the roots of the saga and how those concepts evolved until today. Today we have more exponents than ever when we talk about platforming and exploration with a side scroll but let's be honest, Metroid is perhaps one of the most recognizable sagas in the entire world of video games and when I saw that MercurySteam was behind the project I could not be more sure that I was going to buy this game on its release, has it been worth it to bring Samus out of her long retirement? Don't doubt it for a moment, Dread is an installment that recovers the old ways and adds a few surprises along the way for new players but that has made me one of the best games so far this year, without my hand shaking I certify it.
The first thing that changes is the story, if in the 3D installments were much more focused on deepening the story and create tension through this, in Dread give us a couple of quick messages so we have a little context and throw us into the action at once, in Nintendo know that they have long enough without touching the history of Samus and elements such as the X parasite, the Metroid vaccine or the dark version of Samus seem to be secondary topics here, the only thing they make clear to us is that Samus is trapped on a desert planet full of enemies and from there they give us clues about what has happened in all this time with the key points of the other games in the series. Something I liked is that it does not give the luxury of doing a complete reboot to the saga but only gives us a couple of details that unite this installment with the past, gives a minimalist approach to its plot and opens the way to the gameplay, and rightly so, because it is by far the most entertaining part of the game.
2D at its best
It is here where all my praise for the team of developers MercurySteam begins, they have done a superb job with the setting and Samus in general but their approach in how we understand this world and how to rethink a system that has been a regular platformer for years is certainly fascinating, as always we have the usual, a map where we can go both ways and even discover some secret areas with the right powers that we discover on the map, these improvements in the game work as an additional difficulty curve and increases the amount and hardness of the enemies on the map, The agility of the animations as well as the transition between the playable parts and the cinematics is brilliantly done, none interrupting the other but are complemented by a very well planned camera angles, we will also have a companion in our adventure, the artificial intelligence ADAM that will serve as a kind of guide for each map and will give us some tips on how to deal with game situations, nothing very specific or that interferes with the nature of the game to be a constant exercise of trial and error for the player but if a useful function to learn the basics of the game and its world.
The development of Samus and her constant improvement is based on the thematic plot and hides an interesting detail about the progression of the game, usually in these games the idea of being in constant descent into the depths where we will find gradually more powerful enemies, but in Dread happens quite the opposite, from the first moment we are trapped in the lowest point of the planet without equipment after being attacked and the goal is to climb, recover our equipment between each level we advance and reach our ship in order to escape, a fresh approach that puts Samus in a kind of Tower Ascension very dynamic with different entrances and exits, as well as jams in each level because most likely in the beginning we feel lost between each passage but we will learn over time and thanks to the game that we have ways to locate us even without having a map available in the early stages of the adventure.
Speaking of the map, it would be impossible to fully enjoy each passage of the game without consulting the map and all the additions it has, here they have implemented a system that points each area that we have skipped by not having certain improvements in our suit as well as the main routes, we can also put our own markers where we consider this some secret or in areas where there may be enemies from time to time, the map will always be involved in our strategies in the game especially in the most complicated areas where it is almost crucial to plan and know in advance where the access points of the level are.
It's not too complicated to praise MercurySteam's graphical prowess in this Metroid, they have done a superb job with the aesthetics and ambience in each of the levels as well as the animations in general, they feel so fluid and converge so well with the levels that there is no interruption of the experience at any time, we are always hooked on what is happening and there is always action in between so it is easy to finish the game in a few days, however I wouldn't worry, there are several secrets in between that make replaying it more than convenient, Samus' adventure may leave me wishing for a little more depth in terms of narrative but leaves some very good impressions in terms of playability, in short it is the rebirth of this version of Metroid and what better console than the Switch to show it in all its splendor.
