Metroid: Dread is really out! As the first new 2D Metroid game in years, and fans are overjoyed that the game radiates the same amount of quality that earlier games in the series used to draw in players for the very first time. However, there are still some glaring issues with the game upon release that indicate some much larger, much more worrying ones going on behind the scenes. First and foremost, players should keep an eye out for a game-breaking glitch near the end of the game which can actually block off progress entirely. The bug occurs when a player tries to destroy a specific door in the game while it has a map marker attached to it. If this does happen, the game will forcibly closeout and display an error message, booting players out of one of the most tense lead-ups in the game. Issues like this one ruin the game’s atmosphere and immersion, both of which were and still are integral parts of what makes Metroid games… Metroid games.
Beyond these issues with the game itself, it begs the harder question: Just how did a bug like this slip through play-testing? It’s an indicator for a rushed development process, which is strange considering just how long its’ been since the game entered development. Luckily, Nintendo is aware of the glitch and has issued a statement on their support site acknowledging the bug and explaining how to avoid it. Nintendo affirmed that an upcoming patch should fix the issue entirely, but until then asked players to avoid destroying the game-breaking door while it has a map marker attached to it, which should circumvent the problem entirely.
We are aware of an error in the Metroid Dread game that prevents the player from proceeding when the specific sequence below is followed near the end of the game. We are preparing a software update to prevent this error, which should be available in October 2021.
Beyond in-game issues, however, Metroid: Dread is also reportedly missing developer’s names in the game’s credits. As Gamespot reports, the game’s lead developer MercurySteam left any employees who had worked on the game for less than 25% of it’s development out of the end credits. This might sound okay, if a little shady, but many of MercurySteam’s team has come forward to say that their work, despite being clearly visible in the final product, has gone uncredited. Scene designers and animators alike have been excluded from the credits, which MercurySteam seems to have absolutely no problem with according to the statement they game Gamespot:
A game development is a complex, hard and exhausting endeavor. We understand any of us needs to contribute at a minimum to it, to be accredited in the final product. Thanks for your interest.
According to MercurySteam, despite the final game using animations and designs created by certain developers, those developers still have not made their “minimum” requirements for being featured in the credits. Unfortunately, it looks like the designers behind some portions of Dread will remain intentionally uncredited by MercurySteam.