The Metroid Dread 2D Switch video game will be released on October 8th

Metroid Dread is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD for the Nintendo Switch. Set after the events of Metroid Fusion (2002), players control bounty hunter Samus Aran as she faces a nefarious robotic enemy on the planet ZDR. It retains the side scrolling gameplay of previous Metroid 2D video games and adds stealth elements.

Dread was conceived as a Nintendo DS game in the mid-2000s, but was canceled due to technical limitations. Many in the industry have expressed interest in a new Metroid 2D video game and have listed Dread on their "most wanted" lists.

After being impressed with their work on Metroid: Samus Returns in 2017, longtime producer Yoshio Sakamoto appointed Mercury Steam to develop the next big installment in the series, leading to the revival of the Dread project.] Nintendo announced the game at E3 2021. It is the first original side-scrolling Metroid video game since Fusion and is slated for release on October 8, 2021.

How to play

Metroid Dread is an action-adventure game in which players control bounty hunter Samus Aran as she explores the planet ZDR. It retains the side scrolling gameplay from previous Metroid games, along with the free aim and melee attacks added in Samus Returns (2017). Samus can also slip and cling to blue surfaces. Terror also adds to the stealth elements, with Samus avoiding the nearly indestructible EMMI robots hiding, reducing her noise and using the Phantom Cloak, a camouflage that reduces her noise but slows her movements. If an EMMI robot captures Samus, the player has a brief chance to perform a melee counterattack and escape; if they fail, Samus is killed.

Technical data

Platform Nintendo Switch
Publication date World / unspecified 8 October 2021
Gender Dynamic adventure
Origin Spain, Japan
Software Mercury Steam, Nintendo EPD
Publication Nintendo
Design Yoshio Sakamoto
Series Metroid