The announcement ofMetroid Dreada few months ago took many by surprise, especially given the tumultuousdevelopment ofMetroid 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 thatMetroid Deadreviews have poured in, it seems those high hopes have paid off.
Metroidis a beloved franchise, with a lot of highs and a few lows in its history. Many may have even worried, withMetroid Prime 4’s development concerns, that the franchise was on its way out the door. Yet, withMetroid 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.
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Metroid Series Metacritic Review Scores
This is especially true when looking at other review averages for games in the franchise. As it stands,Metroid Primehas the highest review average of every game in the franchise, coming in at 97 per Metacritic. The lowest, in contrast, is 2016’sMetroid Prime: Federation Forceat 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 someMetroid fans.
NOTE:The following average scores are pulled from Metacritic. Early titles such asMetroid, Metroid 2: Return of Samus, andSuper Metroidare not included here.
Looking at this as a chart, discountingPinballas the odd low, it’s clear that there was a pretty strong run from 2002-2009, yetOther MandFederation Forcesaw the franchise drop lower than ever.Samus Returnsis a well-beloved 3DS game, but it ties withMetroid Prime Huntersand wasn’t able to break 90.
WhenMetroid Dreadreviews 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’sbest Switch gamesof the year, just behindThe House in Fata MorganaandSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury.
Furthermore, it is still indicative of an upward trend. Anything could happen, of course, but asSamus Returnsis 85 andMetroid Dreadis 88, perhapsMetroid Prime 4will hit the same highs aspastMetroid Primeentries. At the very least,Metroid Dreadpaves the way and eliminates any potential doubt about the future of the franchise.
