Metroid Dread has officially been out in the wild for a little over a week now, and it's already made a big splash with franchise veterans and newcomers alike. Developer MercurySteam has once again proved to be a huge boon to the Metroid franchise, bringing Samus Aran into today's age of Metroidvania gameplay in a huge way. After so much time spent in the dark, Metroid Dread has brought back one of Nintendo's most beloved properties with the benefits of almost twenty years of 2D platforming innovations, quickly cementing itself as a must-play game on the Switch.
The future of the Metroid franchise as a whole looks very bright. Many fans have already begun to discuss some kind of sequel to Dread that could keep Samus' 2D return going, but there's just as much potential for Dread to be expanded on before that happens. Nintendo has already had successful DLC efforts with games like Breath of the Wild and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and it recently announced a huge expansion for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Looking towards the future, Dread could have its own DLC opportunities that give players all-new experiences.
Metroid Dread Level Creation DLC
One of Metroid Dread's stronger features was its variety of locations, which challenged players with a wide range of enemies and traversal options. The core of any Metroid game is returning to earlier areas later on after getting certain upgrades, and this concept could lend itself to a custom level creator. Players could make highly sophisticated traversal challenges, or intense combat gauntlets, and it could all operate similarly to the dungeon creator in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on the Switch. This DLC could bring together the Metroid community like never before, giving Dread a near endless amount of longevity.
Metroid Dread Extreme Difficulty DLC
Metroid Dread has stirred up a little bit of controversy for its high difficulty compared to many other Nintendo games, but overall it seems to be a welcome feature of the game. Once players complete their first run of Dread, they get the opportunity to ramp up the stakes with a hard mode that adds on to the challenge of traversing ZDR. This proved to be a pleasant surprise for many, and there's potential for additional DLC to add even more difficult modes. Whether it's listed as "Extreme" or "Nightmare" difficulty, it could give Metroid speedrunners even more of a reason to run through Dread and try to get a new fastest completion time.
Metroid Dread Boss Rush DLC
The Metroid series has built up a long line of iconic bosses that Samus has had to take on over the years, and Dread introduces more bosses while also bringing back some familiar faces. If Nintendo or MercurySteam really want to add a challenging DLC to Metroid Dread, there could be a lot of potential in a sort of boss rush expansion. This would put players through a gauntlet of boss fights that they must complete in one sitting with only one life, awarding players with appropriate upgrades as they progress. While it could be very punishing, this kind of DLC could also give players a chance to really flex their Metroid prowess.
The return of 2D Metroid on consoles has been very promising so far, and adding DLC to the game would only cement how committed Nintendo is to bringing back the franchise. With Metroid Prime 4 still in development, keeping the Dread hype going as long as possible could also really help Prime 4 when it comes time for 3D Metroid to return. There's no official plans for Metroid Dread to receive DLC just yet, but it's hard to deny how much potential could be found in expanding Samus Aran's latest adventure.
Metroid Dread is available now on the Nintendo Switch.