Metroid Dread has received another major trailer heading into its October release, and this one appeared to be even more exciting than the game's surprise E3 reveal. Old and new Metroid fans alike got a greater sense of what threats Samus will be facing in this new preview, as well as some new tools that Samus will have at her disposal as she ventures through the planet ZDR. Metroid Dread has quickly become one of the most anticipated games of Nintendo's fall release slate, and it's beginning to look like Nintendo will be supporting Metroid's return even more than was previously believed.
One of the reveals standing out in the new Metroid Dread trailer is the handful of new abilities that Samus will have access to throughout the game. While these are exciting enough from a gameplay perspective, they have serious implications for Nintendo's attitude towards Metroid's return. Out of the many Nintendo franchises that have fallen into somewhat obscurity, few have come back in the way that Metroid Dread appears to be, and even fewer have come back with new additions to a classic formula. Even though there hasn't been a new mainline game almost twenty years, Nintendo still cares about Metroid, and Samus' new abilities go a long way to show that.
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Explaining Samus' New Abilities In Metroid Dread
Three new abilities were featured heavily in the new Metroid Dread trailer, and each of them looks like they will be invaluable parts of Samus' arsenal. One of them appeared to be a new dash ability, allowing Samus to cover short distances very quickly, whether in the air or on the ground. The other ability looked like a sort of modification to Samus' already iconic missile launcher, giving her the option to lock on to multiple targets at once. Lastly, Metroid Dread will also be giving Samus a grappling hook that will serve a purpose both in traversal and puzzle-solving.
How Samus' New Abilities Evolve The Metroid Formula
There's no doubting that the Metroid formula has become iconic to the gaming industry. The entire Metroidvania genre owes itself to Nintendo's creation, but Dread's new gameplay features show that the game won't be retreading old ground. The new trailer showed just how these abilities will change up the usual Metroid formula, allowing new ways to engage enemies, travel the world, or solve puzzles. For a franchise built on foundational mechanics that haven't had a chance to change in almost twenty years, Samus' new tools should greatly diversify gameplay to keep it from feeling stale to longtime fans.
Metroid Dread's Attempts To Reclaim The Metroidvania Throne
Although Metroid may have pioneered its own genre of action games built on exploration, the franchise has been out of the game for a very long time. In its place, games like Hollow Knight and the Ori series have come in and given gamers highly stylized adventures that have built on the core of what made Metroid so great. Even with the weight of the franchise's name, Metroid Dread is going to have a lot to prove when it comes to matching up with modern Metroidvanias. Samus' new abilities won't just be a way to shake up gameplay, they'll also show players that Dread is worth picking up because it's doing things other games aren't.
Metroid Dread has been a long time coming, and the fact that the game exists at all is a miracle to many fans of the series. Samus' new abilities show that Nintendo is committed to making Metroid's return a worthwhile experience. The company could have just as easily put out a game that repeats what made the originals so fun, but instead, MercurySteam has been given the chance to expand the series and really do something that feels fresh. It's not often that a dormant Nintendo franchise comes back in such a big way, so hopefully Metroid Dread will be able to stick the landing.
Metroid Dread releases October 8 for the Nintendo Switch.