You can complete the game without collecting all the optional items and upgrades like E-Tanks, but if you’re a completionist there’s a 100% completion rate to tick off. 

However, it’s very important to take into consideration that these figures aren’t accurate for actual playtime counts. How Metroid Dread works is that it only counts certain things as actual playtime. 

Firstly, time spent on the pause screen – including just looking at the map, which you’ll do a lot – doesn’t count towards the completion time that the game will list on the menu. You’ll need to regularly check the map for where to go next, figure out where to backtrack to, solve puzzles, and remind yourself where teleporters and other travel options are located, among other things after all. 

Secondly, your time taken to beat Metroid Dread doesn’t count any repeated attempts to defeat a boss, or anything that appears before a Game Over screen. That means only your successful progress through the game is counted towards in the in-game total playtime. 

With our own experience and other reviewers saying that some bosses took multiple hours to complete, you’re looking at closer to 25 hours of real-world time that you’ll need to put into Metroid Dread in order to hit that 100% completion rate. 

Good luck fellow planet ZDR explorers!

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My hands-on with the game starts from the very beginning, as bounty hunter Samus Aran finds herself stranded somewhere beneath the surface of the planet ZDR. A troop of Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier – or E.M.M.I. – robots were sent ahead but disappeared, and on her arrival, Samus finds that they’re hellbent on killing her. To add insult to injury, she’s attacked by a mysterious Chozo – advanced, powerful, rocking a distinctly ancient Egyptian style of armor – and when she wakes us is suffering a “physical amnesia”, game speak for losing all her power-ups like Morph Ball.  

A to ZDR

Then it’s straight into the action, working through the labyrinthine tunnels and chambers of ZDR, looking for a way to the surface. Navigating them is a manic mix of exploration, combat, and problem-solving, and an in-game minimap has never felt like such a blessing. You’ll retrace your steps even when you’re not looking for secret areas, but the acrobatic dance from platform to platform, wall jumping, sliding through small gaps – a new addition to Samus’s skillset – and blasting and parrying enemies makes every round trip a satisfying sci-fi sandwich. 

Even if you’re not usually one for hunting down hidden items or secret areas in your games – who has the time in this economy? – my time with Metroid Dread made me want to, just because experimenting with the environment was so rewarding. There’s a reason this series invented the Metroidvania genre, and Metroid Dread acts as a powerful reminder of why. Exploding walls to drain flooded areas, revealing new paths, was especially fulfilling and showed just how much exploration you can offer even within the confines of a 2D side scroller. There are even areas that you’ll need to upgrade your power suit to even set foot in, like icy cold caverns, but I didn’t manage to find any of these during my hands-on. 

Kill command

The moments that really impress this old horror fan are those when you’re in the territory of an E.M.M.I, and it’s chasing you across the map with alarming speed and intelligence. The game gives you a sweet taste of victory by having you encounter a damaged E.M.M.I. first, taking it out with an omega cannon before pulling the rug (and the cannon) out from under you and leaving you to face hearty and healthy E.M.M.I. enemies.

They’re sensitive to noise and deliver a one-hit kill that’s almost impossible to evade – I didn’t manage it even once – so fleeing in as dignified a manner as possible is your best course of action. There’s no way to stay cool when you’re scrambling to find a route to escape, knowing that one slip or mistimed jump means an almost inevitable death. Someone really wanted to make sure the game lived up to the Dread moniker, and they succeeded.

Sharp suits

Metroid Dread also manages to somehow walk the line with maintaining a certain retro flavor while also feeling completely up to date, and a large part of that is the visuals. It’s recognizably a Metroid game, but it all just looks so polished. Yes, we were playing on the latest and greatest Nintendo Switch device, but those neons and blacks and shiny suits will pop on any screen. 

After 19 years Metroid fans would have been happy with whatever the next side-scrolling Samus adventure delivered, but the challenge was always going to be attracting new players to the series. With killer looks that make the OLED screen update feel like an essential rather than an upgrade, and an even slicker selection of abilities, Metroid Dread marks a new era for the iconic Samus Aran. It’s been a while since I dusted off the power suit, but Metroid Dread got me ready to hop back onto the Metroidvania hype train. The game will be released alongside the new Nintendo Switch OLED on October 8. 

Here are the best Switch games you should be playing while you wait for Metroid Dread, from Super Mario Odyssey to Minecraft.

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According to Sakamoto, what was originally envisioned for Metroid Dread 15 years ago is not the same as what has been achieved with the upcoming title. The game was showcased at the Nintendo Direct during E3 2021 and revealed to be a sequel to Metroid Fusion.

In an interview with GamesRadar, Sakamoto says that when they originally came up with the game “the story wasn’t yet set, and so it was basically driven or kept alive by the concept.” It was only recently that Metroid Dread’s story was finalized, and Sakamoto tells us, “as you can imagine, what I envisioned 15 years ago is not the same as what actually was achieved now.”

Nintendo has also taken past games into consideration, and Sakamoto says that Metroid Dread “marks the conclusion of this story arc,” and that they have “come up with a fitting ending to wrap the whole thing up.” Sakamoto does confirm that Samus’ adventure will continue, but teases, “As to how… when you clear Dread you’ll have an idea of that.”

Metroid Dread is slated to launch on October 8, 2021, and will be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. Its arrival marks the first time we’ve seen a new 2D Metroid game in 19 years, and it marries 2D gameplay with 3D rendering, with some cinematic scenes peppered throughout. 

The game was originally in the works for the DS system, but development was shelved. In the Nintendo Treehouse Live deep dive on the game, Sakamoto explained that Nintendo finally felt confident enough to pursue its vision for Metroid Dread after seeing what Samus Returns developer MercurySteam was able to do with side-scrolling action on modern technology.

Samus will be facing off against a new antagonist known as E.M.M.I, a large robotic beast that seems invulnerable to her attacks. Players will instead have to evade rather than engage in combat. Although throughout the new world to explore, there is a bundle of new enemies that Samus can takedown. 

You can find out more in our interview with Sakamoto.

Want to see the new world to explore in Metroid Dread with a new screen? You’ll want to check out our guide to Prime Day TV deals.

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