5/5 ★ – TheHBJK's review of Metroid Dread.

Best Switch game ever? What a joy this was, I’ve never played much metroidvania type games, let alone a Metroid game, until I played Prime right before this, but this hit all the right notes for me. From the incredibly suffocating atmosphere, to the expert level design, the platforming, the shooting, it all feels so good on every conceivable level, the developers were on their A game working on this. The EMMI’s were absolutely horrifying, and I love my horror games so this was much appreciated, and taking them down one by one was so fucking satisfying. And the boss fights? Almost every single one of them is an all timer, especially Experiment Z-57 & the final boss, Raven Beak. Both are probably in my top 5-10 boss fights of all time. They were both incredibly challenging & rewarding, and my god they’re visually stunning and cinematic too. The length is perfect too, standing at roughly 10 hours long, this game comes around, lets you explore all you want, take down all the bosses, get every upgrade and new item possible, and then guides you through lightly to the end and wraps up beautifully. I’m stunned, an absolute masterpiece and everything I could’ve ever wanted from the Metroid series.