We’re less than a month out from Samus Aran’s next adventure, Metroid Dread, and a new gameplay trailer from Nintendo is the ideal way to catch up on the Metroid Fusion Switch sequel.
In June, shortly after Nintendo announced Metroid Dread, franchise director Yoshio Sakamoto explained to Polygon and a group of reporters his hopes for what a new Metroid game can deliver in the modern age.
“Maybe this sense of fear,” he said. “As I talked about before, younger gamers who have not experienced the series before may look at that fear-based gameplay and want to give it a shot.”
A new gameplay trailer, released on Friday, captures that terror. Along with all the classic moves and world-navigation mechanics of previous installments, Metroid Dread adds elements of stealth to the mix, adding a Samus-hunting robot named EMMI into the levels to ensure players’ pulse clocks 160 bpm. Watching the trailer, EMMI’s nimble 2D moves and plated armor promise to challenge even veterans of the franchise.
The new Metroid Dread trailer sheds light on the variety of moves Samus will employ as she navigates ZDR, a vibrant Pandora-esque planet filled with oceans, volcanos, and other places that require jumping around to survive.
This may not be too surprising for those who know Metroid, but for newcomers who think they’ve seen everything a side-scroller can do, the Metroid Dread trailer may send a chill down the spine. But as Sakamoto went on to say in our feature, in the end, the game is as much about overcoming the horrors through confidence than being perpetually scared shitless.
“It’s really about Samus encountering fear,” he said, “but she actually stands against that fear and fights it and beats it. And that part of it is important.”
Metroid Dread will be released on Nintendo Switch on Oct. 8.
