Both Metroid Dread and Elden Ring have become highly anticipated titles, as their franchises have had a great impact in the video game industry, even responsible for the creation of two popular subgenres: Metroidvanias and Soulsbornes. While games usually fall under more than one category, there are usually some characteristics that offer something like a family resemblance to some titles. This could make it difficult to tell if a game was influenced by another, especially when it comes to franchises with big fandoms. Nevertheless, it is clear that many games have adopted elements from the Metroid and Souls titles.
Now that Nintendo is about to release Metroid Dread, and FromSoftware will launch Elden Ring next year, many fans have grown more excited. However, Elden Ring seems to have gotten more attention from the general gaming crowd, both because of the game itself and the fact that George R. R. Martin is involved in the creation process.
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The term Metroidvania comes from two classic games: Metroid and Castlevania. Among other things, Metroidvanias are have a non-linear progression. This means that instead of having a level system, players find new abilities as they explore, allowing them to go back to other parts of the map that were previously inaccessible. Metroid worked precisely like this, as it would allow players to move forward to different areas, but it required additional equipment to explore them in their entirety.
On the other hand, Soulsborne encompass titles created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and FromSoftware: Bloodborne and the Souls saga. Sometimes people refer to games as being "Soulsborne-like" for their difficulty, as the games that FromSoftware has created are considered harder than most. Even though most categorize Demon's Souls and the Dark Souls franchise (and Sekiro at times) as a unique series, each game has its own story, and mostly they are grouped in the Soulsborne category because of their similar dynamics and gameplay.
What has made Elden Ring particularly popular is George R. R. Martin's collaboration in the development of the game's narrative. Many expect the game to have a compelling and complex story, similar to Game of Thrones. Additionally, Elden Ring features an open-world system bound to make the game considerably longer and potentially more complex.
While all of these characteristics are exciting, there is not a lot of information about the game yet and, so far, it does not seem like Elden Ring will be too innovative compared to prior entries. Furthermore, as Elden Ring is not a sequel of any other game in the Soulsborne family, fans of the other FromSoftware titles have nothing to look forward to in terms of lore development for pre-existing universes.
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There is no denying that the Soulsborne legacy has had a great impact in the gaming industry since the release of Demon's Souls in 2009. However, Metroid is a huge franchise that has been around ever since the eighties, and has gathered a large number of fans over the years. Even though some titles in the Metroid saga have received better press than others, Metroid's success overall is undeniable.
The effects of Metroid's revolutionary systems can still be seen in games today. One of the biggest ways in which the franchise was ahead of its time is that Metroid's protagonist is a woman. That is particularly noteworthy because of the sci-fi nature of the game. Even today there are not as many female protagonists in video games as there are male. Metroid's protagonist, Samus Aran, is an iconic character who is one of the headlining, recurring fighters in the Smash Bros. franchise.
Another way in which Metroid has impacted the game industry is its dark narrative and lore. Metroid managed to convey a complex story through visual details that was particularly outstanding when the original game was created. It is no secret that Metroid was heavily influenced by the movie Alien, which is a classic titles in horror cinema. As a result, Metroid also showed dark and hostile environments with threatening, otherworldly beings. Despite being a Nintendo title, Metroid was a particularly dark video game.
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One of the biggest reasons why fans are excited about the upcoming Metroid Dread is because of the lore that has been established in previous games. While the premise of the game in which Samus is a bounty hunter fighting extraterrestrial beings is simple, the backstory each game delves into is definitely intriguing. Particularly, there are many mysteries in Metroid surrounding the civilization responsible for the Metroid.
The Chozo are presented as a very intelligent, bird-like lifeform. Throughout the Metroid series, players have gotten the chance to know more about the Chozo. The saga established that the Chozo created the Metroid in an attempt to fight space pirates and bring peace to the galaxy. The Metroid were overseen by an artificial intelligence known as Mother Brain, which was also created by the Chozo. Unfortunately, Mother Brain becomes hostile and uses the Metroid to gain power. However, the games have not clarified almost anything about why the Chozo disappeared.
Given the Chozo are a huge part of Metroid's backstory, any details about them can add complexity and depth to the lore. This is why with the latest Metroid Dread teaser in which Samus seems to find hieroglyphs, many are expecting to learn more about the ancient civilization. The prospect of the upcoming Metroid title delving into the Chozo's demise is enough to have many fans excited. Furthermore, discovering more about the Chozo could potentially clarify many of the mysteries that have been left unsolved since Metroid's release 35 years ago. That should earn Metroid Dread more hype than another take on the Soulsborne genre, even if it's sure to have an interesting narrative too.
Metroid Dread launches October 8, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
Elden Ring launches January 21, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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