Reviews for Dread are extremely interesting, it's a matter whether Dread can keep up with the modern definition of a Metroidvania while also staying loyal to its legacy
That is an interesting idea. a lot of people will judge based on previous games but I did not have the experience from the older games, just the modern definition of metroidvania
This is brilliant. A lot of other reviews are from people who are emotionally invested in the series already, this is a really good, fair, honest, unbiased, unemotional review
Thank you. I only saw glowing reviews that didn’t talk about anything negative at all. I really do like the game, these are just some little things that stuck out
I disagree on the linear. I back tracked and got 100 percen item completion. You can back track once you get the items necessary to do so. Every metroid game ever was like this. So if you don't like it you would not like any of the others. Just being honest. And yeah, I guess sequence breaks count too.
This very well could be game of the year. It was a great game. I hope they make more. I wanted to make this review because every review I found only showed the positives from a fanboy perspective.
If I may suggest something, Id recommend you go back and play Super Metroid on the SNES, if possible. That game is smaller in scale but overall a much more satisfying experience imo. It might just be best the way to wash out the sour taste of Dread. I sat through both "longplays" (not the live stream) and watched you play from start to finish and I agree with your review 100%. Probably the most fair review I've seen on the game so far
I personally didn't mind the whole double jump thing and getting lost etc, but I think that's because I played through Super Metroid first which is a bit harsher. That said I still think it's fair to comment on these older design sticking around as 1) it's your opinion do what you like lol and 2) the devs put this forward as a good place to start with the Metroid series, so older elements can feel unwelcome.
SM is the exception in the serie, not the rule. Echoes is extremely linear, Zero Mission isn't, but it feels like it the first time because of the hint statues everywhere, Corruption and Fusion are extremely linear and also force you to get hints. Admittely, none of them block you way back as often as Relyea made it seem for Dread, but still.
To anyone who’s played Hollow Knight and found it very unfair and difficult, this game will be a walk in the park for you compared to that. In Hollow Knight you’re fighting the exact same characters numerous times over and over. Especially the smaller enemies in Hollow Knight, my goodness do they ever get repetitive. Hundreds in a small area. Also, Dread is extremely fair when it comes to dying, as it puts you nearly right back where you were prior to dying. Hollow Knight however, having to traverse miles and miles across the map just to get back and be tapped by the boss that you haven’t figured out yet, just to have to go back and figure out their move set dozens of times just is too demanding and cruel. This game is quite relaxing and nice compared. However, I’m someone who thoroughly enjoys Metroidvanias, so if that’s you as well then you’ll love both of these masterpieces! Neither game has hardly any direction and infinite backtracking, but if you’re use to the genre then you’ll know what to expect and appreciate the lack of hand holding and exploration. Trust.
Dread is far more linear than Hollow Knight. I'm not saying this as criticism (whether you prefer this or not is entirely personal), but with dread apart from specific (and often difficult to find/pull off) sequence breaks you get upgrades and go through areas in a specific order. Whereas in Hollow Knight, after you get the claw there's a bunch of different ways you can go, Hollow Knight is only as linear as dread in its early phases. Although I'll agree with you that dread's linearity isn't of the hand-holdy sort, it sort of guides you in the right direction (for example, putting a teleporter to where you're supposed to go) but doesn't force you to go where you need to either, so it isn't truly linear either.
2:56 to clarify, the counter ability in Metroid was a new mechanic from Metroid: samus returns for the 3DS which was a Metroid 2 remake (desperately needed it) where it was used much more often Edit: 8:22 also in samus returns they literally recycled boss fights 39 times for the Metroid variants so if you insist
This feels like a review of a guy who's only played Hollow Knight comparing a game to all the things he enjoyed about Hollow Knight that it didn't have. This game is like a good action movie: it feels epic and exciting and you enjoy your time, but the more you start to over-analyze and break down the plot, inorganic design fundamentals, and ludonarrative dissonance those details start falling apart. Although I own nearly every single Metroid game, this is the first one I've ever finished at 100%. Some of the deeper game mechanics and controls are rather arduous to me and the plot is what you come to expect from a Nintendo game. But you're absolutely right, don't let someone else's opinion take away your enjoyment of it. I'm glad this game, this franchise, is getting some love. Even if it's not for everyone.
Hey man , I appreciate you. I was expecting you to tear into me 😁 I have been playing video games going back to the NES days and have a lot more experience than just Hollow Knight but I will admit that I do view and compare a lot of games to HK. It is because HK is my personal favorite and most recent game. I think if I was to go back and play some of the older Metroid games now I’d like them more after playing dread just knowing more about the mechanics and how things work in general
@@RelyeaGaming I mean, it does go to show how great HK was in the space that inspired it. It may be blasphemous to say, but this game, however good, felt like a side quest as we wait for the highly anticipated Silksong.
I thought Dread didn't hold up to the OG Super metroid for all these same reasons. And tbh. It's the EMMI's for me. They grinded the pacing to a near stop. And I didn't even mind it until the halfway point when the game told me they were all deactivated and done I took a breath of fresh air thinking the fun was about to begin full force. No more padding. No more gloves. But yeah they just come right back again.
I thought that was a great review! It was really balanced and fair. I feel the same about the things you disliked about the game. I’d much rather know the good and bad opinions of a game before I commit, particularly if it’s a higher price point game. Im a massive fan of Super Metroid and for me Dread doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Initially, when i didn't follow the forward path, it became incredibly difficult to find the way back, often there was only one way back. I also found a sequence break, mostly because a boss was annoying me. So they are there, they were just made hard to find and execute 😃 I think we have been spoilt by hollowknight though and also Ori which refined the genre. I also found the EMMIs easier than some of the bosses! I've got 4 items left to collect and the last boss is just really hard for me. I'm almost 100% complete, there is no way I'd have been able to complete it in 7 hours, I'd not have collected enough health and rockets for the boss fights. I agree the jumping was a little annoying especially when you just had the double and not the space jump.
I agree almost 100% with this review; The things I didn't like took away much of my enjoyment of the game, which is sad as the good parts were very good. Aside from the music, and the hide-die-repeat part of the emmi fights (I enjoyed when you could actually run from it), what irritated me most was the un-openness of the map. Instead of being able to freely backtrack you are at many points forced to push forward, and do certain objectives, and with the addition of a hard to read map and many one-way doors, that just made it too frustrating. I figured out the "double jump" relatively early, but what bugged me about the controls was how slow it was to roll into a ball. It was also confusing at first with all the different buttons, but luckily I got used to that. If I had known this going in it probably wouldn't have irritated me as much, but this is not what I expected from a metroid game. As an action platformer it is in my opinion good, as a metroidvania, not so much (but still ok).
This sort of encapsulates why you're the only game streamer I watch tbh. A review that looks at it from the POV of a gamer who just wants a good, immersive experience and isn't really anything but neutral on it - no pointless ramblings about the history of the series or technical details that aren't relevant to anyone but speedrunners, just an honest look at it as a gamer who wants a fulfilling experience. Nice one
The game is great but far from perfect, and that's fine. People gloss over the weaknesses in favor of praise. The music is a bit weak, the repetitive mini bosses are annoying, the teleports being color coded as opposed to free flexible, and the abilities sometimes blend into each other without feeling useful for themselves alone. These are all flaws of the game that I would note. But I don't think it's over hyped. It's a great game and easily what this franchise needed to move forward into the future.
First of all, I liked the game very much but I have played every other Metroid game out there and I grew up with super metroid too. Those things play a role for my judgement for sure and I'm aware of that. More specifically, I loved the visuals, music was fine for me (not hollow knight level ofc), the abilities were super fun and the bosses were well designed and just right difficulty wise. That said, I also feel like there could be more bosses in general- some of them being the same was a bit disappointing for sure. Also, the game is more open than it seems in the first playthrough but not open enough to be just right. I generally liked the emmis but they could be a bit more diverse and more interesting as the game went on- they got a bit easier to avoid in the end, at least for me and I didn't feel the same kind of dread I initially did. Lastly, the double jump. It is the first time something like it gets in a metroid game and I get how it could screw people up. Space jump is the og ability you get in a metroid game and it always required timing as it would be too op otherwise. I feel like they tried to balance the double jump around the space jump which makes the double jump feel awkward on its own, especially if this was your first metroid game.
Good review! I enjoyed the game a lot, but I have to agree with you about the repeated bosses. I didn’t mind battling the same boss several times because it showed how much better I was by the last fight, but I thought the Chozo spear warrior was a bit much. (Spoiler alert) The one that got me was when the last emmi got killed in a cutscene only for the boss to be another spear warrior. Would have been so much cooler, and appropriate, to finally be able to fight an emmi on equal terms in a real boss fight.
I like this review. It doesn't have the bias of a long time fan of the series and you made some great points. I will say backtracking is earned in the Metroid series. The whole map is reachable with the right equipment and I've always seen that as a pro. Coming from other metroidvanias I can see why it would seem like a step backward, and why you may not like it. Good Video!
I personally thought the repeating chozo minibosses made sense in the context of the game; each time you fight another one it does more damage or gains new attacks to the point where the gold one at the end kill you in a few hits and has at least six varying attacks, but the way you slowly worked up to that point let’s you quickly defeat what seems like it should be an extremely tough boss. It also works well with the lore of the series but the average person doesn’t know Metroid lore so I can’t really hold that against anyone
I also really like the chozo minibosses, I just wish there were more major bosses too. For me it really only feels like there are 5 major bosses, and there are like 8 or 9 areas? Meaning it sometimes feels like the minibosses take up the place of a full boss.
@@JacobPDeIiNoNi I agree. The bosses in this game were some of the best in any game I have ever played, and I do wish there were more of them. I also wish you could go back and fight them again after you had defeated them, like a hall of gods of some sort
Relyea, THANK YOU. I think your review absolutely nailed many of the same feelings I share about Dread. Disclaimer: in contrast to you, I have played and 100%'d four other 2D metroid titles (Super, Zero Mission, Fusion and the unofficial -- but phenomenal -- AM2R). I've replayed Super Metroid at least once every year since I first played it in 1995 (yes, it's my favorite game ever). The nostalgia for me is very real and yet, just like you, I found the annoyances of Dread really added up and tainted my first play through of it. The top two major annoyances for me were the blatant funneling (one-way doors and red flame tree things, I'm looking at you) and the EMMI enounters. I felt that EMMI encounters completely ground my first play through to a screeching halt. Those combined with the aforementioned funneling really obliterated the sense of exploration for me. I felt like backtracking for power ups was a non-starter until very late game and the post-EMMI EMMi zones were boring dead space that just got in the way of a more enjoyable backtracking experience. Really enjoyed live-watching the last three or so hours of your live playthrough. I could feel your frustration towards the end re: Raven Beak quick-time-event-like moments. In my own first playthrough by that point I just wanted to get the game over with, which is a real shame and not something I had ever experienced with the other 2D Metroids I've played (even with Fusion, which suffered from some funneling problems for me). Music was forgettable too (IMO most Metroid 2D and all the GC Prime games have soundtracks that blow Dread's out of the water). Thanks for reading one of my comments live during the playthrough re: EMMIs and Super Metroid. I really do think you would enjoy Super Metroid. It has nearly all the positives that you seemed to enjoy the most during your Dread playthrough and nearly none of the negatives (except the double jumping mechanic, which is second nature to us Metroid fans by now). Second disclaimer: I've 100% Dread now and am on track to a sub-4hr speed run on a second save file. Dread gets better on repeat playthroughs but I strongly suspect I will not be revisiting the game much if at all in the future. Good game, but nowhere near the epiphany some other reviewers are making it out to be. Thanks for keeping it real and thanks for all your excellent content. Silksong early 2022, let's gooooo.
After playing hollow knight last year, as a huge Metroid fan I also found issues with dread. With that being said, now that dread is out i wouldn't be surprised if we hear about silk song soon. Remember silksong was shown off at nintendo E3 so they prolly been holding off till this game came out as per nintendos request.
I get how you feel about the repeated mini bosses, but I really liked how you could feel your progression based on how you just totally destroyed them in the end.
It also made sense lore wise cause there was an entire army taken over by the x, if there was just one spear bird fight I'd be pretty confused, don't know about the robot tho.
This is a very, very good review of the game, and at the end of the video, I can't believe that I'm agreeing with most of the negatives of the game that you mentioned. I too find the music the weakest point of the game, in some areas it adds to the ambience (I think in Burenia and Ghavoran), but mostly the music is pretty lackluster and not memorable like in BOTW or Hollow Knight. Exploration was amazing, but indeed it was quite linear, although the player is guided on the path pretty well. And like you said, sequence breaks are possible but it's hard to figure out for a newbie. I really love though how speedrunners are figuring out more and more sequence breaks and I can't wait to try them. The double jump, I too found annoying, there were many times (especially in boss fights) I missed double jump because I didn't spin jump, just jumped straight up, and this led to me dying a lot more than I should have. I feel it could have been better, but later on I got more used to it. I probably only disagree about the EMMI sections, I actually loved them, contributed a lot to the DREAD aspect of the game, even though I died a lot of times to them (especially the purple and blue EMMIs). As for the bosses, I feel there were a lot of bosses, some of them were amazing (Kraid, Experiment Z-57, the final boss) but indeed many others were re-skins and that got slightly annoying towards the end. I didn't hate them as much as Escue though, that boss can go away. I still feel 7/10 is a pretty harsh rating from you, but in spite of that, it's a very good review from you and I personally would give it 8.5/10, and I totally enjoyed the game and can easily see myself playing it multiple times. I personally also like the difficulty level is far easier than Hollow Knight, especially the save system as well, which is more forgiving (it's one of the things I really hated in my first Hollow Knight playthrough but later on adapted and got used to it). Keep up the great work, you're definitely one of the better UA-camrs out there!!
I personally liked this game more than hollow knight, but this video made a lot of good points, especially about the double jumps. Having played super Metroid I didn’t really struggle with it but I can definitely see how it would be a problem for people new to the series (which most of the audience was) I also had similar thoughts on the emmis, by the end they are more of a nuisance than a threat. This is a great review on a great game, keep up the good work
I think I had a similar problem with you to the backgrounds, but I don't think this was a problem with the whole game. I think this problem could be narrowed down to the EMMI zones specifically. They have that bland sci-fi aesthetic you (and I) disliked, and they take up about half of the map of each area, which does make the areas stand out less. Despite many of the areas being very unique in terms of aesthetic. I think this problem would have been EASILY remediable by just making EMMI zones have the same backgrounds of regular areas. Giving EMMI zones different backgrounds only accomplishes two things that aren't really all that necessary: It dictates where the EMMI zone starts and ends (but the zone doors already do that), and it also makes the sequences a bit scarier since it makes it seem more like you're in the EMMI's territory (but being chased by a killer robot through a dense jungle, or dark biologic laboratory would be plenty scary enough).
Your opinion is honest, I appreciate that, but it's slanted for the fact that you're using HK as a benchmark and also because it's your first experience playing a Metroid game, not a Metroidvania. Most reviews are positive because it stands out and the comparison points are within the franchise games. That said, you should definitely give it a shot to Super Metroid or Metroid Fusion to understand better how the dynamics works for a more calibrated review. And don't get me wrong, I consider that Hollow Knight is a masterpiece in the Metroidvania genre but it's not completely comparable to Dread. Keep doing a good job!
It’s hard to be 100% objective because people will base things off of the history of the franchise or other games they have played. I have never really done reviews before but people seem to enjoy it. I appreciate the feedback
I think that was a very fair review. I haven't played the game yet, but I have felt similar things here and there throughout the MV genre. Boss reskins or enemy reskins, chase scenes being one hit one kill or without checkpoint, mechanics that just don't make sense. That doesn't necessarily make a game bad just not for me. But that's also why I loved HK, everything it had just meshed so well with what I wanted.
As a long time fan I agree with basically everything you said and I think opinions over time will shift more to your viewpoint. It's being smothered with praise because it's the first Metroid game in a decade that anyone liked (ignoring remakes). A few notes: 1. Even fans consider the music forgettable, which is a shame since past games have some incredible tracks. The mainstay composer to the series has taken a backseat ever since Prime 3 and it really shows. Listen to the soundtracks from Prime 3 and back, hell, just listen to the MAIN MENU theme from Prime 1. Freaking amazing. 2. The Metroid series keeps flirting with linearity for some godforsaken reason, even before sales started to dip. Hopefully Dread's success encourages them to take the training wheels off. 3. Reskinned bosses aren't new to the series, but it's certainly not the norm so I'm not sure why they did it here. Reskinning lower tier enemies however IS Metroid tradition. Understandable why you don't like it.
I lived the game. Even everything you said that you didn't like I loved. I feel like it brings something different then any other metroidvania to the market and does what it does very well. But I also see where you are coming from. If I was a new Comer to metroid I would probably feel the same way as you. So I totally understand where your coming from, but for me this is the game of the year
I think this very well could be game of the year. I don’t know anything else that comes to mind. All I saw were perfect reviews and I just wanted to share the couple of things that stuck out to me
I completely agree on the boss fights. Way too few, but the ones we DID get were incredible. Also by far the worst part of the game for me is the locations all look the same. This is the reason why ghavoran and hanubia are by far my favourite areas, so unique compared to everywhere else. For me, this grinds me down in dairon. It is by far the worst area for me, all has the same laboratory look, the Emmi zones were way too long, the only redeeming factor for me is once you kill the 4th emmi, you unlock the most fun ability by far, speed booster / shine spark. Also the escape sequence for this game and the ending where the best since Super Metroid (which to be fair was only 2 games ago). I still think Super Metroid was the better game, and I do regret paying £90 for the special edition, but it was a good game with an incredible last hour or so and amazing boss fights, though most of them were far too easy. Super Metroid and especially Hollow Knight are still the best metroidvanias to me.
Yeah but you still physically can get back to them until much later. The game physically blocks you from back tracking as you get new abilities and then you have to move to new areas
I can agree with most of the "bads", but they are not so Bad in the end. Like Early Game was really Straight Forward, but the Game got more and More Open, pretty Fast, and Exploration gets rewarded, found Early Scanner, which is super Helpfull, early X-Bombs which is not bad. Not Spoilered, im not a Speedrunner. The Bosses, i think they were Perfect, im not so good and some Bosses felt overtuned, but then i did every boss in average with 5 Deaths, which is very Fair. I know Hollow Knight bosses i took way more time. Have a Hard time to compare with my other Metroid Favorite "Super Metroid", but talking about Games from this Century, Best MetroidVania after Hollow Knight.
I agree that most of the bad I listed was not that bad. Every other review I saw talked about a perfect game and I just wanted to share some of the little things that stuck out to me. I still think it’s a great game and if anything I probably came off more harsh that I may have intended
Christ everyone in the comments comparing it to Hollow Knight as if it’s the pinnacle of everything good makes me feel weird that I just didn’t like hollow knight at all.
It is because my channel got popular around hollow knight and that is what a lot of the viewers here have to use as very recent reference point. It is totally fine to not like Hollow Knight. Hollow Knight has things it could have done better too. I can't think of a single game I would call perfect.
Thanks, Relyea, I think you make some good points, and I tend to agree with most of your nitpicks, but here's the thing--even with those "problems," I still love this game. I think I'm getting close to the end and can't wait to start it all over again.
I agree with you on everything. For $60, I was expecting a much more nonlinear experience, more enemy variety, and a lot more dread. I’m curious about your thoughts on Super Metroid! I’ve heard it’s much better, but I haven’t played it yet.
The main issue that you mentioned that I agree with is the soundtrack. Or lack there of. None of it was memorable, but I understand it's design. It was meant to be closer to ambient sounds to give you a feel for the area you are in.
I think you're right about the game, they did get lazy with the bosses and I feel they could've done much more with the levels not making them look the same. Honestly the game looks amazing especially the way they did with the water area's. They did something like that in Link's Awakening with their water level area's. Such a good game but they could've done more than just get lazy on a lot of places that ain't necessary for them.
Like you, I've never played a Metroid game before. I bought this and played it last week while I was in hospital and it was great and it also kept me sane. I think that I might even check out the previous Metroid games. I like your review and think that it was fair. For me the double jump wasn't an issue at least for exploration. However I did struggle with it during boss fights as some of those fights were a bit tense and I found myself button mashing. But that was my issue, not the game's. As far as bosses go, I think that there were plenty of them, but I wouldn't have minded a few more. Though I do agree that the re-skinning of some bosses was a tad bit lazy. All in all I agree with most of your review and I personally give it an 8/10.
Hi Relyea! I'm a Metroid fan but I totally agree with you. They focused their effords in making the game looks beautifull building a great background, amazing boss fights and a good story. But to be honest, the bosses, E.m.m.i, enemys, and different areas, they all feel repetetive... As you realise the game looks amazing, you notice it forgot some essencials. Probably they never played Hollow Knight and the old Metroid games.
EMMI sections felt more of a chore than anything. It’s easier to die to them than hide. You start right outside the room anyway. Most effective thing is to just to bolt through the room. If you get caught usually jumping through a few sections or going through a door is enough to cancel the chase. Again mostly irritating to do. Maybe if they patrolled the entire area map there might be some fear of the generic sci-fi robot.
It was a fun game for sure but I definitely agree with you that things were blocked or you could only go a certain way to get to a certain area. Also I really HATED THE Quick time event EMMI grabs or it's game over. Have you considered playing Shantae?
I totally agree with you on how linear the game is, i found it baffling cause i know metroid to be tricky, here it felt like they were holding my hand. Especially in the frozen section, all doors are frozen except the one u need to go thru like what? I did want more boss battles cause hollow Knight spoiled me but then again quality over quantity i guess, the reskinned mini bosses were not it tho I found the double jump mechanics to be frustrating as well Especially when fighting a boss, i used the dash more just because the stupid double jump is hard to get used to in a game that can be completed in 8 hrs. I did enjoy the emmi tho wished if they were more like a boss fight eventually instead of just lasering them Overall the game is great we just need to get used to the metroid lore i guess, i had high expectations because everyone say hollow knight is a metroidvania and this is the metroid, idk if that makes sense
I have been putting off watching this because I was nervous that you’d completely lay into the game but I’m glad to say I was wrong. I love this game and I’d give it a 9/10 but I think your criticisms are valid and many are somewhat of a personal preference so not everyone will have them, but there’s also many who will so it’s good to acknowledge them. I personally liked the EMMI zones and didn’t mind the reused bosses too much, but I would prefer more unique ones. While it was more linear, I think it was a good balance of not being hand holding but also not being so overwhelming to where new players to the series would be lost and give up on the game. I think the gameplay and controls were amazing and the movement was great and allowed for fun bosses. I would recommend this game to anyone. Even if you have some of the issues that were mentioned, and it’s perfectly okay to have them or to not have them, it’s still a very fun experience and you will enjoy it especially if you like the other Metroid games or games like Hollow Knight
Great review, I feel the exact same way about the music. The music from the original metroid games stands out much like hollow knight does. This games music is not memorable.
I've only heard the title screen and the first area tracks, plus one boss track, but I thought they were actually all pretty great and a massive improvement over samus returns especially.
I sort of agree because the only track I really liked was Burenia, but I do think that the music did a good job of fitting the atmosphere of the areas.
I think re-skinned enemies are bad in any game. More bosses is something everybody would want. The Emmi Zones were great for some people and was a matter of personal opinion. None of that has anything to do with hollow knight
Super late here lol. This is still like my favorite metroid game of all time. The Gameplay and movement is buttery smooth and the bosses is by far one of the best in the series and i love it so much. This game isn't perfect, no game is of course. (Even Hollow knight, don't @ me) My problems : stems from lack of environmental variety (mostly metal corridors) areas like cataris and dairon are mostly technological labs despite something like cataris is meant to be a volcanic magma area. The Music is not the best yea which is a shame, i like a handful of it but its not like Super and Prime tier of amazing. Its not the end for me, i can def appreciate it. The game is linear compare to other games like again, Super and Prime; happy there are sequence breaks intentional and non-intentional that i can do to mix and match up future playthroughs' routes, but points of no return is too abundant in this game. Hopefully in Metroid 6 they toned this down haha. EMMIs are annoying, nuff said, they have an awesome design and they look freaky but they're just kinda annoying after awhile lol (Side note, for the double jump, its really not that bad, it just comes down to timing, like the counter lol) Boss variety is criminally low, i can count like around 12 to 13 original bosses, like i said again, they're all amazing, fun yet very difficult fights for first timers and the boss counter cinematics, soooo sexy aaaa, but the amount of repeats made me so sad, like you said I WANT MORE BOSSES, THEY'RE SO GOOD *sobs*, curious tho, according from an article Dread was originally meant to have double the amount of bosses and cutscenes, which shame tbh but i heard the studio behind had some development problems so i can understand to an extent. I can give this game like a 9/10 bc it is a fantastic game, of course, problems and nitpicks here and there but it really does feel like on par with some modern metroidvanias like HK and Ori, in my opinion of course lol.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who just didn't find the EMMI's that fun after a little while. I really feel like I would enjoy the game a lot more without them, it just wasn't much fun to try to hide or run from them.
I understand your perspective on Dread and appreciate you sharing. I realize it isn't everyone's cup of tea and that's totally cool, but feel your issue with what you call the "double jump" is very specific to you. It's most likely due to you not having played other Metroid 2D games, which have had a similar feel and mechanic since the start. Also, because you've played so much Hollow Knight, your muscle memory is used to the way that operates. I think your silently comparing this to your 1st and only true love (that cute Lil knight) and should admit it here. I personally really like Dread and think it ranks high, but would agree that Hallow Knight is a better game in many ways.
I agree that the double jump is mostly a me problem. That said, there are a lot more games than just hollow knight that have a double jump that have the second jump at the height of the 1st. I’ll admit that I compare everything to hollow knight but the timing for the 2x jump here was tough even when I was trying to wait a second for the 2nd jump. It was a tough thing to have to re-learn for me
@@RelyeaGaming I don't like the double either, it's weird having to wait for a specific event before you're able to jump. It's not Hollow Knight specific, a lot of games don't use this 'old' mechanic anymore. Just play remakes like Crash and Spyro, it's no fun in my opinion.
My favorite thing about Hollow Knight was that I didn’t know what was going on for a long time. I was excited to be lost and felt free to explore. Dread was the opposite experience for me. It was too linear and hand-holdy. I knew the next 5 steps in the journey, who the bad guy was, etc., and i often wasn’t allowed to backtrack for a long time, being forced to follow the one path. The map looks like a maze, but it really only allowed you to go one way much of the time. Also, the combat style in dread is pretty limited and gets kinda boring (even with the upgrades), whereas HK allows for a TON of customization in play style with the charm feature. HK also had WAY more personality with all of its NPCs. Dread had like 4 characters with speaking parts, and they were all in cutscenes or save points. I paid full price for Dread and beat it in 8 hours. I got HK on a discount and it’s taken me almost 40 hours to get 112%. I’m just a few pantheons away. Freakin Zote
The thing is though, Metroid games are typically intended to induce strong feelings of isolation, so your NPC comparison is like comparing apples to oranges. Admittedly, Dread is actually a bit unusual in this regard by series standards, as it features more interactions between Samus and other entities than past Metroid games (judging by the ones I’ve played, anyway), and is thus weaker in the isolation department than Super Metroid for instance. Nonetheless, the quirky, colorful sort of NPCs that exist in Hollow Knight would be extremely out of place in a Metroid game, so it’s for the best that Dread’s few NPCs are serious and subdued by comparison. If you prefer Hollow Knight’s approach in this regard over Metroid’s, then that’s another matter.
I enjoyed the game more than you seem to have done, but I do agree with some of the negatives you pointed out like the reused bossfights and especially the linearity. I hoped that the game would be more like Hollow Knight and Super Metroid in terms of open exploration. I thought that maybe they made it more linear so it wouldn’t be as difficult for newcomers and less experienced players, but that doesn’t make much sense when you concider that the combat can be very challenging in this game. However, when I accepted that the game would be relatively linear I enjoyed it a lot as an action game! The movement feels really good, the new abilities were cool, and the free aiming and counter-ability worked really well. The big bossfights were awesome as well, and I happen to like the EMMI-zones. For me it’s an 8/10. Also, I really reccomend that you try out Super Metroid! It has aged in some areas like the controls and movement, but it pioneered the metroidvania genre and it has incredible exploration and atmosphere!
I think in my head I wasn’t expecting the game to be linear. I just felt like I was always leaving behind abilities. Once I accepted how linear it was and to not stress the stuff I missed I felt better for sure. Maybe one day I’ll backtrack to get all that stuff
The problem was for me HK set such an incredibly high standard for me that other metroidvania games simply didn’t hold up , it was a “if you set the bar too high you’ll always be disappointed” kind of thing
My issue so far having just started the game is that you seem to trip into a new EMMI encounter every 5 minutes. find emmi, escape, find item to kill emmi, kill it, move on briefly in new area...trip into a new emmi encounter, escape, find item to kill emmi, kill it.... It just repeats over and over. Ive made it now to the second zone and it seems like the entire experience is just dominated and revolves around EMMI encounters. Talk about a concept worn too thin. They were scary and spooky...until you run into them every 7 minutes, then it just becomes horrible, boring pace breaker
Wow I am surprised you haven’t played a single Metroid game before this one considering your love of the genre. I haven’t bought it yet but I enjoy this fresh perspective on it. I will be buying it regardless of this review because it’s a Metroid game but I appreciate your honesty on everything. But uh one thing please tell me you have played SOTN. If not go do it
It is a really good game and I would still suggest playing it. Just wanted to share a couple things that stick out in my mind. I remember watching my uncle play SOTN and I tried it but it wasn’t a game that I owned or ended up playing. Maybe now that it’s on switch I’ll try it
The save-file completion timer isn’t exactly right. For some reason it resets upon death so when I finally completed the game, it was around 3 and a half hours off…
I cannot agree more with this review. I wanted to feel like this game is a 10/10, but there are way too many small annoyances. Glad people are able to enjoy it more than I did.
Hm, I totally understand your feelings on almost everything you said. I may not share your opinion on everything, but I understand. Except for one thing. I was constantly going back to previously explored areas after getting new abilities. I must have grand toured every available area five or six times all during my playthrough as i got new skills and abilities. I do realize that periodically in the story you are barred from full backtracking, but those moments were short lived and things opened back up swiftly. I wonder if you just had the unfortunate luck that whenever you actually decided to backtrack, it just happened to be perfectly timed with those moments of containment. In which case you have my sympathies. But I dont really think its an entirely valid critique of the game. Anyway, love your review otherwise. Well done and thank you.
I've only played a few hours but I definitely agree with you, particularly on the backtracking. Getting an ability then remembering items that you can now get with the new ability what makes Metroidvanias satisfying in my opinion, so it's kind of disappointing that you're often limited to backtracking for a majority of the game. Great review!
I feel like the music criticism is 100% justified and I felt the same way being a hardcore Metroid fan myself. Even Metroid Fusion had more iconic tracks than Dread.
Idk I actually REALLY enjoyed the music And personally the more liniar the better, that's more my cup of tea, and that's fine AND I TOTALLY AGREE ON THE EMII SUBJECT, 100%
Honestly, I’m happy that you enjoyed the gane being more linear. I’m sure many people want to just enjoy the game without feeling lost. I can totally understand that. It just wasn’t expected for me going in.
I agree with back tracking and bosses other than that I loved the game and I found you have to just run through the emmi rooms and forget using the shade,just checkout the map and see where the emmi doors are and just go… Even if you don’t have the full map opened up the emmi doors are visible so just go for it…
The hard pas was getting into a new Emmi room and not having a map,. You have run, search for a door and die, then spit again until you figure out where to go
@@RelyeaGaming actually whenever you enter a new emmi area it makes a giant box map regardless of whether you found the map station, so if you just go in a general direction you'll find your way out.
I loved the game. But i think there could have been some challenge modes like bossrush, or maybe mode where the EMMI could go outside of the EMMI zones. It was just... Done after the first playthrough. I ain't playing that again if there isn't any challenges or achievements. Allthought, i loved the intended secuense breaks which give you special ways to defeat bosses and stuff.
I doubt its the best game but people love the metroid series and Samus. Me included. I think people are comparing it to other games in the series? Idk I've been out of the loop for a while. Last. Metroid game I've played was on the gamecube lol.
i loved the game, but i found that even with almost max health, you still could die with only a few hits making for me the game a little to hard. As a gamer i almost play games on lower difficulty because gaming for me is something to relax after a days work. Don't get me wrong, winning a fight after seeing game over 30 times is satisfying, but maybe it is because i'm getting older, but i don't have that kind of patient anymore like i did many years ago. Also because of the combinations you have to do with the controller i sometimes forget even after doing it many times what input was the power bomb etc. So even if i loved the game ( childhood memories of super metroid ), a lower difficulty setting that would not drain you health so much would be welcomed.
I agree the enemies/minibosses started to get very repetitive towards the end of the game, still really enjoyed it. much better game than botw, I rate it a 8/10
For EMMI, at some point you need to learn on how to lure them out from the exit path. If that did get annoying then you simply haven't figured it out imo. For double jump, that's just silly imo. Different game, different mechanics, different lesson. It's true that this game is kinda linear at times. Past Metroid had both designs (linear or freedom) made already though so most people just accept it for what it is. Bosses number are kinda average actually based on past games. Though I agree this game maybe could notch it up a bit more because of $60? The exploration really took it up high I guess this time.
In my opinion hollow knight was better. The only thing about this that was better was the graphics and animations. For me i remember all the music and bosses from hollow knight and i like the how the charms added more variety but in metroid dread i almost forgot all of the music and i only remember 3 bosses. Overall it's still fun but way to overhyped.
I know we’re not supposed to compare every mv to Hollow Knight but… this game cost me $60 and gave me about 12 hours of entertainment. HK cost $10 and has given me 335 hours and counting.
I think re-skinned enemies are bad in any game. More bosses is something everybody would want. The Emmi Zones were great for some people and was a matter of personal opinion. None of that has anything to do with hollow knight.
Bro lets speak the truth... If you feel the vibe and felt in love with Hollow Knight everything else is so so so so .... under that ! Still pray and wait for Silksong respect to metroid fans but come one the revolution is cherry team we are on 2020
It's a good game but this is so far from goty material. I hope they make more I want a sequel. The game feels shallow after you beat it. Want to go collect stuff all you have is health, missile, power bomb. What's the point of trying to get all that after you beat the game?
Reviews for Dread are extremely interesting, it's a matter whether Dread can keep up with the modern definition of a Metroidvania while also staying loyal to its legacy
That is an interesting idea.
a lot of people will judge based on previous games but I did not have the experience from the older games, just the modern definition of metroidvania
@@RelyeaGaming That's also a good perspective to take as I'm sure to many this is their very first Metroid game!
This is brilliant. A lot of other reviews are from people who are emotionally invested in the series already, this is a really good, fair, honest, unbiased, unemotional review
Thank you. I only saw glowing reviews that didn’t talk about anything negative at all.
I really do like the game, these are just some little things that stuck out
I disagree on the linear. I back tracked and got 100 percen item completion. You can back track once you get the items necessary to do so. Every metroid game ever was like this. So if you don't like it you would not like any of the others. Just being honest. And yeah, I guess sequence breaks count too.
@@jubbice5040 he always plays “Metroid- Vania” and doesn’t play any other Metroid game lol
Game of the year easy. Hoping all the positive reviews will be enough to get them to wanna continue the series
Samus best girl
Can’t wait to see the sales numbers
Sales. Umbers are huge already
This very well could be game of the year. It was a great game. I hope they make more.
I wanted to make this review because every review I found only showed the positives from a fanboy perspective.
@@RelyeaGaming review was good! I agree with the double jump point it definitely feels a little jank at first
If I may suggest something, Id recommend you go back and play Super Metroid on the SNES, if possible. That game is smaller in scale but overall a much more satisfying experience imo. It might just be best the way to wash out the sour taste of Dread. I sat through both "longplays" (not the live stream) and watched you play from start to finish and I agree with your review 100%. Probably the most fair review I've seen on the game so far
"We're okay, we can disagree on things, just chill." - Relyea
This is why you're my favorite content creator/streamer.
That seemed to work, comments have been chill
I personally didn't mind the whole double jump thing and getting lost etc, but I think that's because I played through Super Metroid first which is a bit harsher. That said I still think it's fair to comment on these older design sticking around as 1) it's your opinion do what you like lol and 2) the devs put this forward as a good place to start with the Metroid series, so older elements can feel unwelcome.
SM is the exception in the serie, not the rule. Echoes is extremely linear, Zero Mission isn't, but it feels like it the first time because of the hint statues everywhere, Corruption and Fusion are extremely linear and also force you to get hints. Admittely, none of them block you way back as often as Relyea made it seem for Dread, but still.
Damn, I thought people complaining about it "holding your hand" was confusing, now I straight up don't know if it's good or not.
To anyone who’s played Hollow Knight and found it very unfair and difficult, this game will be a walk in the park for you compared to that. In Hollow Knight you’re fighting the exact same characters numerous times over and over. Especially the smaller enemies in Hollow Knight, my goodness do they ever get repetitive. Hundreds in a small area. Also, Dread is extremely fair when it comes to dying, as it puts you nearly right back where you were prior to dying. Hollow Knight however, having to traverse miles and miles across the map just to get back and be tapped by the boss that you haven’t figured out yet, just to have to go back and figure out their move set dozens of times just is too demanding and cruel. This game is quite relaxing and nice compared. However, I’m someone who thoroughly enjoys Metroidvanias, so if that’s you as well then you’ll love both of these masterpieces! Neither game has hardly any direction and infinite backtracking, but if you’re use to the genre then you’ll know what to expect and appreciate the lack of hand holding and exploration. Trust.
Dread is far more linear than Hollow Knight. I'm not saying this as criticism (whether you prefer this or not is entirely personal), but with dread apart from specific (and often difficult to find/pull off) sequence breaks you get upgrades and go through areas in a specific order. Whereas in Hollow Knight, after you get the claw there's a bunch of different ways you can go, Hollow Knight is only as linear as dread in its early phases. Although I'll agree with you that dread's linearity isn't of the hand-holdy sort, it sort of guides you in the right direction (for example, putting a teleporter to where you're supposed to go) but doesn't force you to go where you need to either, so it isn't truly linear either.
2:56 to clarify, the counter ability in Metroid was a new mechanic from Metroid: samus returns for the 3DS which was a Metroid 2 remake (desperately needed it) where it was used much more often
Edit: 8:22 also in samus returns they literally recycled boss fights 39 times for the Metroid variants so if you insist
This feels like a review of a guy who's only played Hollow Knight comparing a game to all the things he enjoyed about Hollow Knight that it didn't have. This game is like a good action movie: it feels epic and exciting and you enjoy your time, but the more you start to over-analyze and break down the plot, inorganic design fundamentals, and ludonarrative dissonance those details start falling apart. Although I own nearly every single Metroid game, this is the first one I've ever finished at 100%. Some of the deeper game mechanics and controls are rather arduous to me and the plot is what you come to expect from a Nintendo game. But you're absolutely right, don't let someone else's opinion take away your enjoyment of it. I'm glad this game, this franchise, is getting some love. Even if it's not for everyone.
Hey man , I appreciate you. I was expecting you to tear into me 😁
I have been playing video games going back to the NES days and have a lot more experience than just Hollow Knight but I will admit that I do view and compare a lot of games to HK.
It is because HK is my personal favorite and most recent game.
I think if I was to go back and play some of the older Metroid games now I’d like them more after playing dread just knowing more about the mechanics and how things work in general
@@RelyeaGaming I mean, it does go to show how great HK was in the space that inspired it. It may be blasphemous to say, but this game, however good, felt like a side quest as we wait for the highly anticipated Silksong.
I thought Dread didn't hold up to the OG Super metroid for all these same reasons. And tbh. It's the EMMI's for me. They grinded the pacing to a near stop. And I didn't even mind it until the halfway point when the game told me they were all deactivated and done I took a breath of fresh air thinking the fun was about to begin full force. No more padding. No more gloves. But yeah they just come right back again.
I thought that was a great review! It was really balanced and fair. I feel the same about the things you disliked about the game. I’d much rather know the good and bad opinions of a game before I commit, particularly if it’s a higher price point game. Im a massive fan of Super Metroid and for me Dread doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Initially, when i didn't follow the forward path, it became incredibly difficult to find the way back, often there was only one way back. I also found a sequence break, mostly because a boss was annoying me. So they are there, they were just made hard to find and execute 😃
I think we have been spoilt by hollowknight though and also Ori which refined the genre.
I also found the EMMIs easier than some of the bosses! I've got 4 items left to collect and the last boss is just really hard for me. I'm almost 100% complete, there is no way I'd have been able to complete it in 7 hours, I'd not have collected enough health and rockets for the boss fights.
I agree the jumping was a little annoying especially when you just had the double and not the space jump.
I agree almost 100% with this review; The things I didn't like took away much of my enjoyment of the game, which is sad as the good parts were very good.
Aside from the music, and the hide-die-repeat part of the emmi fights (I enjoyed when you could actually run from it), what irritated me most was the un-openness of the map. Instead of being able to freely backtrack you are at many points forced to push forward, and do certain objectives, and with the addition of a hard to read map and many one-way doors, that just made it too frustrating.
I figured out the "double jump" relatively early, but what bugged me about the controls was how slow it was to roll into a ball. It was also confusing at first with all the different buttons, but luckily I got used to that.
If I had known this going in it probably wouldn't have irritated me as much, but this is not what I expected from a metroid game. As an action platformer it is in my opinion good, as a metroidvania, not so much (but still ok).
I played this game and agree with everything you said. it's linear game with open world map.
This sort of encapsulates why you're the only game streamer I watch tbh. A review that looks at it from the POV of a gamer who just wants a good, immersive experience and isn't really anything but neutral on it - no pointless ramblings about the history of the series or technical details that aren't relevant to anyone but speedrunners, just an honest look at it as a gamer who wants a fulfilling experience. Nice one
gosh, relyea is so polite and he being so worried about negative backlash just because of an honest review says so much about the gaming community
The game is great but far from perfect, and that's fine. People gloss over the weaknesses in favor of praise. The music is a bit weak, the repetitive mini bosses are annoying, the teleports being color coded as opposed to free flexible, and the abilities sometimes blend into each other without feeling useful for themselves alone. These are all flaws of the game that I would note.
But I don't think it's over hyped. It's a great game and easily what this franchise needed to move forward into the future.
First of all, I liked the game very much but I have played every other Metroid game out there and I grew up with super metroid too. Those things play a role for my judgement for sure and I'm aware of that. More specifically, I loved the visuals, music was fine for me (not hollow knight level ofc), the abilities were super fun and the bosses were well designed and just right difficulty wise.
That said, I also feel like there could be more bosses in general- some of them being the same was a bit disappointing for sure. Also, the game is more open than it seems in the first playthrough but not open enough to be just right. I generally liked the emmis but they could be a bit more diverse and more interesting as the game went on- they got a bit easier to avoid in the end, at least for me and I didn't feel the same kind of dread I initially did.
Lastly, the double jump. It is the first time something like it gets in a metroid game and I get how it could screw people up. Space jump is the og ability you get in a metroid game and it always required timing as it would be too op otherwise. I feel like they tried to balance the double jump around the space jump which makes the double jump feel awkward on its own, especially if this was your first metroid game.
Good review! I enjoyed the game a lot, but I have to agree with you about the repeated bosses.
I didn’t mind battling the same boss several times because it showed how much better I was by the last fight, but I thought the Chozo spear warrior was a bit much.
(Spoiler alert)
The one that got me was when the last emmi got killed in a cutscene only for the boss to be another spear warrior. Would have been so much cooler, and appropriate, to finally be able to fight an emmi on equal terms in a real boss fight.
I like this review. It doesn't have the bias of a long time fan of the series and you made some great points. I will say backtracking is earned in the Metroid series. The whole map is reachable with the right equipment and I've always seen that as a pro. Coming from other metroidvanias I can see why it would seem like a step backward, and why you may not like it. Good Video!
I personally thought the repeating chozo minibosses made sense in the context of the game; each time you fight another one it does more damage or gains new attacks to the point where the gold one at the end kill you in a few hits and has at least six varying attacks, but the way you slowly worked up to that point let’s you quickly defeat what seems like it should be an extremely tough boss. It also works well with the lore of the series but the average person doesn’t know Metroid lore so I can’t really hold that against anyone
I also really like the chozo minibosses, I just wish there were more major bosses too. For me it really only feels like there are 5 major bosses, and there are like 8 or 9 areas? Meaning it sometimes feels like the minibosses take up the place of a full boss.
@@JacobPDeIiNoNi I agree. The bosses in this game were some of the best in any game I have ever played, and I do wish there were more of them. I also wish you could go back and fight them again after you had defeated them, like a hall of gods of some sort
Relyea, THANK YOU. I think your review absolutely nailed many of the same feelings I share about Dread.
Disclaimer: in contrast to you, I have played and 100%'d four other 2D metroid titles (Super, Zero Mission, Fusion and the unofficial -- but phenomenal -- AM2R). I've replayed Super Metroid at least once every year since I first played it in 1995 (yes, it's my favorite game ever). The nostalgia for me is very real and yet, just like you, I found the annoyances of Dread really added up and tainted my first play through of it. The top two major annoyances for me were the blatant funneling (one-way doors and red flame tree things, I'm looking at you) and the EMMI enounters. I felt that EMMI encounters completely ground my first play through to a screeching halt. Those combined with the aforementioned funneling really obliterated the sense of exploration for me. I felt like backtracking for power ups was a non-starter until very late game and the post-EMMI EMMi zones were boring dead space that just got in the way of a more enjoyable backtracking experience.
Really enjoyed live-watching the last three or so hours of your live playthrough. I could feel your frustration towards the end re: Raven Beak quick-time-event-like moments. In my own first playthrough by that point I just wanted to get the game over with, which is a real shame and not something I had ever experienced with the other 2D Metroids I've played (even with Fusion, which suffered from some funneling problems for me). Music was forgettable too (IMO most Metroid 2D and all the GC Prime games have soundtracks that blow Dread's out of the water). Thanks for reading one of my comments live during the playthrough re: EMMIs and Super Metroid. I really do think you would enjoy Super Metroid. It has nearly all the positives that you seemed to enjoy the most during your Dread playthrough and nearly none of the negatives (except the double jumping mechanic, which is second nature to us Metroid fans by now). Second disclaimer: I've 100% Dread now and am on track to a sub-4hr speed run on a second save file. Dread gets better on repeat playthroughs but I strongly suspect I will not be revisiting the game much if at all in the future. Good game, but nowhere near the epiphany some other reviewers are making it out to be.
Thanks for keeping it real and thanks for all your excellent content. Silksong early 2022, let's gooooo.
Fuck yeah. Your comment nails it.
After playing hollow knight last year, as a huge Metroid fan I also found issues with dread.
With that being said, now that dread is out i wouldn't be surprised if we hear about silk song soon.
Remember silksong was shown off at nintendo E3 so they prolly been holding off till this game came out as per nintendos request.
I get how you feel about the repeated mini bosses, but I really liked how you could feel your progression based on how you just totally destroyed them in the end.
That is true. Some of them you could beat easily while others got better armor and they still took more time to defeat
It also made sense lore wise cause there was an entire army taken over by the x, if there was just one spear bird fight I'd be pretty confused, don't know about the robot tho.
This is a very, very good review of the game, and at the end of the video, I can't believe that I'm agreeing with most of the negatives of the game that you mentioned. I too find the music the weakest point of the game, in some areas it adds to the ambience (I think in Burenia and Ghavoran), but mostly the music is pretty lackluster and not memorable like in BOTW or Hollow Knight.
Exploration was amazing, but indeed it was quite linear, although the player is guided on the path pretty well. And like you said, sequence breaks are possible but it's hard to figure out for a newbie. I really love though how speedrunners are figuring out more and more sequence breaks and I can't wait to try them.
The double jump, I too found annoying, there were many times (especially in boss fights) I missed double jump because I didn't spin jump, just jumped straight up, and this led to me dying a lot more than I should have. I feel it could have been better, but later on I got more used to it.
I probably only disagree about the EMMI sections, I actually loved them, contributed a lot to the DREAD aspect of the game, even though I died a lot of times to them (especially the purple and blue EMMIs).
As for the bosses, I feel there were a lot of bosses, some of them were amazing (Kraid, Experiment Z-57, the final boss) but indeed many others were re-skins and that got slightly annoying towards the end. I didn't hate them as much as Escue though, that boss can go away.
I still feel 7/10 is a pretty harsh rating from you, but in spite of that, it's a very good review from you and I personally would give it 8.5/10, and I totally enjoyed the game and can easily see myself playing it multiple times. I personally also like the difficulty level is far easier than Hollow Knight, especially the save system as well, which is more forgiving (it's one of the things I really hated in my first Hollow Knight playthrough but later on adapted and got used to it).
Keep up the great work, you're definitely one of the better UA-camrs out there!!
I personally liked this game more than hollow knight, but this video made a lot of good points, especially about the double jumps. Having played super Metroid I didn’t really struggle with it but I can definitely see how it would be a problem for people new to the series (which most of the audience was) I also had similar thoughts on the emmis, by the end they are more of a nuisance than a threat. This is a great review on a great game, keep up the good work
Thank you my feiend
I think I had a similar problem with you to the backgrounds, but I don't think this was a problem with the whole game. I think this problem could be narrowed down to the EMMI zones specifically. They have that bland sci-fi aesthetic you (and I) disliked, and they take up about half of the map of each area, which does make the areas stand out less. Despite many of the areas being very unique in terms of aesthetic. I think this problem would have been EASILY remediable by just making EMMI zones have the same backgrounds of regular areas. Giving EMMI zones different backgrounds only accomplishes two things that aren't really all that necessary: It dictates where the EMMI zone starts and ends (but the zone doors already do that), and it also makes the sequences a bit scarier since it makes it seem more like you're in the EMMI's territory (but being chased by a killer robot through a dense jungle, or dark biologic laboratory would be plenty scary enough).
Your opinion is honest, I appreciate that, but it's slanted for the fact that you're using HK as a benchmark and also because it's your first experience playing a Metroid game, not a Metroidvania. Most reviews are positive because it stands out and the comparison points are within the franchise games. That said, you should definitely give it a shot to Super Metroid or Metroid Fusion to understand better how the dynamics works for a more calibrated review.
And don't get me wrong, I consider that Hollow Knight is a masterpiece in the Metroidvania genre but it's not completely comparable to Dread.
Keep doing a good job!
It’s hard to be 100% objective because people will base things off of the history of the franchise or other games they have played.
I have never really done reviews before but people seem to enjoy it. I appreciate the feedback
I think that was a very fair review. I haven't played the game yet, but I have felt similar things here and there throughout the MV genre. Boss reskins or enemy reskins, chase scenes being one hit one kill or without checkpoint, mechanics that just don't make sense. That doesn't necessarily make a game bad just not for me. But that's also why I loved HK, everything it had just meshed so well with what I wanted.
As a long time fan I agree with basically everything you said and I think opinions over time will shift more to your viewpoint. It's being smothered with praise because it's the first Metroid game in a decade that anyone liked (ignoring remakes).
A few notes:
1. Even fans consider the music forgettable, which is a shame since past games have some incredible tracks. The mainstay composer to the series has taken a backseat ever since Prime 3 and it really shows. Listen to the soundtracks from Prime 3 and back, hell, just listen to the MAIN MENU theme from Prime 1. Freaking amazing.
2. The Metroid series keeps flirting with linearity for some godforsaken reason, even before sales started to dip. Hopefully Dread's success encourages them to take the training wheels off.
3. Reskinned bosses aren't new to the series, but it's certainly not the norm so I'm not sure why they did it here. Reskinning lower tier enemies however IS Metroid tradition. Understandable why you don't like it.
I lived the game. Even everything you said that you didn't like I loved. I feel like it brings something different then any other metroidvania to the market and does what it does very well. But I also see where you are coming from. If I was a new Comer to metroid I would probably feel the same way as you. So I totally understand where your coming from, but for me this is the game of the year
I think this very well could be game of the year. I don’t know anything else that comes to mind. All I saw were perfect reviews and I just wanted to share the couple of things that stuck out to me
@@RelyeaGaming thanks, and ypu brought up really good points. Your awesome and I love your content. Take care
I completely agree on the boss fights. Way too few, but the ones we DID get were incredible. Also by far the worst part of the game for me is the locations all look the same. This is the reason why ghavoran and hanubia are by far my favourite areas, so unique compared to everywhere else. For me, this grinds me down in dairon. It is by far the worst area for me, all has the same laboratory look, the Emmi zones were way too long, the only redeeming factor for me is once you kill the 4th emmi, you unlock the most fun ability by far, speed booster / shine spark. Also the escape sequence for this game and the ending where the best since Super Metroid (which to be fair was only 2 games ago). I still think Super Metroid was the better game, and I do regret paying £90 for the special edition, but it was a good game with an incredible last hour or so and amazing boss fights, though most of them were far too easy. Super Metroid and especially Hollow Knight are still the best metroidvanias to me.
I agree that the double jump did bother me a bit especially during the final boss. I love this game and it is also my first Metroid game
Bruh...there are personal markers you can place on the map...
Yeah but you still physically can get back to them until much later. The game physically blocks you from back tracking as you get new abilities and then you have to move to new areas
I can agree with most of the "bads", but they are not so Bad in the end. Like Early Game was really Straight Forward, but the Game got more and More Open, pretty Fast, and Exploration gets rewarded, found Early Scanner, which is super Helpfull, early X-Bombs which is not bad. Not Spoilered, im not a Speedrunner. The Bosses, i think they were Perfect, im not so good and some Bosses felt overtuned, but then i did every boss in average with 5 Deaths, which is very Fair. I know Hollow Knight bosses i took way more time. Have a Hard time to compare with my other Metroid Favorite "Super Metroid", but talking about Games from this Century, Best MetroidVania after Hollow Knight.
I agree that most of the bad I listed was not that bad.
Every other review I saw talked about a perfect game and I just wanted to share some of the little things that stuck out to me.
I still think it’s a great game and if anything I probably came off more harsh that I may have intended
Christ everyone in the comments comparing it to Hollow Knight as if it’s the pinnacle of everything good makes me feel weird that I just didn’t like hollow knight at all.
It is because my channel got popular around hollow knight and that is what a lot of the viewers here have to use as very recent reference point. It is totally fine to not like Hollow Knight. Hollow Knight has things it could have done better too. I can't think of a single game I would call perfect.
Thanks, Relyea, I think you make some good points, and I tend to agree with most of your nitpicks, but here's the thing--even with those "problems," I still love this game. I think I'm getting close to the end and can't wait to start it all over again.
I still think it’s a great game and worth playing for sure
That double jump will kill me I swear. So many times I've missed it in the Z57 fight
I agree with you on everything. For $60, I was expecting a much more nonlinear experience, more enemy variety, and a lot more dread.
I’m curious about your thoughts on Super Metroid! I’ve heard it’s much better, but I haven’t played it yet.
I will have to lay it and get back to you
@@RelyeaGaming maybe do a super and fusion series play thru while its hot id watch
Dude, the game sucks 90% of the time, but we want more metroid games, so, we encourage people to buy it.
The main issue that you mentioned that I agree with is the soundtrack. Or lack there of. None of it was memorable, but I understand it's design. It was meant to be closer to ambient sounds to give you a feel for the area you are in.
The good, the bad, and the amogus
you will never know
I think you're right about the game, they did get lazy with the bosses and I feel they could've done much more with the levels not making them look the same. Honestly the game looks amazing especially the way they did with the water area's. They did something like that in Link's Awakening with their water level area's. Such a good game but they could've done more than just get lazy on a lot of places that ain't necessary for them.
Like you, I've never played a Metroid game before. I bought this and played it last week while I was in hospital and it was great and it also kept me sane. I think that I might even check out the previous Metroid games. I like your review and think that it was fair. For me the double jump wasn't an issue at least for exploration. However I did struggle with it during boss fights as some of those fights were a bit tense and I found myself button mashing. But that was my issue, not the game's. As far as bosses go, I think that there were plenty of them, but I wouldn't have minded a few more. Though I do agree that the re-skinning of some bosses was a tad bit lazy. All in all I agree with most of your review and I personally give it an 8/10.
Hi Relyea! I'm a Metroid fan but I totally agree with you. They focused their effords in making the game looks beautifull building a great background, amazing boss fights and a good story. But to be honest, the bosses, E.m.m.i, enemys, and different areas, they all feel repetetive... As you realise the game looks amazing, you notice it forgot some essencials. Probably they never played Hollow Knight and the old Metroid games.
EMMI sections felt more of a chore than anything. It’s easier to die to them than hide. You start right outside the room anyway. Most effective thing is to just to bolt through the room. If you get caught usually jumping through a few sections or going through a door is enough to cancel the chase. Again mostly irritating to do. Maybe if they patrolled the entire area map there might be some fear of the generic sci-fi robot.
It was a fun game for sure but I definitely agree with you that things were blocked or you could only go a certain way to get to a certain area. Also I really HATED THE Quick time event EMMI grabs or it's game over. Have you considered playing Shantae?
I totally agree with you on how linear the game is, i found it baffling cause i know metroid to be tricky, here it felt like they were holding my hand. Especially in the frozen section, all doors are frozen except the one u need to go thru like what?
I did want more boss battles cause hollow Knight spoiled me but then again quality over quantity i guess, the reskinned mini bosses were not it tho
I found the double jump mechanics to be frustrating as well Especially when fighting a boss, i used the dash more just because the stupid double jump is hard to get used to in a game that can be completed in 8 hrs.
I did enjoy the emmi tho wished if they were more like a boss fight eventually instead of just lasering them
Overall the game is great we just need to get used to the metroid lore i guess, i had high expectations because everyone say hollow knight is a metroidvania and this is the metroid, idk if that makes sense
I have been putting off watching this because I was nervous that you’d completely lay into the game but I’m glad to say I was wrong. I love this game and I’d give it a 9/10 but I think your criticisms are valid and many are somewhat of a personal preference so not everyone will have them, but there’s also many who will so it’s good to acknowledge them. I personally liked the EMMI zones and didn’t mind the reused bosses too much, but I would prefer more unique ones. While it was more linear, I think it was a good balance of not being hand holding but also not being so overwhelming to where new players to the series would be lost and give up on the game. I think the gameplay and controls were amazing and the movement was great and allowed for fun bosses. I would recommend this game to anyone. Even if you have some of the issues that were mentioned, and it’s perfectly okay to have them or to not have them, it’s still a very fun experience and you will enjoy it especially if you like the other Metroid games or games like Hollow Knight
I really did like the game, I just didn’t hear anybody else bring up some of the criticisms I had after playing the game.
Great review, I feel the exact same way about the music. The music from the original metroid games stands out much like hollow knight does. This games music is not memorable.
I've only heard the title screen and the first area tracks, plus one boss track, but I thought they were actually all pretty great and a massive improvement over samus returns especially.
@@legrandliseurtri7495 Yeah, by no means is it bad.
I sort of agree because the only track I really liked was Burenia, but I do think that the music did a good job of fitting the atmosphere of the areas.
I really loved this game, but I do agree with several of the points you brought up. Here's to hoping for better Metroid games in the future!
I think alot of people are forgetting that dread is only trying to stand up to the heights of metroid's best not hollow knight.
I think re-skinned enemies are bad in any game. More bosses is something everybody would want. The Emmi Zones were great for some people and was a matter of personal opinion.
None of that has anything to do with hollow knight
Super late here lol. This is still like my favorite metroid game of all time. The Gameplay and movement is buttery smooth and the bosses is by far one of the best in the series and i love it so much. This game isn't perfect, no game is of course. (Even Hollow knight, don't @ me)
My problems :
stems from lack of environmental variety (mostly metal corridors) areas like cataris and dairon are mostly technological labs despite something like cataris is meant to be a volcanic magma area.
The Music is not the best yea which is a shame, i like a handful of it but its not like Super and Prime tier of amazing. Its not the end for me, i can def appreciate it.
The game is linear compare to other games like again, Super and Prime; happy there are sequence breaks intentional and non-intentional that i can do to mix and match up future playthroughs' routes, but points of no return is too abundant in this game. Hopefully in Metroid 6 they toned this down haha.
EMMIs are annoying, nuff said, they have an awesome design and they look freaky but they're just kinda annoying after awhile lol
(Side note, for the double jump, its really not that bad, it just comes down to timing, like the counter lol)
Boss variety is criminally low, i can count like around 12 to 13 original bosses, like i said again, they're all amazing, fun yet very difficult fights for first timers and the boss counter cinematics, soooo sexy aaaa, but the amount of repeats made me so sad, like you said I WANT MORE BOSSES, THEY'RE SO GOOD *sobs*, curious tho, according from an article Dread was originally meant to have double the amount of bosses and cutscenes, which shame tbh but i heard the studio behind had some development problems so i can understand to an extent.
I can give this game like a 9/10 bc it is a fantastic game, of course, problems and nitpicks here and there but it really does feel like on par with some modern metroidvanias like HK and Ori, in my opinion of course lol.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who just didn't find the EMMI's that fun after a little while. I really feel like I would enjoy the game a lot more without them, it just wasn't much fun to try to hide or run from them.
I understand your perspective on Dread and appreciate you sharing. I realize it isn't everyone's cup of tea and that's totally cool, but feel your issue with what you call the "double jump" is very specific to you. It's most likely due to you not having played other Metroid 2D games, which have had a similar feel and mechanic since the start. Also, because you've played so much Hollow Knight, your muscle memory is used to the way that operates. I think your silently comparing this to your 1st and only true love (that cute Lil knight) and should admit it here. I personally really like Dread and think it ranks high, but would agree that Hallow Knight is a better game in many ways.
I agree that the double jump is mostly a me problem. That said, there are a lot more games than just hollow knight that have a double jump that have the second jump at the height of the 1st.
I’ll admit that I compare everything to hollow knight but the timing for the 2x jump here was tough even when I was trying to wait a second for the 2nd jump. It was a tough thing to have to re-learn for me
@@RelyeaGaming I don't like the double either, it's weird having to wait for a specific event before you're able to jump. It's not Hollow Knight specific, a lot of games don't use this 'old' mechanic anymore. Just play remakes like Crash and Spyro, it's no fun in my opinion.
I’m agree with you, it is a good game overall. But when you remember the price tag it’s also like… hmm… I need a huge dlc coming soon.
My favorite thing about Hollow Knight was that I didn’t know what was going on for a long time. I was excited to be lost and felt free to explore. Dread was the opposite experience for me. It was too linear and hand-holdy. I knew the next 5 steps in the journey, who the bad guy was, etc., and i often wasn’t allowed to backtrack for a long time, being forced to follow the one path. The map looks like a maze, but it really only allowed you to go one way much of the time.
Also, the combat style in dread is pretty limited and gets kinda boring (even with the upgrades), whereas HK allows for a TON of customization in play style with the charm feature. HK also had WAY more personality with all of its NPCs. Dread had like 4 characters with speaking parts, and they were all in cutscenes or save points. I paid full price for Dread and beat it in 8 hours. I got HK on a discount and it’s taken me almost 40 hours to get 112%. I’m just a few pantheons away. Freakin Zote
The thing is though, Metroid games are typically intended to induce strong feelings of isolation, so your NPC comparison is like comparing apples to oranges. Admittedly, Dread is actually a bit unusual in this regard by series standards, as it features more interactions between Samus and other entities than past Metroid games (judging by the ones I’ve played, anyway), and is thus weaker in the isolation department than Super Metroid for instance. Nonetheless, the quirky, colorful sort of NPCs that exist in Hollow Knight would be extremely out of place in a Metroid game, so it’s for the best that Dread’s few NPCs are serious and subdued by comparison. If you prefer Hollow Knight’s approach in this regard over Metroid’s, then that’s another matter.
I enjoyed the game more than you seem to have done, but I do agree with some of the negatives you pointed out like the reused bossfights and especially the linearity. I hoped that the game would be more like Hollow Knight and Super Metroid in terms of open exploration. I thought that maybe they made it more linear so it wouldn’t be as difficult for newcomers and less experienced players, but that doesn’t make much sense when you concider that the combat can be very challenging in this game.
However, when I accepted that the game would be relatively linear I enjoyed it a lot as an action game! The movement feels really good, the new abilities were cool, and the free aiming and counter-ability worked really well. The big bossfights were awesome as well, and I happen to like the EMMI-zones. For me it’s an 8/10.
Also, I really reccomend that you try out Super Metroid! It has aged in some areas like the controls and movement, but it pioneered the metroidvania genre and it has incredible exploration and atmosphere!
I think in my head I wasn’t expecting the game to be linear. I just felt like I was always leaving behind abilities.
Once I accepted how linear it was and to not stress the stuff I missed I felt better for sure. Maybe one day I’ll backtrack to get all that stuff
I understand why people didn't like repeated bosses, but since I liked fighting them the first time, it didn't, bother me when I saw them again later.
Dread is great but i kinda suck at games with boss fights, I picked it up anyways and now I'll try to face my fears and beat it,
Wish me luck
Good luck my friend. Get as many upgrades as you can before the final boss fight. It was a tough one
😊
I can’t wait to play the game, but I really appreciate this being an honest review.
I 100% think the game is still worth playing and still likely GOTY. Just too many reviews made this game sound sound perfect with no issues at all
agree with you on most of your points, linearity and the double jump in particular.
The problem was for me HK set such an incredibly high standard for me that other metroidvania games simply didn’t hold up , it was a “if you set the bar too high you’ll always be disappointed” kind of thing
I should note that HK was my introduction into anything other than story/fps games
My issue so far having just started the game is that you seem to trip into a new EMMI encounter every 5 minutes. find emmi, escape, find item to kill emmi, kill it, move on briefly in new area...trip into a new emmi encounter, escape, find item to kill emmi, kill it....
It just repeats over and over. Ive made it now to the second zone and it seems like the entire experience is just dominated and revolves around EMMI encounters. Talk about a concept worn too thin. They were scary and spooky...until you run into them every 7 minutes, then it just becomes horrible, boring pace breaker
Wow I am surprised you haven’t played a single Metroid game before this one considering your love of the genre. I haven’t bought it yet but I enjoy this fresh perspective on it. I will be buying it regardless of this review because it’s a Metroid game but I appreciate your honesty on everything. But uh one thing please tell me you have played SOTN. If not go do it
It is a really good game and I would still suggest playing it. Just wanted to share a couple things that stick out in my mind.
I remember watching my uncle play SOTN and I tried it but it wasn’t a game that I owned or ended up playing. Maybe now that it’s on switch I’ll try it
The save-file completion timer isn’t exactly right. For some reason it resets upon death so when I finally completed the game, it was around 3 and a half hours off…
I cannot agree more with this review. I wanted to feel like this game is a 10/10, but there are way too many small annoyances. Glad people are able to enjoy it more than I did.
Hm, I totally understand your feelings on almost everything you said. I may not share your opinion on everything, but I understand.
Except for one thing. I was constantly going back to previously explored areas after getting new abilities. I must have grand toured every available area five or six times all during my playthrough as i got new skills and abilities.
I do realize that periodically in the story you are barred from full backtracking, but those moments were short lived and things opened back up swiftly.
I wonder if you just had the unfortunate luck that whenever you actually decided to backtrack, it just happened to be perfectly timed with those moments of containment.
In which case you have my sympathies. But I dont really think its an entirely valid critique of the game.
Anyway, love your review otherwise. Well done and thank you.
I've only played a few hours but I definitely agree with you, particularly on the backtracking. Getting an ability then remembering items that you can now get with the new ability what makes Metroidvanias satisfying in my opinion, so it's kind of disappointing that you're often limited to backtracking for a majority of the game. Great review!
I feel like the music criticism is 100% justified and I felt the same way being a hardcore Metroid fan myself. Even Metroid Fusion had more iconic tracks than Dread.
Idk I actually REALLY enjoyed the music
And personally the more liniar the better, that's more my cup of tea, and that's fine
AND I TOTALLY AGREE ON THE EMII SUBJECT, 100%
I think my favorite song was the one in the water area.
Honestly, I’m happy that you enjoyed the gane being more linear. I’m sure many people want to just enjoy the game without feeling lost. I can totally understand that. It just wasn’t expected for me going in.
I agree with back tracking and bosses other than that I loved the game and I found you have to just run through the emmi rooms and forget using the shade,just checkout the map and see where the emmi doors are and just go… Even if you don’t have the full map opened up the emmi doors are visible so just go for it…
The hard pas was getting into a new Emmi room and not having a map,. You have run, search for a door and die, then spit again until you figure out where to go
@@RelyeaGaming actually whenever you enter a new emmi area it makes a giant box map regardless of whether you found the map station, so if you just go in a general direction you'll find your way out.
I loved the game. But i think there could have been some challenge modes like bossrush, or maybe mode where the EMMI could go outside of the EMMI zones. It was just... Done after the first playthrough. I ain't playing that again if there isn't any challenges or achievements.
Allthought, i loved the intended secuense breaks which give you special ways to defeat bosses and stuff.
Boss rush mode coming in April
I doubt its the best game but people love the metroid series and Samus. Me included. I think people are comparing it to other games in the series? Idk I've been out of the loop for a while. Last. Metroid game I've played was on the gamecube lol.
i loved the game, but i found that even with almost max health, you still could die with only a few hits making for me the game a little to hard. As a gamer i almost play games on lower difficulty because gaming for me is something to relax after a days work. Don't get me wrong, winning a fight after seeing game over 30 times is satisfying, but maybe it is because i'm getting older, but i don't have that kind of patient anymore like i did many years ago. Also because of the combinations you have to do with the controller i sometimes forget even after doing it many times what input was the power bomb etc. So even if i loved the game ( childhood memories of super metroid ), a lower difficulty setting that would not drain you health so much would be welcomed.
XD I was looking forward to your review as someone who had high praises for a Metroidvania like hollow knight, I’d say your review has some weight
Thank you
@@RelyeaGaming xD thank you for your content, it’s entertaining and insightful
I agree the enemies/minibosses started to get very repetitive towards the end of the game, still really enjoyed it. much better game than botw, I rate it a 8/10
have you done a review for Tails of Iron?
if not, what did you think?
🍞
For EMMI, at some point you need to learn on how to lure them out from the exit path. If that did get annoying then you simply haven't figured it out imo.
For double jump, that's just silly imo. Different game, different mechanics, different lesson.
It's true that this game is kinda linear at times. Past Metroid had both designs (linear or freedom) made already though so most people just accept it for what it is.
Bosses number are kinda average actually based on past games. Though I agree this game maybe could notch it up a bit more because of $60? The exploration really took it up high I guess this time.
i Cant stop comparing with hollow knight and metriod dread, I love this!
Just glad there's an honest review out here . Maybe there's hope yet for humanity.
The EMMIs go to the last place they hear you, so I guess that's why sometimes they still bump into you
Sometimes they don’t hear you and just exploring they run into you. Or they just never leave your room
Fair review 👍🏼
I absolutely loved this game but reskined bosses definitely bothers me and I hated the emmis it was just frustrating mechanic for me personally
I’m right there with you
Appreciate how brutally honest Relyea is here
I do my best
Truthful review.........damn that's rare in the gaming world. I salute you for that bud.
I’m impressed that the comment section hasn’t tried to cancel my whole career for sharing my opinion.
This review is spot on, well said.
I completely agree that there were so many similar bosses in lategame
Yeah, that felt weird
In my opinion hollow knight was better. The only thing about this that was better was the graphics and animations. For me i remember all the music and bosses from hollow knight and i like the how the charms added more variety but in metroid dread i almost forgot all of the music and i only remember 3 bosses. Overall it's still fun but way to overhyped.
I know we’re not supposed to compare every mv to Hollow Knight but… this game cost me $60 and gave me about 12 hours of entertainment. HK cost $10 and has given me 335 hours and counting.
I know the feeling
Neet review
Even tho i dont agree with some points
But i recpect them and recpect you still
To all their opinions
I appreciate that. I am really interested to see how many people can agree to disagree vs just get angry
Sounds like you wanted the game to be hollow knight and not Metroid.
I think re-skinned enemies are bad in any game. More bosses is something everybody would want. The Emmi Zones were great for some people and was a matter of personal opinion.
None of that has anything to do with hollow knight.
Bro lets speak the truth...
If you feel the vibe and felt in love with Hollow Knight everything else is so so so so .... under that !
Still pray and wait for Silksong respect to metroid fans but come one the revolution is cherry team we are on 2020
I thought I was going to sink like 90 hours in this game that’s not the case. Very disappointing… 60$ not worth it
Keeep up the content bro
Thank you
Say what you feel that’s why we’re here 👊🏼
It's a good game but this is so far from goty material. I hope they make more I want a sequel. The game feels shallow after you beat it. Want to go collect stuff all you have is health, missile, power bomb. What's the point of trying to get all that after you beat the game?
I will forever use hollow knight as my standard for what a game should be!
Any ambitions to play hard mode?
Dread is less linear than Fusion but more linear than the other Metroids. Zero Mission and Super Metroid are the best.
I personally think that there wasn’t enough unique bosses
I wanted more bosses too
Hollow Knight does Metroidvania so well it's hard for other games to stack up.