Why Metroid Dread’s Ending Still Hits Five Years Later

Metroid Dread’s ending remains unforgettable

Five years after its 2021 release, Metroid Dread remains a standout revival of Nintendo’s Metroidvania series. Planet ZDR, the relentless EMMI robots and the demanding combat all leave an impression, but the finale gives the adventure its most enduring idea.

Spoiler warning: This article discusses major story details from Metroid Dread.

A retrieval mission turns into a survival horror story

The Galactic Federation sends Samus Aran to Planet ZDR after losing contact with its EMMI robots. The machines were dispatched to search for the universe’s last living X parasites, organisms that nearly killed Samus in Metroid Fusion and could become an invasive species if left unchecked.

The mission changes immediately when the Chozo warrior Raven Beak attacks Samus. She is abandoned deep underground without her power-ups and must navigate a hostile planet while the reprogrammed EMMI pursue her.

The robots are hunting Samus because of the Metroid DNA in her bloodstream. That DNA was used to save her life after an X parasite attack at the beginning of Fusion, but the treatment also transformed her biology into a new source of danger.

Samus becomes the threat she fears

Behind the Chozo history and wider science-fiction mythology, Dread tells a deeply personal story about Samus losing control of her own body. She is gradually becoming connected to the species she has spent much of her career destroying.

The earlier games establish why that transformation is so disturbing. The original Metroid treats the creatures as enemies, while Metroid 2: Return of Samus complicates that view when a baby hatches after Samus has eliminated the rest of the species. The quiet journey back to the surface gives players time to consider the extinction they have just caused.

Super Metroid makes the contradiction sharper when the baby Metroid sacrifices itself to save Samus. Across those games, Samus is both a hero and an instrument of destruction, used to eliminate the creatures that once appeared to be simple monsters.

That history gives a brief scene in Dread remarkable force. When an enemy attacks, Samus instinctively raises one arm to drain its energy as a Metroid would. She catches herself and fires with the cannon on her other arm instead. Her frightened expression shows that the danger is not merely external: her own body is beginning to act against her will.

The Metroid Suit turns victory into body horror

The conflict reaches its climax during the battle with Raven Beak. As Samus nears death, the Metroid DNA takes complete control. Her suit becomes a monstrous green form, and she defeats Raven Beak with overwhelming power.

The sequence is impressive, but it is also unnerving. Samus appears to become a Metroid, the species she helped drive towards extinction. The transformation can be viewed as an ultimate upgrade, yet it also leaves an uncomfortable question hanging over the battle: is Samus making these choices, or is animal instinct directing her?

That uncertainty makes the Metroid Suit feel more like a curse than a reward. Even after Samus returns to normal, she leaves ZDR as a hunted woman carrying the consequences of her past. The ending therefore works as more than a spectacular boss encounter; it connects identity, survival and transformation through Samus’ movement and abilities.

A darker future for Samus

The source material identifies next year’s follow-up as Metroid Ravenous, a 2027 2D entry developed by MercurySteam. Its first trailer reportedly continues Dread’s themes, showing Samus in a more animal-like state while making the energy-draining arm ability essential to survival.

The trailer also includes glimpses of the Metroid Suit, suggesting that Samus’ transformation will be more important in the next game. The key question is whether the Samus players know has disappeared, or whether she is learning to live with power inherited from a species humans unjustly massacred.

That direction could extend one of the series’ most compelling conflicts: Samus’ uneasy relationship with Metroidkind. For more gaming coverage, visit the RETROCADE Arcade Blog and browse the latest arcade videos.

While Metroid Dread is designed for a console, its movement, atmosphere and combat also show why focused game design translates so well to dedicated play spaces. Readers planning their own setup can compare arcade machines, consider compact bartop arcades or use the arcade parts range when refining an existing cabinet.