
Samus' latest outing Metroid Dread has received a lot of praise since it arrived on the Nintendo Switch in October and now it's been crowned #1 in TIME's 10 best games of 2021.
The newest chapter in the Metroid series managed to place ahead of heavy-hitters such as Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and even The Game Awards' winner, It Takes Two. Here's exactly what TIME had to say about MercurySteam's most recent Metroid release:
"When most people think of Nintendo, they conjure up images of kid-friendly characters like Mario and Pikachu. But Samus Aran, badass intergalactic bounty hunter of Metroid fame, has long earned her place on the Mount Rushmore of the company's characters. And after more than a decade without a proper Metroid game, Samus returned in a big way with this year's Metroid: Dread, a 2D side-scroller for the Nintendo Switch that sees our hero stalked by artificially intelligent killer robots on the mysterious planet ZDR. Dread, which longtime Metroid producer Yoshio Sakamoto has been cooking up on and off for nearly two decades, is often legit scary-though not quite on the level as something like an Alien: Isolation- and a delightful return to form for a classic and beloved franchise."
And here is TIME's full list:
- Metroid Dread
- Inscryption
- Forza Horizon 5
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale
- Hitman III
- Returnal
- Halo Infinite
- Deathloop
- Sable
- It Takes Two
Just last week, Metroid Dread took out best "action/adventure" game at The Game Awards. It was up against titles like Psychonauts 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
Have you played Metroid Dread on the Switch? Is it your game of the year? Tell us down below.
[source time.com, via reddit.com]
Comments 94
Nice, and well deserved!
Good for Nintendo. I'm not even a fan of metroidvanias as I always get lost and frustrated; I've played like four other Metroid games but never beat them. I saw Dread through to the very end and even 100% completed it. While the combat can be quite challenging, the world was extremely easy to navigate. They've really streamlined the genre and I greatly appreciate it. I hope Psychonauts 2 can win an award so each of the underdogs gets its chance to shine.
Also, Rachet and Clank was like the talk of the town when it came out, but it seems the hype really died off for that game. I've heard some say it wasn't even that great. What happened?
What? NPR didn’t even put it in their top 5.. lol
Well deserved. It’s a great game.
I have to go with MH Rise personally, not played SMT V yet but that looks great too.
I found Dread to be way too thin on content. Wouldn't put it in the top 20 games this year personally.
Personally, it wouldn't even cut the top 10 this year. It's OK but it was just so utterly mediocre and not memorable in the slightest. It was over before it started and had next to no replay value and i can't stress this enough: I can't for the life of me remember if it even had a soundtrack or not.
But if people like it, more power to them.
I personally thought it was forgettable at best, boring at worst.
@Not_Soos
Imho Ratchet's biggest issue is the platform it's on.
I've yet to meet someone in my extended circles who has seen a PS5 in the wild. I also know quite a lot of people (myself included) who started to ignore Sony because of their abhorrent business practices.
It felt like the nest about the God of War soft reboot coming to PC caused a bigger ruckus than Ratchet.
Nice to see Metroid Dread win somewhere...
But how did Time choose? The game awards aren't perfect, but I don't associate Time with games at all. Was it ranked by hype and reviews? Personal preference of the reporter? The first half of the Time article is about harassment scandals and such in game companies which seems more like Time's wheelhouse than actually ranking games.
If Dread had a good soundtrack, it would be a perfect video game. That’s the only real flaw I can find in it, it’s the kind of game that rarely comes around. i’ll be revisiting it and playing it over and over for years to come.
@Einherjar
It's probably due to how big of a success this game was in comparison to the last three releases. Samus Returns was a great refresher but was released on a console that was heavily overshadowed by the Switch. Federation Force was...really something else. And Other M...also something else.
It also comes with appreciation for how long this game was stuck in development. Coming out of development hell, this game is a huge success on a developmental standpoint.
You're right. There's barely a soundtrack. As a matter of fact, I think they just recycled both the Metroid series theme and Samus's theme from Samus Returns. As far as replay value, sure. It's a linear game technically and it only dips into the shallow waters of Metroidvanias, but maybe that's all people wanted. Simplicity can score as much as complexity.
Well, congratulation.
But i'm not a fan of Metroid games.
It’s about… TIME!…I’ll show myself out now
Great to hear, well deserved. Not my personal goty(that goes to SMT V) but still, Dread is an awesome game. Easily in my top 10 Switch games.
How wonder how many GOTY awards have been given to DDLC Plus? I gotta check 😁
Congratulations and great job. Perhaps Nintendo will be better and keep the 2d Metroid games in care.
@ModdedInkling I think the nail in the coffin as far as sound design goes was that the minor item fanfare now sounds like water pipe gurgles.Beats Samus sounding like an empty oil drum being licked in Returns but still.
Mercury Steam's sound department is horribly bad.
As far as replay value goes, i'm not gonna lie, those horrendously slow and boring EMMI passages pretty much guarantee that i won't pick it back up anytime soon.
The entire rest of the game is designed in a way to avoid as much downtime as possible. That slide for instance is an absolute godsend, allowing you to go into morphball mode on the run.
And then you these passages that serve absolutely no purpose but bring the game to a grinding halt.
Imho, an "Arcade Mode" (No Story, no EMMI) and a Boss Rush mode would have gone a looooong way with this title.
Heck, i'd take the Boss Rush alone, my personal favorite part of the game.
The more I read about this game, the more I think I'll never play it. GOTY ... Like really?
More than a decade without a proper Metroid game, I guess that's true in the sense of the traditional formula, but personally Dread doesn't overtake Federation Force. Dread is my GOTY when it comes to this year's new releases, and I do hope Prime 4 can keep the standard high.
Good to see an official outlet acknowledge a 2D game as GOTY.
@Not_Soos
Aside from being an exclusive to a console that is woefully undersupplied, Rift Apart is ultimately "just" another Ratchet & Clank game (which TBF is not necessarily a bad thing). It's main selling point was its excellent state-of-the-art graphics, and...that's kinda it.
Well they also named Elon Musk person if the year...so I'll take their opinions with a shaker of salt.
I tend to factor in average time to beat and replayability and 9 hours with replayability aimed mostly at speedrunners at $60..yeah not my GOTY.
I played the demo four times. Hella addicting even doing the same run over again. It had tremendous replay value for me I guess. That said, I haven't actually bought it lol.
Won’t argue.
But the lack of Monster Hunter Rise just shows their limited scope.
@Einherjar horrendously slow? Lol. I spent most of my time ducking, dodging, weaving jumping, sliding running (yes a little cloaking but that was tense af too) until that sweet sweet moment when you get to face off with your charged up canon in third person mode...honestly one of my favorite experiences in games ever. I loved the feeling of escaping clean, and finishing each EMMI was such a joy. Not to say your experience isn't valid, but the EMMI are my hands down favorite parts of the game. I honestly can't think of a more complex AI in an enemy outside of what I hear the Alien game offers.
Fantastic game. I prefer an actual "short" fun game ( lasts 7-10 hours on average on the first run so it isn't even that short) than a 200 hour one that is just a chore to play. Besides, I have played this for about 20 hours just messing around and doing other runs, and I would have played it even more by now if it wasn't for my long backlog.
But will it stand the test of TIME? Only TIME will tell…
I have loved Metroid for over a quarter of a century; Metroidvanias are my preferred genre, and it’s nice to see such accolades go to this game…
…but I can’t and won’t take it seriously from a publication that lists Freon Musk as its person of the year.
I'm really glad, fantastic game!
It’s a great game but I don’t think I’ll ever go back for another play through, for me game of the year is Super Mario 3D World simply for how much fun I have with the game, it never fails to make me smile.
Cruis’n Blast gets my second place vote, I’ve put so many hours into that game.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale at number 4 has surprised me. That just released after the indie showcase on Thursday. The PC version is sitting at 90 on Metacritic and the Switch version is supposed to be even better with motion /touchscreen controls and HD Rumble. It's from the developer of Wandersong.I think I'll buy it once I'm finished with Death's Door.
My games of the year are Dusk, Death's Door and Metroid Dread.
@Rainz Here, I'll get the door for you.
What? People with good taste?
Deservedly so, 2D is king in my eyes. Stunning game on every level.
Fair play, it’s an extremely high quality product. I personally would put Forza Horizon 5 and Psychonauts 2 above it but personal taste is personal taste.
That’s a very good list of games. At least, considering it was clearly compiled by people who clearly don’t like RPGs. No Scarlet Nexus, Tales of Arise, Shin Megami Tensei V, Neo The World Ends With You, Monster Hunter Rise, Bravely Default II, Monster Hunter Stories 2 or even Loop Hero.
Not saying they should all be in the top ten. But maybe one? But it is a good list.
@Not_Soos I believe R&C got a lot of hype around release as it was one of the few full next gen PS5 games coming out and the graphics were stunning. However I think after a few months the hype died down because while it looked impressive visually it was just another Ratchet and Clank game, it didn't do anything too crazy. It's probably not a bad game but hardly GOTY material.
"And after more than a decade without a proper Metroid game, Samus returned in a big way with this year's Metroid: Dread"
It's sad that people keep exaggerating with this when there was a brilliant Metroid game only four years ago made by the same team as Dread. Yes, Samus Returns was a remake, but it was basically a new game in parts and it's a shame people are overlooking it and only concentrating on the weak reception to Federation Force.
Time staff haven't played many games this year.
Most definitely deserved, it's a great game! I loved it.
Should probably get around to fully 100%ing it, meaning, unlocking the entire gallery. Already 100%'d the game itself in both normal and hard outside of the gallery.
While Metroid Dread is a good game, Time didn't even know Samus' name. The article was preoccupied with malicious rumours behind the scenes rather than actual games. I can't take this list seriously.
Metroid Dread is a okay game, it pale in comparion to the masterpice that is Super Metroid.
Just completed it yesterday, tested my sanity at points but absolutely loved it, my first metroid game!
I loved Dread. My son hated it at the start but he was fascinated by it. Kept getting me to traverse the E.M.M.I. zones when I just wanted to make progress in my own file 😅 Now? He absolutely loves it and is BRILLIANT at it. He’s only ten and he’s beat it at least four times, including hard mode. he’s much better than me at it
Yep. It nailed everything right. Especially the way she moves through the world.
@soupwoman I completely agree. I'd have even taken remixes of the classic Super Metroid tracks. Just needed some good bangers in there and it would be perfection. Well I wouldn't have minded it being a bit longer too lol but it's a stunning game.
@Einherjar Considering the PS5 is doing better then what the PS4 was at the same stage in being out i don't think it matters if you or your friends haven't got or seen one. R&C sold well, its no GOTY sure but since when does every game needs to be?
@Rogueleader With all due respect, and you're fully entitled to your opinion, but "complex AI"? Have we played the same game?
Each EMMI simply pathfinds to the last "ping" you created in their aggro range. The most effective way to get rid of them is to lead them around a piece of structure because they are hardcoded to follow your pings and not predict your next move, a.e. just change directions. You can literally lead them like a clock hand without fail.
Their behavior is entirely predictable and stiff, which makes them so utterly boring.
I'm glad you liked it, don't get me wrong. But i honestly do feel that it really doesn't earn some of its praises and that it might be a bit of nostalgia goggles at play.
@WallyWest The main issue with going strictly by sales numbers with the PS5 is, that it's one of the most scalped items in recent history. Units sold does not necessarily mean units that reached end users sadly.
These numbers are royally skewed with very little that can be done to correct them, because a sold unit is a sold unit. Hard to track where they land after that.
And no one said every game had to be GOTY.
Only modest wishes for Dread would have been a better soundtrack and some post-game modes (outside of speedrunning) that invite extended replay.
It's otherwise perfect.
@Samwise7 It’s on the shorter side, sure, but I also think it’s paced so perfectly. More content would be great, but I feel like they wanted to keep that tight design and quick pace. Would love some DLC that adds some extra post-game areas with unique puzzles and super hard bosses
@UglyCasanova, @Nameless_Shame, Time naming someone "Person of the Year" isn't necessarily an endorsement of that person, just that they think that person had the biggest impact that year (whether for good or bad).
While it's true that they've mostly avoided naming super controversial people in more modern times, in the past both Hitler & Stalin were named (the latter twice). For something maybe a bit more in line with how controversial Musk is, they named Bill Clinton during the year the Lewinsky scandal broke.
Well deserved! TIME did a better job than The ***** Awards. Metroid Dread deserves this. Music was great, I don't know what people talk about when they say the music is bad. And, looking at some of the comments, hating on the best game Nintendo released this year, must be cool for some hehehe.
@Einherjar This is simply a curiosity question, but what bad practices have Sony been implementing? I know they like to censor Japanese anime like games but what else are they doing?
Lets goo baby! Deserved, and I nice win!
@JustMonika According to Gameawards.net, DDLC Plus has won 0 goty awards
@Giancarlothomaz Super metroid has horrible controls and psyhics XD
Metroid Dread is definitely my GOTY. I rarely replay games and I played it 3 times already. First time on normal with no outside info. Once in Normal to do a couple of the built in sequence breaks. Then a third time on Hard following the speed run path with glitches. When I play it again I will probably do A casual run through Normal again.
It may be unlikely but I would love it see some DLC for this game.
@TsukiDeity To me, personally, systematic censorship already is several steps too far. That's a slippery slope you simply don't want to get into.
Then you have things like their abysmal stance on cross-play or backwards compatibility (Or preservation in general. And yes, not an exclusive issue, still) or how vulnerable the PSN is or even debacles like the Vita which also burned me heavily.
In their own, some of these issues are neither earth shaking nor exclusive to Sony, but it's the complete package that convinced me not to support them anymore.
First and foremost the censorship, an absolute no-go in my book.
@roy130390 I agree with you on that, my backlog is huge and I’m really busy this year in general, it’s nice having a game I can best relatively quickly. And the thing about metriod dread is that even though I’m not actually playing for that long, it’s not as repetitive or boring as a 200 hour game so it feels longer
@Giancarlothomaz Super metriod hadn’t aged the best, I prefer Zero Mission because the controls feel great compared to super
@Nameless_Shame like someone else also said, they name the most influential/important person of the year, not their favorite. They named hitler and Stalin person of the year
Some deserved recognition for Chicory and Inscryption
@RR529 You're right, but the actual article about him accompanying it is unfortunately pretty reverential...
@Johnny44 Wait a MINUTE. You can't use the the same pun a SECOND TIME.
Well deserved. I really enjoyed playing a 2D metroid game again. It's been a long time coming.
@Einherjar The AI can't predict my next move? Even I can't do that! Lol. Hardly seems like a fair criticism, unless you know of AI that can do that in a game....
I played my first Metroid game just a few months ago, so I don't think one can say I like Dread because of nostalgia goggles. I do think it's interesting how differently we see the interactions, though. I can see why you don't find then as fun as I do.
I love that a 2D, stick to the basics but for modern times, game has been so well received. It really is that good. I like it better than Super Metroid, which is fantastic, but has some bad controls that make the game frustrating at times.
Nintendo has some great adult oriented IPs like Metroid, Bayonetta (It's been exclusive to Nintendo for a while now, so I will call it a Nintendo IP), Astral Chain, and Zelda. I wish they would dip their toe into more of these kind of games.
As for my most underrated game of the year... I think No More Heroes III.
@fenlix I thought it would be in the millions by now!
@Rogueleader "Predict your next move" not as in clairvoyance, i thought that was clear...
If it knows your last ping, it can guess where your next might end up (Internally. the game would check possible coordinates within a certain radius) and instead of being glued to the same route you took, it could seek another.
As with the example given, if you run clockwise around a structure, the EMMI would be wiser to spontaneously change directions if the next ping prediction is closer that way instead of running the full course because you did.
Several FPS build their "flanking AI" around similar principles. They move to spaces where you could be to discourage you from moving there, thus limiting your options.
It's also super flawed if you understand how it ticks, but it's more sophisticated than the EMMI's routines for being in a 2D game and each in their distinct region.
Same thing with the fact that the EMMI will always approach you, no matter what, even if it means their certain doom (Being under fire in a long, straight corridor). They will go to your last ping even if its the last thing they do.
I don't see how since the game was so bad i took it back the same day i bought the game... Flat out boring...Good thing i have super Metroid to play... The true metroid game
@Giancarlothomaz i love super metroid like anyone else but its not perfect either it has issues as well just like any other game and dread is an amazing game.
@NWC seems to me you haters cant handle the challenge of dread being less easy compare to other s in the franchise and you cant expect nintendo to hold your hands by making everything easy for entitled people like you and by the way super metroid isnt perfect either just saying.
@Einherjar I think it’s solid. But I’m wondering if some people played some of the 3DS metroids. It felt like an extension of those and not the next step using the power of the Switch. It’s a short 2D game with recycled EMMIs and chozo soldiers. Each EMMI is the same fight.
If Nintendo would have made it in house, it may have been game of the year. But these games that are farmed out are missing the Nintendo touch.
I still haven't played it, still in the lookout for a Special Edition, scalper prices around here aren't as bad I had expected, as well as the amiibo figures, right now (and I'm not kidding) some scalper prices are actually cheaper than some retail prices.
I've played the demo a couple of times, never gets old.
Wow I guess I really need to buy this and play it! My game of the year is Returnal, despite the fact that I still can’t beat it.
@soupwoman I agree with you, can't remember any of the songs on the game other than the old ones, they should give the Metroid keys to team cherry instead and to whoever write the music for their games. That said, sound FX are superb!!
Well, Times also said Hitler was man of the year once, so I don't really think they are anything but a brain washing outfit. Unless it is I who have been brain washed. Hmm. Either way, I'm obviously not trusting them.
Interesting dread has got alot of praise and won some awards but sales wise it's still only just a million seller.
@Taylor88 It’s the best-selling Metroid game in almost 15 years. Hopefully the awards inspire even more sales.
Well deserved, but sadly TIME magazine has lost its merit. I cannot support a magazine that lists "Elon Musk as person of the year."
I'm so done with them. Congrats to Metroid though. I wish I could be happier for the award, but I'm not. :/
@roy130390
My first playthrough of Dread took about 20 real life hours. The time it shows in the game is not accurate, since it doesn't count time if you die and have to do a part again etc.
I would not call that a short game. Of course, you can get through much faster in subsequent playthroughs, but that's true for any game.
Awesome, personally I'd put It Takes Two and Nier: Replicant above it but I'm glad it's getting awards.
@Meteoroid i feel like if a game can be beaten in a weekend and it costs $60, thats awfully expensive for a game you can beat in 10 hours (the runtime is 7-10 hours), took me 10 hours to beat first time then 8 hours second time.
18 hours for a $60 game.
Value to everyone is different, i get that, but to me, i feel like $60 for an 18 hour gaming experience, no matter how good the game was, to me it was robbery.
I genuinely feel like i was fleeced, you might think it was worth it and good for you, i think it was one of the biggest waste of money i ever purchased on the Switch.
Also i don't think it was anywhere near as good as many Indie games in the same genre. Both Ori and Hollow Knight are miles better than Dread.
@Meteoroid i value both, the way i see it, a long story with a rich environment to explore isn't content padding.
It's content.
Like in Hollow Knight, you need to backtrack to get items with abilities you didn't have before, these items illuminate the story more and make for a more engaging experience.
I could turn this around on you and say "you spending money on Dread is the same as spending $10 per hour to sit at an arcade machine for 6 hours on a weekend".
There is a reason why arcades are dead and it isn't because you get the games at home now, it's because value for money just isn't there.
But im not going to judge you for how you waste your money.
@RiasGremory Wrong i was bored.. big difference if you would have paid attention and read my comment better the game was very boring to me... had nothing to do with the the difficulty setting.. dude ive beaten games that were so hard you would cry.. This game was just a plane borefest so go beat some true hard games from the 80's and 90's that would put this game to shame and also this game was made by a third party company that treated it's workers very badly but im guessing you support that so don't put words in my mouth. i was beating hard games long before you were born .. just saying lol
@RiasGremory seems to me you haters just want to find something to complain about.. till you beat some true hard games your opinion is static but best of luck im moving on and also man it's called an opinion don't lose your lunch over an opinion (Muted) bye
@Gamer_Zeus I agree Dread was not worth 60 dollars but to me the games not even worth 10 bucks
@NWC i mean $10 is a bit of a stretch, it's clearly an upscaled 3DS game, so that should be $40 max. I would be hard pressed to justify even $40 though, $30 is closer the mark.
But fortunately i sold the game for $40 on Ebay so $20 for 18 hours isn't too bad at all.
Can't say I'll ever want to revisit the game again, it was terribly generic and mediocre compared with what Indie developers are doing in the Metroidvania genre today.
@Gamer_Zeus The biggest reason i will never buy from them again is the fact how they treated their workers and screwed them over plus the gameplay was weak and felt nothing like a metroid game.. Some people will praise this mess no matter what and frankly this game was worse than Other M... Me i got my whole 60 bucks back.. I just told them game wasn't working and wanted my money back. I had one guy on here bash me cause it might be to hard for me .. i just laughed and said go play some NES games of the 80's and come back when you face a true hard game.. Dread wasn't hard it was boring and dull..Super Metroid is the true awesome metroid and was made by Nintendo themself and not a third party company who do not understand what a true metroid game really is.. Im no hater i just hated dread now the amiibos for the game were very cool and were worth the money
@NWC the buck stops with Super Metroid as far as 2D Metroid are concerned.
People here unfortunately suffer from absolute blind loyalty no matter what, Nintendo could develop and release a game that has you sitting there watching paint dry for hours upon hours and people on this very website would praise the game and vehemently attack anyone who tries to say "this game is a waste of money".
It doesn't matter how substandard the game is or how devoid of content and shallow it may be. As long as Nintendo published it and it's a first party title. Then people here will die on their shields defending it.
It's actually ridiculous.
@Gamer_Zeus Now Metroid fusion was a good game but after that they gave us this mess called dread.. it was so bad id rather play other m again over that mess
@Gamer_Zeus ive been gaming longer than most people on this forum all the way back to 1979 and todays kids have no idea about a true awesome game.. Dread was a copy and paste type game..playing it safe and frankly the ive seen indie games that looked better than dread and i hate to say that ... i really wanted to like dread but i couldn't so i got my money back but keep all the ideams i got with the game as they will be worth money one day and the amiibo's were so cool
@Gamer_Zeus the problem is most gamers seeing their run time is 8 hours or so on their save file and assuming that’s how long they have played for - but they probably need to add a few hours as the game clock doesn’t count bits between save points and deaths.
I completed the game in 9 hours then went back for a 100% completion which increased the total to 12 hours. But the switch clock says I have been playing for about “20 hours”.
Going to do a hard mode run at some point (albeit not 100%) so that will increase to at least 30
@Einherjar I completely agree with the problem of censorship. Just let the creator release what they want, and let the costumers vote with their wallets. I do find it hilarious how the tables have turned on censorship though, Nintendo is still partly known as the company for kids because they used to censor a lot of games. So glad Nintendo just let's the developers release what ever they want (with the exception of AO games.)
I thought Sony gave into cross-play a couple years ago, or are they selectively choosing which popular game to allow cross-play now? The refusal of allowing devs the ability to implement cross-play in their games is also very dumb (and a form of censorship).
I thought the PS5 was fully backwards compatible with PS4 games, is it not?
Yes, Sony dug Vita's grave the second or third year in.... Even though is had lots of support from Japanese developers keeping it alive. Talk about "WOW", good job Sony....
@BongoBongo i genuinely don't know anyone who counts their game time by the in-game time counter so i don't really know why people point out that it's different from the actual system counter.
I think every single person knows this.
And yes that timer is from the system game counter. 10 hours for my first run and 8 for second.
@Gamer_Zeus objection! The system game counter rounds to the nearest 5 hours!
@BongoBongo wouldn't that mske your point about the games being 30 hours for two play throughs totally wrong then? Considering you're suggesting it rounds to the nearest 5, which actually is not entirely true, it will tell you that you've been playing for 15 hours when you've actually been playing for 18 hours, which is obviously not the nearest 5. Like it did for me.
Either that or i completed two full sessions of Dread in 7.5 hours each. Either way it's a lot less than your suggested 30 hours.
@Giancarlothomaz
Same can be said about most major titles of SNES era
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