The long-awaited Metroid Dread is hitting stores on October 8, and the slow trickle of information continues after its reveal at Nintendo's E3 2021 Direct. As a direct sequel to 2002's Metroid Fusion, Dread will be the first 2D entry to the mainline series in nearly two decades. Fans can expect the typical Metroidvania formula, meaning iconic bounty hunter Samus Aran is going to be getting some new abilities for her most recent adventure.
In Metroid Dread, Samus will travel to the planet ZDR to find out what happened to the Galactic Federation's Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier (E.M.M.I.) robots. The E.M.M.I.s were sent to investigate a claim that the X parasites from Fusion were still alive, some having avoided Samus' destruction of planet SR388. The robots have somehow turned hostile when Samus arrives on the scene, and turn out to be formidable foes, requiring new upgrades to Samus' suit in Metroid Dread.
Nintendo has released a sort of research document in the lead-up to Dread, providing some more information on the E.M.M.I. and how they operate. Each one appears to have a limited range, referred to as E.M.M.I. Zones, where they will search for, stalk, and attack Samus. The new info also clues prospective players into how the E.M.M.I. can be avoided, and possibly destroyed.
Metroid Dread: Fighting the EMMI Requires Samus To Use New Abilities
The first suggestion made in Nintendo's detailed report on the E.M.M.I. is to use the new Phantom Cloak ability. The Phantom Cloak is just one of Samus' new Aeion Abilities, which haven't all been revealed yet. This new power is described as "using optical camouflage to render [Samus] invisible" in order to avoid detection by the hostile robots' optical sensors.
The Phantom Cloak also helps dampen Samus' footsteps, letting her move silently. Phantom Cloak (and presumably the other Aeion Abilities) use a new resource called Aeion, which will deplete faster if Samus moves while cloaked. The Metroid Dread developers note that Phantom Cloak can also be used to bypass doors that usually don't allow access to humans, and will be helpful against other enemies as well.
Stealth is not the only means to combat the E.M.M.I., but Samus will need a new type of weapon to penetrate the robots' protective armor. By harnessing the power of the computers which regulate each E.M.M.I. Zone, Samus can temporarily convert her normal cannon into the Omega Cannon. Attacking an E.M.M.I. with the Omega Cannon is two-fold. First comes the Omega Stream, which rapidly fires projectiles to tear away the robot's armor plating. Once the E.M.M.I.'s core is exposed, Samus can launch the Omega Blaster to destroy it, after which her Arm Cannon will return to its normal state.
Nintendo teases that there will be quite a few E.M.M.I. stalking the planet ZDR, pointing to the fact that the promotional art shows seven robot silhouettes behind Samus. There also appears to be different models of E.M.M.I., which will presumably require different tactics, and possibly the use of Metroid Dread's other new Aeion Abilities. These killer robots will definitely ramp up the tension in Metroid Dread, but they are shaping up to be very interesting encounters.
Source: Nintendo