X-POSITION DUMP

The Metroid series has always upheld a tightly serialised narrative, at least by Nintendo standards, and Dread is no exception. As you might expect from a game presented as the saga’s grand finale, it’s thick with returning story elements: X parasites; Chozo lore; Samus’ Metroid-infused DNA; even Adam, the AI incarnation of Other M’s least-admired character. Still, newcomers shouldn’t feel too lost. The game opens with a comprehensive ‘previously on’, in the style that’s been used since Super Metroid, and while the plot’s twists and turns do build on what has come before, it’s all easy enough to follow. The same can’t be said of the game’s opening cutscene, though, which somehow takes the classic ‘Samus arrives on planet, faces unbeatable foe, loses powers’ setup and turns it into a confusing, non-linear jumble.