Metroid Dread Where To Go At The Start Of The Game
Image: Nintendo Life

Artaria is the very first area in Metroid Dread and it's where you'll spend a good deal of your early time in the game.

Your first objective here is to get your hands on the Charge Beam so that you can open up charge beam doors and make some actual progress. However, if you're finding yourself stumped at this early stage, you may be overlooking a pretty simple puzzle that allows you to access the area in which you'll find your first upgrade. Let's take a look.

In the very first E.M.M.I. area in the game you're going to come across a tunnel to the right hand side of an area (pictured below) that you can't slide into because the floor isn't at the right level. However, this piece of floor can be raised up by interacting with a nearby panel in order to slightly raise the water level in the area and allow you to proceed.

Make sure to give yourself enough space between you and the nearby E.M.M.I. in order to stand on this device long enough to lock the platform in place and allow you to then slide down out of the area. From here you should easily be able to now make your way forward to the Charge Beam and beyond.

Need help figuring out where to go now that you've got your charge beam? Check out our guide below showing you how to make your way forward to your next upgrade!


This guide is part of our Metroid Dread walkthrough and guide series, which includes all ability locations, all missile tank locations, all energy tank locations, all energy parts, all suit upgrades, all power bomb tanks, plus every compatible amiibo unlock, E.M.M.I. and boss battle tips, and other helpful tips to help you get through the game and get those post-game unlocks.