The announcement of Metroid Dread a few months ago took many by surprise, especially given the tumultuous development of Metroid Prime 4. Indeed, it’s one of the biggest surprises to come out of a Nintendo Direct this year, and many had high hopes from the get-go. Now that Metroid Dead reviews have poured in, it seems those high hopes have paid off.
Metroid is a beloved franchise, with a lot of highs and a few lows in its history. Many may have even worried, with Metroid Prime 4’s development concerns, that the franchise was on its way out the door. Yet, with Metroid Dread, Samus shuts said door on such thought. It’s clear there is demand and quality behind Samus’ story, and it’s a return to the heights for the franchise.
Metroid Series Metacritic Review Scores
This is especially true when looking at other review averages for games in the franchise. As it stands, Metroid Prime has the highest review average of every game in the franchise, coming in at 97 per Metacritic. The lowest, in contrast, is 2016’s Metroid Prime: Federation Force at 64. The ups and downs of the franchise are clearly quite evident, though that doesn’t mean each and every title isn’t cherished by some Metroid fans.
NOTE: The following average scores are pulled from Metacritic. Early titles such as Metroid, Metroid 2: Return of Samus, and Super Metroid are not included here.
- Metroid Fusion (2002) – Metacritic: 92
- Metroid Prime (2002) – Metacritic: 97
- Metroid: Zero Mission (2004) – Metacritic: 89
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) – Metacritic: 92
- Metroid Prime Pinball (2005) – Metacritic: 79
- Metroid Prime Hunters (2006) – Metacritic: 85
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007) – Metacritic: 90
- Metroid Prime: Trilogy (2009) – Metacritic: 91
- Metroid: Other M (2010) – Metacritic: 79
- Metroid Prime: Federation Force (2016) – Metacritic: 64
- Metroid: Samus Returns (2017) – Metacritic: 85
Looking at this as a chart, discounting Pinball as the odd low, it’s clear that there was a pretty strong run from 2002-2009, yet Other M and Federation Force saw the franchise drop lower than ever. Samus Returns is a well-beloved 3DS game, but it ties with Metroid Prime Hunters and wasn’t able to break 90.
Metroid Dread Reviews
When Metroid Dread reviews began dropping, it certainly seemed like it would be in the 90s on Metacritic. It hovered at 90 for a little while before, after 56 total critic reviews, the game settled on 88. Notably, its user score currently sits at 9.6 but is still open to change. While the 2 points for the Metacritic scores could be upsetting, the truth is this still puts it among Metacritic’s best Switch games of the year, just behind The House in Fata Morgana and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury.
Furthermore, it is still indicative of an upward trend. Anything could happen, of course, but as Samus Returns is 85 and Metroid Dread is 88, perhaps Metroid Prime 4 will hit the same highs as past Metroid Prime entries. At the very least, Metroid Dread paves the way and eliminates any potential doubt about the future of the franchise.
Metroid Dread is available now on Switch.
Source: Metacritic
