I just beat Metroid Dread and holy shit

After finishing Super Metroid, I played almost all of Metroid Dread over the past three days...and really loved it

I'd gotten the game when it first came out years ago but wanted to play Super and Fusion first

I'm glad I did because it gave me a deep appreciation for the controls, which are just....perfect, by comparison

And it's given me an appreciation for the story as well I wouldn't have had otherwise - and this time around, like in Fusion, there is story, complete with cutscenes and voice acting

I'd say it's a healthy mix of Fusion's linearity and Super Metroid's openness, funneling you along certain paths but almost always letting you backtrack to go get secrets with your acquired upgrades, and I'm also happy to report that without needing to look up anything at all I've been able to get every single item 

Thankfully this time though the difficulty doesn't come from the controls but from just how hard the bosses are - and there are a ton of bosses. It's quite possibly the second most difficult game I've played that wasn't due to controls. I'd call Dark Souls III the most difficult game I've ever played due to its checkpoint nature often requiring you to push through a gauntlet of enemies before tackling a boss, leaving you battered before a boss, while this one typically gives you checkpoints right before each boss, even if you haven't manually saved, but this is difficult on a whole different level, requiring the kinds of reflexes and quick button prompts that fighting games typically require instead of just dodging and slashing and drinking estus. There's been times where I did have to try something over and over and over again but it wasn't due to needing to figure out controls, but rather timing things just right, and even when I should have given up because it didn't seem like victory was possible I didn't and instead came out the other side somehow even more skilled than I was before.

The game demands mastery to progress, and doesn't accept anything less than your complete concentration and focus, but its fairness makes it feel like it's training you to improve rather than just being a brick wall you bash your head against. Every single boss has felt overwhelming and impossible at first, but after several deaths, I'd learn their attacks and phases, and by the end of the battle I'd feel incredibly accomplished...and I can't say that for most games I've played. There's never been a "oh thank goodness that's over with that was terrible", it's always been a "I did it! I can't believe I had that in me!" because while the game never eases up on difficulty, only going harder and harder right up to the end while never feeling cruel or punishing, it's a complicated dance that compels you to match it, the steps growing in intensity and passion but never being overwhelming.

And I really, really love that. I typically focus on story and atmosphere and music in a game, calling a game great if it can affect me emotionally, but this is a different feeling. This is a game that while it does have a good story and great atmosphere, what I find the most satisfying is the gameplay. It just feels really, really, really good to play. Not in a zen way like Minecraft, but in a "this is making me fire on all cylinders but is making me feel like a complete badass while doing so" kind of way. People always talk about Guts taking on Doomguy...but I think Samus Aran could throw her hat in that ring too, especially after this game. If you have a Switch, I really recommend you get the game....and I now consider myself a Metroid fan.

But...not in the same way I'm a fan of other games. Other games I can go "wow that's so cool!" and gush about them for being so cool or having a neat premise or aesthetic or soundtrack or characters or story or worldbuilding or feels. No. Metroid is a series I'm a fan of for being a game series that demanded my respect, my attention, my focus and that I rise to the challenge. I think of reaching the end not as a fun jaunt through a popcornfest of amusing scenarios, but as an honor reserved only for those willing to adhere to its training. And for that, it has my endless respect and admiration.

Go fucking buy it!