After years of re-releases, spin-offs, and otherwise absence, Metroid finally feels like it’s back. Metroid Dread is well on its way to being the best-selling Metroid game to date, and it definitely deserves the praise it’s getting. Nintendo’s efforts to push Dread on social media have worked out, and the combined efforts of Nintendo and MercurySteam have produced the smoothest-feeling Metroid yet. While Dread doesn’t innovate on the Metroidvania genre much, it never needed to; Dread just being a stellar 2D Metroid was all it ever needed to be.
And soon enough, Metroid Dread won’t be alone on the Switch. Metroid Prime 4 is still in development at Nintendo and Retro Studios, and fans are very hopeful that it will be able to bring 3D Metroid back into the conversation as well. It will have been at least fifteen years since the last numbered Prime game was released once Metroid Prime 4 comes out, so expectations are high. If Metroid Prime 4 really wants to impress when comes out, then the winning move is to look to what Dread did to impress fans so much.
Metroid Dread: Designed for Sequence-Breaking
Metroid Dread has tight gameplay, the tightest in the series, perhaps. So, when an alternate path or method is hinted at to the player, it can be reasonably assumed that they can figure it out and perform the necessary actions. Scenarios like this pop up many times throughout Metroid Dread, enabling players to progress through areas and item pick-ups in different orders, and even fight a couple of bosses in distinctly new ways.
Metroid Prime 4 should strive to emulate this sandbox design, and give players the tools they need to make their own paths. Scan-hopping off of Samus’ ship to collect the Space Jump right at the beginning of Metroid Prime is a famous skip, so designing traversal mechanics that enable such freedom in Metroid Prime 4 would endear the game to fans.
Metroid: Great Boss Fights
Metroid has had plenty of memorable bosses over the years, including fan favorites like Ridley, Nightmare, Rundas, the SA-X, and Mother Brain. However, Metroid Dread brings them to a new level. Gone is the need to wait on enemies to expose their weakpoints in very rigid ways. Now, Samus is expected to be moving around and fighting constantly.
Counters, platforming, and a constant stream of missile and beam shots are needed to work down the huge health bars that these multi-phase bosses possess. There are also multiple methods to approach fighting many of these foes, some with quicker results. Metroid Prime 4 would be served well by having at least a handful of bosses designed as well.
Lore-Focused
Metroid Dread does a lot of work tying together and fleshing out the series’ lore. The Chozo and Samus’ history are explored more directly than ever before, and the X Parasites and Metroids are addressed as well. This is all fitting for what is meant to be the last game in 2D Metroid’s first major story arc, and even though it’s following up a finished story itself, Metroid Prime 4 should strive to be the same way. Metroid Prime is beloved for its Scan Visor and all the interesting details it provides. The Chozo, Luminoth, Federation, and even Space Pirates have all been fleshed out thanks to the efforts of past Prime games, and Metroid Prime 4 needs to keep that trend going.
Metroid Uses Sci-fi Horror Effectively
Finally, an effort should be taken to maintain Metroid Dread’s horror-inspired tone in Metroid Prime 4. Metroid games should always be great action-platformers first and anything else second, but the presence of the EMMI gave Metroid Dread a unique feel. Debates are raging as to whether or not the EMMI are Dread’s weakest link, but the core idea of a nigh-invincible monster tracking Samus through certain sections is solid. Any further parallels Metroid can make to classic sci-fi horror franchises are welcome, and Metroid Prime 4’s first-person perspective will only enhance feelings of terror.
Metroid Prime 4 is in development for Nintendo Switch. Metroid Dread is out now exclusively on the Switch.