Metroid Dread is only months away from launch, but that hasn’t stopped Nintendo from unveiling some new footage from the game showcasing a longer look at Samus Aran using some new abilities against new enemies.
This new footage comes courtesy of GameSpot as they display 10 minutes of gameplay showing the galactic bounty hunter in combat with some new and familiar moves. One of the features making a comeback to the franchise is free-aim. With this feature, Samus will be able to move her blaster around at different angles to hit enemies no matter where on the screen they are at. The last time that part of the game was used was in Metroid: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS. Another feature that was spotted in the video is the heroine’s dash ability, making her movements very fluid and gives a better damage rate. Some parts of Metroid Dread also switch to first-person, a feature that developer Mercury Steam has been utilizing to give the upcoming game a claustrophobic feel.
10 minutes of opening Metroid Dread gameplay, showcasing our first look at Samus' combat, returning moves from the legendary franchise, and more! pic.twitter.com/M0l9GEZEfc
— GameSpot (@GameSpot) June 28, 2021
It makes sense to see that parts of Samus Returns were transferred over to Metroid Dread since the Spanish developer worked on both games. Samus’ upcoming adventure will be the first new game that has come out in almost two decades. The last new game that utilized the 2D playstyle was Metroid Fusion for the Gameboy Advance. Since then, the franchise adopted the first-person perspective in most of their consoles with the Metroid Prime trilogy as well as Metroid: The Other M.
With the upcoming Metroid Prime 4, the series is looking to get back into that realm of gameplay, but for now, the franchise is returning to its roots that made the games well-known. The new game will be a reminder of how influential the series has been to other titles that came after this resurgence of the Metroidvania-style gameplay.
Does the Metroid Dread Switch footage make you excited? Will you be purchasing when the game launches later this year? Let us know!
