Nintendo revealed Metroid Dread in its June 15th Nintendo Direct, and it's the long-awaited narrative follow-up to Metroid Fusion. Developed by MercurySteam, the studio behind 2017's Metroid: Samus Returns, Metroid Dread brings the 2D Metroid experience to the Nintendo Switch. One of the main things that stuck out from this title's trailer and footage was the inclusion of a stalker character who poses a genuine threat to Samus. Such a concept could work perfectly with Metroid's already bleak tone, but hopefully the developers took notes from Capcom's Resident Evil series, which accomplished the same mechanic with mixed results.
While Mario and Zelda have consistently yielded strong sales for the company, Metroid games have struggled to justify their development costs. It's possible that those sales contributed to the hiatuses the series has taken from the industry, but it seems the franchise is finally back in full force. The aforementioned Samus Returns was praised by fans and critics alike and with both Metroid Prime 4 and Metroid Dread in Nintendo's future catalog, it seems fans are finally getting all the Metroid love they've been craving for so long.
Metroid Fusion was the last 2D Metroid Nintendo has released that wasn't a remake or reimagining of some kind, which means Metroid Dread will have some serious expectations to meet. Simply repeating the same tired gameplay tropes wouldn't be enough, so there's a new stalker robot known as E.M.M.I. which seems to an invincible menace that Samus needs to hide from whenever it shows its face. It's an interesting concept that could make for a unique Metroid game, but the Resident Evil series has equivalent characters that could teach the developers subtle ways to implement this mechanic in a positive way.
What Metroid's E.M.M.I. Could Learn From RE's Mr. X and Nemesis
Resident Evil 2 and 3 have their own well-known stalker characters who engage players in a very similar fashion to what's being advertised in Metroid Dread. However, these characters have some of their own faults that the E.M.M.I. shouldn't have. Mr. X showed up frequently and he's an intimidating presence at first, but he quickly becomes a nuisance. Players still need to solve puzzles after he arrives, so they'll spend lots of time luring him away from the task at hand just to buy a few seconds to find a solution before needing to lure him away again. Nemesis, on the other hand, relies heavily on scripted sequences that take away from the horror of the game. It's hard to be scared when players quickly realize that every sequence he's in can only ever go one way, which defeats the purpose of feeling perpetually hunted by a predator.
The good news is that following Nintendo's E3 2021 Direct was a presentation documenting the development of Metroid Dread as well as some live gameplay showing off how players are expected to deal with this looming threat. The robot can detect where Samus is based on how much sound she's making, and she can obstruct herself from its view using the environment or a new invisibility power-up. It seems like the robot will appear throughout the world as players explore it, but it's not clear what will control where it is on the map at all times.
It seems unlikely that the player will deal with scripted sequences that take from the horror, but hopefully, the E.M.M.I. will stay away during any intense puzzle segments. Resident Evil games are horror titles with Metroidvania elements, but now Metroid Dread has an opportunity to pull elements from the horror series in return, complete with a list of what works and what doesn't.