#7: Metroid Dread
I expected to love Metroid Dread, but not this much. Some games just grab me and won't let me go and I just can't stop playing them. I ended up playing through Dread 6 times in a row. I usually don't do that. I played Super Metroid and Metroid: Samus Returns before. Both great games but they both can't compare to how fluid and smooth Dread plays.
With excellent level design that guides you through the game often without you realizing it and awesome cinematics this game was exactly what I wanted it to be. The EMMI are scary (the yellow one still makes me shit myself with it's speed) and the design of the other enemies is great with the X-parasite versions of many looking very cool. The bosses are puzzles that ar first are very hard, seemingly impossible, but then turn out to be pretty easy and when you obliterate them you feel like the ultimate badass. Samus body language and facial expressions seal the deal on that. Everything is greatly animated and the sound design is superb. Especially in the EMMI zones and with the EMMI themselves. The Experiment Nr. Z-57 is my favorite boss with how epic the fight is and for me it was the hardest too.
The story is surprisingly well told with a great twist at the end, unless you paid attention and noticed that it wasn't Adam giving xou instructions anymore. I didn't realize and was blown away followed by being blown away by one of the best final boss fights I've ever experienced. A fight truely worthy of Raven Beak. He is an excellent main antagonist. He has like Samus a bunch of his own power ups and attacks that he makes full use of. After seeing him rip his second wing of while keeping eye contact with Samus I think he's at least as badass as Samus herself. A worthy oponent. Samus turning into a Metroid is awesome and the way she grabs Raven Beak and drains the entire ship of it's energy is fantastic.
Samus' portrayal in Metroid Dread is perfect. Strong, badass and tired of this shit. The only scene in which she speaks it's in Chozo.
Metroid Dread is a masterpiece in game design, my favorite metroidvania and my favorite game of 2021.
