WOW! I feel like I’ve been trying to get this written forever, but I guess it’s really been just about two weeks. And maybe that’s actually good so I have some time to really let the game percolate and simmer in my brain. Or maybe I’ve just forgotten the whole thing. Let’s find out!
First off, the vibes of this game are almost perfection. It’s lonely without being lonely, dark without being too dark, and methodical without making you want to pull your hair out. Well, most of the time. It also looks great for a 3DS game!
I stop short of saying that the vibes are perfect because I found the soundscape just a teensy bit lacking. Sure, many of the sound effects are ripped directly from the Metroid Prime series which has fantastic sound design, but that’s kind of the problem; one thing I’ve liked about my recent dive into Metroid is seeing how each individual game puts its own spin on the familiar trappings of the series, and that feels like just a bit of a missed opportunity. But really, it’s insignificant in the grand scheme of things. There was plenty of great sound design as well, especially in some of the sounds the enemies make when you blow them into tiny pieces.
In terms of the overall game play, I also found myself very impressed. There were periods were I literally could not put the game down because I was enjoying it so much. However, there were also sections that I found difficult and frustrating, and that made me realize something: I missed being mad at video games.
It sounds like a goofy thing to say, but it’s true. Back in 2016, I fell in love with the Dark Souls series right before Dark Souls 3 came out. And obviously it’s a bit of a meme now, but I’d truly never played anything like those games before. I’d been challenged like in the past, but not like that.
But as I beat those and time passed and I acquired more responsibilities in my life, I felt like I didn’t have the bandwidth to handle games like that anymore. I figured that my limited gaming time was best spent playing games on easy mode just so I could get through them, even if I secretly felt like I was missing out on part of the experience of that game (no shade to my fellow easy mode enjoyers, of course; I’m still one of you).
As you might be aware, Metroid: Samus Returns does not have an easy mode. You simply start the game. And that led to some frustration and friction that, truthfully, I hadn’t experienced in a while. And I think I liked it! It was certainly annoying in the moment, but after I gently-but-very-firmly closed my 3DS in anger after getting killed during the Diggernaut chase sequence for the umpteenth time, I thought “wait… I kind of missed this.” Not to mention the Diggernaut fight itself!
And that isn’t something that I figured I’d catch myself saying. Turns out old habits die hard I guess. So thank you Samus Aran for reminding me how much I love the feeling of triumph after finally beating something that’s been kicking my ass for three days.
But ANYWAY, also on the game play side of things, I was very impressed with the way that the devs kept piling on different methods of traversal that had me thinking “oh the game is completely opened up for me now” and then that just not being the case. Somehow Samus keeps picking up movement tech that presents as many new puzzles and challenges as it solves.
Even though the entire premise of the game is basically “kill the Metroids!”, I never really found that getting old. Wandering around SR388 and bombing every suspicious-looking corner kept me enthralled. There was some welcome variety in the boss fights, but part of the appeal of doing similar fights over and over again was improving my strategy and finding new things that worked to kill them faster.
There were quite a few times when I almost reached for the walkthrough, and definitely times when I actually did, but I usually stopped just short because I always felt like there was just some small thing I was missing to progress, and chasing the feeling of solving that puzzle kept me off the internet. I don’t really remember anything truly obtuse that got in my way at any point either, which certainly helps.
All in all, the 16 or so hours I played this game for this game was time very well-spent, as far as I’m concerned. Not necessarily anything revolutionary, but a great entry into the Metroid series all the same. And honestly? I played a bit of Metroid II on my Switch a few months ago, and I wasn’t ever going to go back and play that if this game didn’t exist, so… yay for stellar remakes!
Oh, and my god, that baby Metroid is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.