Following the excellent Metroid Dread , we now have a new 2D Metroid game on the way for the Switch 2, and it already looks very impressive indeed.

Again, it seems that MercurySteam is back, making Metroid Ravenous , and it’s worth unpacking what that means for newer players.

MercurySteam started back on Metroid with the 3DS remake of Metroid II , called Samus Returns . This was a very well-made game, but weirdly gave Samus newer powers that she wouldn’t have had at that point in the timeline.

In short, the game was good, but it didn’t fit functionally with the other 2D Metroid games in terms of the overall story.

Cue Metroid Dread , a game that had been in development hell for actual decades , but MercurySteam managed to land one of the best 2D Metroid games in recent memory.

The prior abilities that seemed out of place in Samus Returns made total sense for Metroid Dread , which was a direct sequel to Metroid Fusion .

Metroid Dread was also a much more technical action game than prior Metroid entries, and it’s this that brings me to Metroid Ravenous .

The new trailer (shown below) reveals that the twitch-tastic and frame-perfect combat is back with a vengeance. While I definitely enjoyed Metroid Dread , I did find some of the later boss fights a bit of a chore, as they were overly exacting in places.

For me, Metroid is an eerie treasure hunt surrounded by weird alien monsters, and not so much a fabulous display of toreador-esque action prowess.

That said, Metroid Dread definitely had that eerie treasure hunt in spades, so I may be getting ahead of myself and jumping the gun on whether Ravenous will lack similar pacing.

I am happy to see the return of the new Metroid form for Samus’s power suit , though, which was briefly unlocked at the end of Metroid Dread .

Not to mention that Samus now has to devour her enemies more directly, which again will likely tie into her Metroid DNA that was introduced in Metroid Fusion .

In any case, Metroid Ravenous looks amazing and will be released for the Switch 2 on January 28, and I really can’t wait to play it.

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