Metroid Dread came out earlier this month to widespread acclaim. Its stellar gameplay and impressive animations have earned the praise of fans and newcomers alike, and many are happy to see the return of a long-dormant franchise.
While Metroid is lauded for its influential gameplay, it is not particularly known for having a dense narrative. Metroid Dread changes things up a bit by focusing a little more on its story. While the plot of Metroid Dread is quite interesting, there are a few details that it leaves unexplored.
8 What Happened To The First E.M.M.I.?
One of the very first things Samus encounters is an E.M.M.I., one that is wrecked beyond recognition and just barely able to stand upright. Nevertheless, it is still more than a match for Samus, though she manages to escape her first encounter with an E.M.M.I. by a hair's breadth.
While Samus soon manages to find the energy necessary to destroy the first E.M.M.I., we never find out what caused it to end up like that in the first place. The E.M.M.I's armor is so powerful that Samus is unable to destroy them, even with all of her upgrades. So what managed to leave the first E.M.M.I. in a state like this in the first place? Unfortunately, no cause is ever given, though some theories can be thrown about.
7 What The Central Units Are
The E.M.M.I. are each connected to a Central Unit, which must be defeated before Samus can obtain her temporary Omega Cannon. The Omega Cannon is the only thing that can destroy the E.M.M.I. robots, which means Samus must hunt down each unit before confronting an E.M.M.I.
This in itself raises a lot of questions. In the first place, what are the Central Units? What is it about them that allows Samus the power to access her Omega Cannon? Unfortunately, this question is never answered, as Samus seems to know instinctively to use its energy to destroy the E.M.M.I. without explanation.
6 The Return of Kraid
As Samus travels through the planet ZDR, she eventually meets up with a familiar face: Kraid, a former space pirate commander, now lies imprisoned in the depths of the earth. The two of them fight as always, and when Samus wins, Kraid's body sinks into the lava and is never seen afterwards.
The biggest question that Kraid's presence raises is whether or not this is the actual Kraid from Super Metroid. He was supposedly killed back then, but somehow he was able to show up again in ZDR. Is this the same Kraid, or is it possibly another member of the same species? Unfortunately, the game never specifies.
5 Samus Absorbing Abilities from E.M.M.I.
One of the major plot threads running through Metroid Dread is Samus's Metroid DNA slowly becoming stronger, which manifests in her ability to physically absorb enemy abilities. As she goes through the game, her Metroid DNA grows to the point where she has become a human-Metroid hybrid.
What's strange is that Samus is shown to also be able to absorb abilities from E.M.M.I. as well, despite the fact that they are not biological in any way (the reason they were sent to planet ZDR in the first place). Metroids are known for absorbing life energy from living creatures, but they've never been shown to feed off of machines. Why Samus is able to absorb abilities from the E.M.M.I with her Metroid DNA is never explained.
4 Adam's Inactivity During The Events Of The Game
Over the course of the game, it is slowly revealed that the Adam A.I. that Samus is speaking to is actually a disguised Raven Beak, meant to manipulate Samus into developing into the human-Metroid hybrid that he was hoping for. The actual Adam A.I. players have known since Metroid Fusion remained on Samus's ship, where it stays until Samus finally escapes at the end of the game.
The exact amount of time that Samus spends trapped in ZDR is unclear, but it's strange that Adam appears to have done nothing the entire time. It's possible that its actions were limited due to being stuck in the gunship, but it's still a bit weird that Adam didn't attempt to make contact with Samus once it realized something was wrong.
3 Raven Beak's Final Speech
As Samus explores ZDR, she eventually learns of Raven Beak's master plan to create an army of Metroids cloned by extracting her Metroid DNA. However, at the end of her fight with Raven Beak, he claims that he no longer needs her, as he now has the ability to clone Samus herself.
The player never gets a chance to hear what he means by this, as Raven Beak is summarily defeated by Samus, then transformed into a monster by a roaming X parasite. Raven Beak's claims themselves are quite contradictory as well since he would still need Samus in order to create those clones. Perhaps he was merely taunting, but it's unfortunately never made clear.
2 The Cause Of The Explosion
Once Raven Break has been defeated, the classic countdown to the planet's destruction begins. Samus has only three minutes to escape the planet and make it back to her ship. While there are a few roadblocks between her and freedom, eventually she is able to make it out.
However, it's unclear what exactly caused the explosion, if anything. It seems to occur as soon as Raven Beak dies, but there's no indication in-game of anything, in particular, causing the explosion to trigger. There are a number of possible explanations, but the game doesn't give a single hint as to which one it might be.
1 The Absorbed Quiet Robe's Sacrifice
When Raven Beak releases the X Parasites from their confinement in Elun, one of them absorbs the deceased body of the Chozo Quiet Robe. The Quiet Robe-X disappears, only to reappear as Samus is trying to make her escape. The X dissolves its transformation and allows itself to be absorbed by Samus, quelling her rampant Metroid DNA and allowing her to make her escape from ZDR.
This is a strange action for the X to take. While the X Parasites are not necessarily sentient, they do recognize Samus as an enemy due to her Metroid DNA, and have done much to end her life multiple times, such as the Quiet Robe-X reactivating the dormant E.M.M.I. It's odd that an X would show mercy towards Samus, especially since she has been hunting them since Metroid Fusion.