Nintendo has published a follow-up article and developer video to yesterday’s announcement of Metroid Dread, coming to Nintendo Switch later this year.
The article is the first in a new Report series on the Nintendo website and takes a deeper dive into some of the stuff we saw in yesterday’s reveal trailer. Some of Samus’ abilities she’ll have access to in this latest adventure, such as Melee Counter and Dash Melee. Samus can also now Free Aim as she moves, allowing you to change targets on the fly. There’s also some new actions in Samus’ arsenal, including the ability to Slide through small gaps. Finally, the Spider Magnet will allow our hero to move, shoot and counter while hanging on a wall.
Meanwhile, the video features the game’s producer Yoshi Sakamoto talking about the game’s development journey. Though the name has been bandied around for 15 years, Sakamoto reveals they gave up on the idea at the time “because we felt the technology back then just couldn’t properly bring the concept to life.”
It seems it was teaming up with MercurySteam — previously responsible for Metroid: Samus Returns and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow — that provided the magic touch needed. “They have an incredible understanding of Metroid games,” and adds “the result is that we’ve completed a version of Metroid Dread that even surpasses what we imagined 15 years ago.”
We also get a little extra information on robot pursuer E.M.M.I. It sounds like we’ll have to deal with multiple versions of the ruthless foe throughout our adventure. But Samus will be able to use a Phantom Cloak ability to camouflage herself for a limited time, hopefully buying herself a chance to escape.
It’s a fascinating watch, and you can check out the full video for yourself below. Metroid: Dread is currently set to release on Nintendo Switch on October 9.
