Free Metroid Dread Updates Set the Stage for Bigger DLC

gamerant.com:

The February 2022 Nintendo Direct brought news on a whole host of the company's biggest franchises. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was conspicuously absent, but in its place were trailers for upcoming Kirby, Fire Emblem, Splatoon, and Xenoblade games, as well as reveals for fans of the Wii Sports, Mario Kart, and Mario Strikers franchises. Among these names, MercurySteam's acclaimed Metroid Dread also got another moment in the spotlight.

Metroid Dread was highly anticipated following its reveal at E3 2021, standing as the first new 2D Metroid game after 2002's Metroid Fusion and promising to wrap up a story in development since the NES era. Its success was self-evident, breaking franchise sales records and even being nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021. With this in mind it's no surprise that Metroid Dread is receiving free updates, which offers hope that even more substantial content may be in the pipeline amid fans' long wait for Metroid Prime 4.

Every Game Featured at The February 2022 Nintendo Direct

Though it's great to hear Metroid Dread is receiving new content, the slate of updates are not groundbreaking. The trailer at yesterday's Direct first revealed a free update that would launch later that night, adding two new difficulty modes to Metroid Dread. One is «Dread Mode,» which can be unlocked after completing the game in Hard Mode and asks players for perfect execution under threat of one-hit kills. The other is «Rookie Mode,» which increases how much health is recovered via items and decreases boss damage. According to an official Nintendo news post about the update, «This is a great choice for those who would prefer less intense action» and want to lean into its exploration elements.