METROID DREAD: SAMUS IS THE ONE BEING HUNTED

9.0 of 10 bananas. The first new 2D Metroid in 19 years, a tight, fast, scary hunt through planet ZDR, with a few cheap robot deaths along the way.

By the Alpha. Nintendo eShop listing. Updated Oct 19 2026.

Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.

Platforms: Nintendo Switch only (MercurySteam and Nintendo, released October 8 2021). It also plays on Nintendo Switch 2. No PC, PlayStation, or Xbox version. The button goes to the official Nintendo store page. I checked Amazon on Oct 19: the US physical listing had no featured offer, and the only new offer I saw was 94.99 dollars, well above the 59.99 dollar list price, so I will not send you there today.

Sit with me a moment. I have hunted in the jungle at night. You learn to listen for the thing that is listening for you. Metroid Dread bottles that feeling, then hands you a gun and dares you to stop running.

What It Wants To Be

Dread is a 2D Metroid, the series that named a whole genre. Samus lands on planet ZDR to investigate a mysterious signal, loses her powers, and has to climb back up through a maze of linked zones. The new threat is the E.M.M.I., seven research robots that patrol sealed zones and can kill her in one catch. You sneak, you run, and you only fight back for a moment after finding a temporary weapon. The rest of the game is classic Metroid: new abilities open old doors.

What Works

Samus moves better than she ever has. The slide, the flash shift, and the melee counter make combat fast and physical, and the speed booster puzzles are some of the best in the series. Boss fights are hard, readable, and memorable. The E.M.M.I. zones add a pulse of real panic that keeps the middle of the game tense. It won Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards 2021 and sits in the high eighties on aggregate.

What Breaks

Listen well. The E.M.M.I. counter window is tiny, and some catches feel like luck, not skill, especially early. A few late boss checkpoints send you back further than they should. The map can get confusing when the game reroutes you with one-way doors, and some players hated that loss of control. The story is light and mostly told in a few scenes at the end.

Who Should Play

Play it if you love tight 2D action, exploration, and hard bosses, or if you want to see where Hollow Knight and Ori came from. Skip it if being chased stresses you out more than it thrills you.

Related: Metroid Prime 4, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

Sources: Nintendo store page, Amazon US listing, checked Oct 19 2026 (no featured offer), Metroid Dread on Wikipedia.

Store note: the troop still needs a fair Amazon referral for this one. The only new Amazon offer at my Oct 19 check was far above list price, so the official Nintendo store is the only button until a fair listing is real. This is not an affiliate link.