Metroid fans, your prayers have been answered.
In a surprise announcement at this year's E3 2021 through their Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo gave some updates on their sci-fi action series, Metroid. After confirming that Metroid Prime 4 was still in development, they completely surprised their viewers with another announcement: A brand new 2D Metroid game continuing the story of Samus Aran.
The trailer was very minimalist but it showed Samus investigating an abandoned space station, sporting a brand new armored suit. It isn't long until robotic defenses begin to stalk and terrorize her. The trailer then showed iconic 2D Metroidvania style exploration platforming. The combat appears to be building on the quick-paced action that was introduced by developer Mercury Steam when they worked on the Nintendo 3DS entry: Samus Returns. But the trailer also seems to introduce new stealth elements, showing Samus cloaking herself to avoid the peering eyes of a robotic sentry. Finally, the trailer ended with the game's title, Metroid: Dread.
But that's not all; Metroid: Dread will be coming out this year. The trailer ends with a release date of October 8, 2021. In addition, there will be special limited run Amiibo figures which will grant you special add-ons and bonuses in the main game. As for what exactly those bonuses are, we aren't entirely sure. However, knowing the way the internet is with scalpers, if you didn't already know about this announcement, they're most likely gone by now.
All in all, this announcement was stellar. There has not been a main entry in this series in almost 2 decades. The last chronological game in the timeline, Metroid Fusion, came out for the Game Boy Advance game back in 2002. Between that there have been the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime trilogy, the critically divisive Other M, and the headscratching spin-off Federation Force. Still, it's great to see the intergalactic bounty hunter back again fighting aliens and looking great while doing it.
What do you think of the Metroid Dread announcement? Are you looking forward to adventuring with Samus? Let us know in the comments below!
