lopper

The controls are definitely giving me a hard time as well, to the point where most combat is more difficult than it needs to be because of them, as noted in the comment above. I felt similar to the Switch controls for Zelda Skyward Sword, but eventually I got used to them and ended up loving the game.

I'm using a which has made all the difference in the world when playing Switch in handheld mode. There's a programmable button on the back of each side of the controller, and I remap my L and R buttons to those. They are placed right where my middle finger rests when holding the Switch, and I've found using them to be much easier and more convenient than using the shoulder L/R buttons. Highly recommended.

The Questyen

Just to clarify when I talked about how it controlled like a dream I strictly play it docked with my pro controller (like all Switch games I play) so I can't speak to how it plays in handheld mode. For me it has the best controls of any Metroid I've played easily.

Goonies85

From all I've read, it sounds like gamers really, really like this game, but others find it incredibly difficult. Put me in the latter category, as I doubt I'll be picking this up. I'm one of the few that found Zelda: BOTW difficult to the point that I've barely played it since the first week I bought it. Like, I even found the Mario: Odyssey game hard, but not frustratingly so. And I remember enjoying Metroid Prime, but there were certain moments that made me want to throw the controller against the wall. This one sounds just as frustrating (moreso), so I think I'll avoid it. I had a hard enough time finally beating Super Metroid recently...I doubt I'd enjoy this one...despite it's beautiful aesthetics and whatnot...

Dan

Played about an hour last night. It's great.
I have some minor issues with the controls and map, but nothing that I can't (so far) get over. We'll see once I get to a new area, since I'm still on the first. Evading EMMIs isn't so bad at all, and taking them out seems to just take patience more than anything else. I reached one boss that I'm seemingly completely too unpowered for, so I'll have to circle back that way once I've explored more of the map.

Noonan

Honestly, that's probably not the case. Bosses eat up tons of life and kill you in a few hits. And you don't level up in the game so unless you missed upgrades, there's nothing more to get. Was it the boss with a tail like a scorpion?

Dan

Yep, that was the one. Maybe I'll give it another shot after I do some more wandering.

Noonan

Yeah, he'll kill you in 2-3 hits. Hell, I have 6 or 7 energy tanks now and bosses still kill me in 2-3 hits.

He'll be super easy once you can spot and avoid the tail swings. Use nothing but missiles on his head. When you're attaching the ball in the tail you can use your normal beam when you have to move around to dodge. Took me maybe 10 attempts to get him down.

slop101

Great game or not, I don't think this should've been a $60 game... $40 would've been more appropriate.
But Nintendo's gonna Nintendo.

RichC2

And Nintendo prices rarely drop in their first year outside of Walmart's $10 off.

The Questyen

That first line is exactly why I can't take you serious in discussions about game pricing.

Noonan

I couldn't disagree more.

Decker

It's a full game. A brand-new, big budget, first party exclusive game. Why shouldn't it be $60?

Now if you want to argue that I'm crazy for willingly spending an additional $30 on a Steelbook, five art cards and a hardcover art book, that's an argument worth making.

The Questyen

Because he has some arbitrary number of hours long that a game must be before it can cost $60 no matter the quality of the game.

Michael Corvin

Feels like a 3DS game to me, so yeah, I'll go with Slop on this one.

Other than that, I unlocked the Morph Ball last night and it seems slower than usual. Is there an upgrade at some point to speed this sucker up? I also ran into a surprise boss after that point that took off 100 health with each hit. Some kind of silver mech with a red eye. I'm only at 200 health so that fight was a no-go at this point.

slop101

I don't think it seems like a big-budget game at all. More like a top-tier indie game really (though with a major property, which is probably why they can charge full price).

I mean, a game like BOTW, or even Mario Odyssey had far bigger budgets (and definitely more value for the money) than this game.

Noonan

So basically a game has to be a 50+ hour open world game for you to think it's worth $60?

Hmm, based on your description I don't think that was a boss, just a large enemy. Dying after a couple hits is normal even as you get more energy tanks. A hit from a large enemy or boss for me now takes off like 3 full tanks or there about.

slop101

Where did I say anything about the number of hours?

Never said that, or anything about length.
Why do you guys keep pulling "length" out of your ass when I never said that?
Just doesn't feel/look like a big-budget game that should be full-priced, that's all.

The Questyen

So an even stupider reason. Gotcha.

Noonan

Because both games you mentioned are big open world games. Do you have an example of a shorter length game which fits your description of feeling and looking like big budget?

slop101

Pretty pathetic. Did I hurt your feelings or something?
The way you guys are going on about length, it seems like you DO feel like the game is too short, and subconsciously you're putting that on me.
To me, the game just feels small and low-budget. Again, not a "bad" game, just not quite worth a full $60 price tag. All other Nintendo franchises have grown in scale and scope - this Metroid seems to have shrunk back down. Which is fine, but again, it looks/feels/plays like a $40 title, at most.

The Questyen

Just finished it. Such a fantastic game and definitely my favorite Metroid. I play every game with a difficulty option on the easiest option there is and I dislike hard games and I found Dread to not be that difficult. The boss fights are really well done where it would take me 5-10 tries to figure out exactly what I was supposed to do in the fight but then once I figured it out I would be able to beat them the very next try with barely getting hit. Loved how smooth the controls were. Some of the best controls of any metroidvania I've ever played although like mentioned can get overwhelming once you unlock all the different weapons/items. I'm glad I didn't let the talk about how difficult this game sway me from playing it because I would have missed out on a classic.

tanman

I'm so jealous of y'all. I STILL haven't received mine I ordered on release day. I'm thrilled I was able to order a special edition copy from Target but this shipping is ridiculous. It should be here tomorrow.

Noonan

Same and agreed. Fantastic game and I already started a new run on Hard Mode.

Two spoilers:

The Questyen



Xander

Thanks for the updates. I may have to give it a try after all. The 2D Metroid games are some of my all-time faves.