0:00:00.680,0:00:04.860 There’s something a bit strange about Metroid[br]Dread. 0:00:04.860,0:00:11.930 This is a full on Metroidvania. It takes place[br]in a sprawling, interconnected, ant farm of 0:00:11.930,0:00:18.110 a world. You’ll need to scour the map to[br]find Samus’s various abilities - and then 0:00:18.110,0:00:22.470 backtrack through the world to use those powers[br]to unlock new areas. 0:00:22.470,0:00:28.850 This is a game where you explore and navigate.[br]And unlike some games in the franchise, there’s 0:00:28.850,0:00:33.480 no one telling you where to go - you need[br]to figure it out for yourself. 0:00:33.480,0:00:39.460 And yet - I’m not sure I really figured[br]out anything for myself. When I played Metroid 0:00:39.460,0:00:44.300 Dread I seemed to just magically end up in[br]the right place. And I don’t think I ever 0:00:44.300,0:00:47.320 got lost for more than a few minutes. 0:00:47.320,0:00:53.160 How on earth does that happen? How is this[br]game both linear and non-linear… at the 0:00:53.160,0:00:56.719 exact same time? Something fishy’s happening[br]here. 0:00:56.719,0:01:00.140 So I decided to play through the game again. 0:01:00.140,0:01:05.780 This time, in true Boss Keys style, I did[br]it with a pen and paper and an analytical 0:01:05.780,0:01:08.770 eye. And what I realised was pretty interesting. 0:01:08.770,0:01:15.250 You see, behind the scenes, developer Mercury[br]Steam is using all sorts of clever tricks 0:01:15.250,0:01:20.950 and techniques to - essentially - guide you[br]through the game. To pull you through the 0:01:20.950,0:01:25.229 world of planet ZDR, like you’re tied to an invisible[br]rope. 0:01:25.229,0:01:30.490 And so in this video, I want to show you these[br]techniques - these tricks that make it easy 0:01:30.490,0:01:37.970 to find the way forward, and hard to get lost.[br]I’m Mark Brown, this is Boss Keys, and this 0:01:37.970,0:01:42.619 is why you didn’t get lost in Metroid Dread. 0:01:42.619,0:01:48.690 Check out this tiny bit of level design. Samus[br]can squeeze through this gap by using her 0:01:48.690,0:01:54.979 basic, built-in slide move. But at the other[br]end, she pops out of a hole that’s slightly 0:01:54.979,0:02:00.740 above the ground. That means she can’t slide[br]back through - and whatever’s on the left 0:02:00.740,0:02:08.009 side of this gap will be completely inaccessible[br]until much later on, when she finds the morph ball. 0:02:08.009,0:02:10.970 Until then, it’s a point of no return. 0:02:10.970,0:02:17.829 Now, Metroid Dread is absolutely full of these.[br]You’ll drop down into places where you can’t 0:02:17.829,0:02:23.159 jump back up, slide down hills that are too[br]steep to climb, plop into water that’s too 0:02:23.159,0:02:28.319 deep to swim out of, step on giant fidget[br]spinners that close off reverse access, walk 0:02:28.319,0:02:33.060 through giant doors that lock tight behind[br]you, and so on. And so on. 0:02:33.060,0:02:37.640 So what’s the point? Well, I think it’s[br]about combatting a Metroidvania problem that 0:02:37.640,0:02:43.109 I call the “ever expanding explorable area”.[br]And it’s basically this: at the start of 0:02:43.109,0:02:48.481 a Metroid game, you are restricted, by your[br]abilities, to a tiny part of the map. Which 0:02:48.481,0:02:53.349 means it’s not too difficult to find the[br]path forward. Like, after you get the missiles 0:02:53.349,0:02:57.219 in Super Metroid - even if you can’t figure[br]out where to go next, there’s literally 0:02:57.219,0:02:59.680 only 13 rooms to check. 0:02:59.680,0:03:05.099 But as the game goes on, and you uncover more[br]and more of the map, the explorable space 0:03:05.099,0:03:11.310 grows and grows. Once you find the power bomb[br]in that game, there are well over 100 rooms 0:03:11.310,0:03:16.350 accessible to you. Finding the path forward[br]can be an overwhelming prospect. 0:03:16.350,0:03:20.114 That's why it's called an EEEA.[br]That's the sound you make when you 0:03:20.114,0:03:23.741 realise the scale of the task ahead of you.[br]EEEA!! 0:03:23.741,0:03:29.400 But now look at Metroid Dread. We start the[br]game in Artaria - and travel through a whole 0:03:29.400,0:03:33.799 bunch of different areas - including a large,[br]maze-like EMMI zone. And a semi-submerged 0:03:33.799,0:03:39.089 cave system to the west. Then we get the Phantom[br]Cloak. And if we’re not sure where to use 0:03:39.089,0:03:42.680 it, do we need to check every single room[br]in Artaria? 0:03:42.680,0:03:48.269 No - because if you travel in the wrong direction,[br]you’ll find that this whole section of the 0:03:48.269,0:03:53.999 map is actually, completely inaccessible.[br]Three passageways are too tight to squeeze 0:03:53.999,0:03:59.760 through until you have the morph ball. And[br]in one room - a fiery plant has inexplicably 0:03:59.760,0:04:03.194 appeared, and it can’t be pruned without[br]the ice missiles. 0:04:03.194,0:04:06.973 So it means your explorable space is[br]actually pretty small. 0:04:06.973,0:04:11.650 And this is something that happens throughout[br]the game - at many, many points throughout 0:04:11.650,0:04:17.449 Metroid Dread, the designers temporarily lock[br]you into a small segment of the world map. 0:04:17.449,0:04:21.680 This makes it easier to find the way forward,[br]because you only need to keep a small part 0:04:21.680,0:04:27.349 of the map in mind at one time - your cognitive[br]load is pretty small. But it also makes it 0:04:27.349,0:04:32.919 very difficult to get lost because, when Metroid[br]Dread wants to - it can physically stop you 0:04:32.919,0:04:36.310 from going too far in the wrong direction. 0:04:36.310,0:04:40.120 For the most part, though, you’ll never[br]even know its happening as these points of 0:04:40.120,0:04:44.370 no return seamlessly appear behind you. 0:04:44.370,0:04:51.509 Okay, so Metroidvanias are about finding abilities[br]- the game’s keys, so to speak. And then 0:04:51.509,0:04:56.610 finding the place where those abilities are[br]needed to make progress - as in, the locks. 0:04:56.610,0:05:01.660 Now, most games in the genre sprinkle the[br]locks and keys all over the map, forcing you 0:05:01.660,0:05:06.669 to zig zag back and forth across the world.[br]You might find the Boost Ball in Phendrana 0:05:06.669,0:05:11.050 Drifts, but it’s used to unlock an area[br]all the way back in Chozo Ruins. 0:05:11.050,0:05:15.409 Now. Here’s the world map of Metroid Dread’s[br]planet ZDR. 0:05:15.409,0:05:21.569 I’m going to put the location of 13 of the[br]game’s 22 abilities on the map. And now, 0:05:21.569,0:05:26.870 I’m going to put the location of the rooms[br]where those abilities are needed to make progress. 0:05:26.870,0:05:31.620 And what you’ll see is that in all of these[br]cases, the lock is just around the corner 0:05:31.620,0:05:37.409 from the key. Literally, in the same biome.[br]So, you get the bomb in this part of Dairon, 0:05:37.409,0:05:42.650 and use it a few rooms over, also in Dairon.[br]You get the ice missiles on the west side 0:05:42.650,0:05:48.379 of Ghavoran, giving you access to a room on[br]the east side of Ghavoran. Get the cross bombs, 0:05:48.379,0:05:50.950 and they’re essentially needed next door. 0:05:50.950,0:05:55.821 This is surely intended to help with memory.[br]Because if the lock is somewhere you’ve 0:05:55.821,0:06:00.610 visited very recently - it’s still in your[br]working memory. Meanwhile, all those rooms 0:06:00.610,0:06:05.229 you visited at the beginning of the game?[br]They’re long forgotten. So, placing the 0:06:05.229,0:06:10.460 locks close to the keys makes it much, much[br]easier to make progress. 0:06:10.460,0:06:15.460 But it goes a bit further than that. In most[br]Metroidvanias, there are usually many locks 0:06:15.460,0:06:19.610 for each key - you get the Desolate Dive in[br]Hollow Knight, and now you can smash through 0:06:19.610,0:06:23.840 a whole bunch of floors, all over the world.[br]Typically, only one actually provides the 0:06:23.840,0:06:28.210 way forward - while the rest will lead to[br]optional pick-ups, secret bosses, or just 0:06:28.210,0:06:31.060 another locked door that you can’t open[br]yet. 0:06:31.060,0:06:36.110 That’s not always the case in Metroid Dread,[br]though. Like, once you get the Plasma Beam, 0:06:36.110,0:06:41.009 it’s not like you can now open loads of[br]locked doors all over ZDR. In fact, once you 0:06:41.009,0:06:46.460 get back out of Elun, you can only reach one[br]door in the entire world that’s locked behind 0:06:46.460,0:06:49.919 a plasma shield. Which is, yes,[br]the place you need to go next. 0:06:49.919,0:06:54.029 By reducing the number of locks you need to[br]remember, the game makes it easier to find 0:06:54.029,0:06:55.229 the correct path. 0:06:55.229,0:07:00.699 Now, I should state this is definitely not[br]true for every power-up in the game. The grapple 0:07:00.699,0:07:05.999 beam is a good counter example - the world[br]is full of places to use it, and once you 0:07:05.999,0:07:10.339 have the ability you can now find handy pick[br]ups, collect stuff you can’t use right now 0:07:10.339,0:07:15.349 - like this power bomb resource in Cataris,[br]and even get very early access to the game’s 0:07:15.349,0:07:17.560 optional power up, the pulse radar. 0:07:17.560,0:07:23.110 So, that’s technique two - Metroid Dread[br]makes it easier to find the correct path by 0:07:23.110,0:07:28.139 reducing the number of locks for each key[br]- and putting the most important lock, the 0:07:28.139,0:07:31.889 one that will push you further along the critical[br]path - close by. 0:07:31.889,0:07:39.830 But, I did say that this is for 13 of the[br]game’s 22 abilities - what about the other nine? 0:07:40.545,0:07:46.870 So, you get the morph ball in Cataris. You[br]need it to squeeze through here, back in Artaria 0:07:46.870,0:07:52.479 - which lets you find the Varia suit. And[br]then, the Varia suit is needed back in Cataris, 0:07:52.479,0:07:54.949 to withstand this superheated room. 0:07:54.949,0:07:59.780 That’s more like classic Metroid, right?[br]Bouncing back and forth around the world. 0:07:59.780,0:08:04.490 And it’s not the only time that happens.[br]You get the space jump in the north of Ferenia, 0:08:04.490,0:08:09.889 and need to use it in the depths of Burenia.[br]You get the screw attack in Artaria, and need 0:08:09.889,0:08:16.400 it to smash through blocks in Ghavoran. These[br]locks and keys are spread out across the world, 0:08:16.400,0:08:18.979 sending you zig-zagging across the planet. 0:08:18.979,0:08:22.479 That is, if it wasn’t for the game’s fast[br]travel system. 0:08:22.479,0:08:27.479 So when you get the morph ball in Cataris,[br]the most obvious place to use it is here - just 0:08:27.479,0:08:29.759 around the corner, in the same biome. 0:08:29.759,0:08:36.380 On the other side is a teleporter, which sends[br]you to Artaria - right next to the Varia suit. 0:08:36.380,0:08:42.649 You’re then led back to the same teleporter[br]- which sends you back to Cataris. And - wouldn’t 0:08:42.649,0:08:46.880 you know it, you’re just round the corner[br]from the superheated room that requires the 0:08:46.880,0:08:49.350 Varia suit. How fortuitous! 0:08:49.350,0:08:55.370 So, sure - the morph ball and Varia suit may[br]be miles apart from one another, but this 0:08:55.370,0:08:59.670 teleporter essentially puts them right next[br]door. And it’s the same for those other 0:08:59.670,0:09:04.100 lock and key pair ups I mentioned: the space[br]jump unlocks a teleporter to 0:09:04.100,0:09:09.180 Burenia. And the screw attack gives you access[br]to a nearby teleporter that will warp you 0:09:09.180,0:09:10.540 to Ghavoran. 0:09:10.540,0:09:15.630 So even if the lock is far away from the key,[br]Metroid Dread still makes it easy to make 0:09:15.630,0:09:20.170 progress by giving you a a teleporter that[br]will zap you to the right spot. 0:09:20.170,0:09:25.579 Plus this also has a nice, additional consequence[br]- that makes it even harder to get lost. 0:09:25.579,0:09:30.519 So as I said, after you get the morph ball[br]you can go left and find a teleporter to the 0:09:30.519,0:09:36.089 Varia suit area. But let’s say you go the[br]other way. You go right. You travel, by foot, 0:09:36.089,0:09:41.149 all the way through Cataris, take the elevator[br]down, and travel all across Artaria. Eventually, 0:09:41.149,0:09:46.250 you’ll end up in this room - which is the[br]other end of the teleporter, and the location 0:09:46.250,0:09:47.750 of the Varia suit. 0:09:47.750,0:09:52.490 As I said in the Hollow Knight episode, having[br]multiple routes to the next part of the critical 0:09:52.490,0:09:57.730 path can be a really good idea - it makes[br]it much easier to make progress because you’ve 0:09:57.730,0:10:02.560 now doubled the chances of the player finding[br]their way. And that’s what happens in Dread 0:10:02.560,0:10:07.440 - if you go left after finding the morph ball,[br]you’ll get to the Varia suit. If you go 0:10:07.440,0:10:12.850 right, you’ll get to the Varia suit. Same[br]either way. 0:10:12.850,0:10:17.420 You know the bananas in the Donkey Kong games?[br]Those tiny collectible items that you want 0:10:17.420,0:10:21.870 to pick up. Well, the level designers know[br]you want to pick them up, so they can use 0:10:21.870,0:10:26.350 them in all sorts of ways - like showing you[br]the right route to take, or teasing you to 0:10:26.350,0:10:28.899 stumble into shortcuts and secrets. 0:10:28.899,0:10:33.850 This is a technique I like to call “breadcrumbing”[br]- as in, providing little treats that lead 0:10:33.850,0:10:39.420 you wherever the designers want you to go.[br]And Metroid Dread does this a lot. 0:10:39.420,0:10:43.440 After you get the morph ball, you’ll be[br]tempted to go through here, to get a missile 0:10:43.440,0:10:48.829 upgrade. Then drawn up here, with another[br]missile upgrade. And then up here, to get 0:10:48.829,0:10:52.860 this energy tank - which leads up to the Varia[br]suit room. 0:10:52.860,0:10:56.720 Once you get the speed booster, you’ll want[br]to smash through this wall, to get an energy 0:10:56.720,0:11:01.130 tank part. And once you get the Flash Shift,[br]you’ll want to come back to this room to 0:11:01.130,0:11:07.639 get this Energy Tank - which happens to be[br]right under the door to the next part of the game. 0:11:07.639,0:11:11.380 After you get the screw attack, you may be[br]tempted to head left to blast through these 0:11:11.380,0:11:16.769 screw attack blocks and get a missile upgrade.[br]Which guides you to the elevator back to Burenia. 0:11:16.769,0:11:22.390 Here, you’re tempted to head left by more[br]screw attack blocks and another treat. And 0:11:22.390,0:11:27.700 then pulled upwards by more screw attack blocks[br]and yet another treat. All of which leads 0:11:27.700,0:11:31.519 you to a teleporter - and the place where[br]you need to use the screw attack to progress 0:11:31.519,0:11:32.519 the game. 0:11:32.519,0:11:37.799 So even though the screw attack is found in[br]Artaria and is needed all the way up in Ghavoran 0:11:37.799,0:11:41.670 - you are led there by a bunch of breadcrumbs. 0:11:41.670,0:11:46.010 Breadcrumbs don’t have to be upgrades, mind[br]you. Enemies on the other side of a wall can 0:11:46.010,0:11:50.899 encourage you to blast through hidden blocks.[br]And these small fireflies are just a visual 0:11:50.899,0:11:55.980 effect, but happen to hang around the doors[br]you need to enter to make forward progress. 0:11:55.980,0:12:00.079 Anything the game can do to grab your attention[br]and pull you in the direction of the critical 0:12:00.079,0:12:03.069 path - it will do it. 0:12:03.069,0:12:09.139 So I think those are the four main techniques[br]that Metroid Dread uses to make it easy to 0:12:09.139,0:12:12.880 find the path forward, and hard to get lost. 0:12:12.880,0:12:17.899 Points of no return trap you in small sections[br]of the map, to reduce your cognitive load 0:12:17.899,0:12:20.770 and stop you going in the wrong direction. 0:12:20.770,0:12:25.579 Putting the locks near the keys means the[br]way forward should always be in your working 0:12:25.579,0:12:31.650 memory. And if the lock isn’t nearby, there’s[br]probably a fast travel teleporter to get there. 0:12:31.650,0:12:36.290 And tempting breadcrumbs are used to guide[br]you through the world, from one ability to 0:12:36.290,0:12:37.290 another. 0:12:37.290,0:12:42.300 There are some other techniques too, of course.[br]Like, how these lights form a design language 0:12:42.300,0:12:47.250 to suggest where you should use the spin boost[br]and space jump. Or how memorable landmarks 0:12:47.250,0:12:52.750 lodge in your brain and tempt you to return[br]later. But those are the big ones. 0:12:52.750,0:12:57.839 And, for the most part, these techniques are[br]very effective at guiding you through the 0:12:57.839,0:13:02.389 game. I can watch back the footage of me playing[br]through Dread for the first time, and see 0:13:02.389,0:13:09.410 me falling into every trick and trap that’s[br]been engineered by the designers. It’s hilarious. 0:13:09.410,0:13:15.120 Of course, it’s not going to work 100% of[br]the time. You can still get turned around. 0:13:15.120,0:13:20.940 Not know where to go. Get stuck in a room[br]and proclaim it a crime against game design. 0:13:20.940,0:13:24.720 And, contrary to the clickbait title, yes[br]- you can get lost. 0:13:24.720,0:13:28.420 While the points of no return often lock you[br]into small areas, there are other parts of 0:13:28.420,0:13:33.509 the game where the world is much more open.[br]And tricks like breadcrumbs may not work on 0:13:33.509,0:13:35.649 every single player, every single time. 0:13:35.649,0:13:41.829 But, by and large, these techniques do work[br]to help you stay on track. The question, then, 0:13:41.829,0:13:46.770 is - are they a force for good? Do they make[br]the experience of playing Metroid Dread better 0:13:46.770,0:13:48.060 or worse? 0:13:48.060,0:13:54.460 Now, first, I should state that all Metroidvanias[br]use techniques like these to help you find 0:13:54.460,0:13:59.550 your way. Even Dread’s perhaps naughtiest[br]trick - the point of no return - can be found 0:13:59.550,0:14:04.459 in multiple places in Super Metroid - such[br]as this one-way door in Brinstar, and this 0:14:04.459,0:14:06.879 massive drop down into Norfair. 0:14:06.879,0:14:12.649 Subtle clues and directions stop Metroidvania[br]games from being tedious and annoying. So, 0:14:12.649,0:14:19.079 ultimately, it’s more down to their frequency[br]and intensity. And yes, Dread uses them often, 0:14:19.079,0:14:20.420 and quite aggressively. 0:14:20.420,0:14:27.009 But, ultimately, what you think of these techniques[br]will come to how - and why - you play Metroid 0:14:27.009,0:14:28.319 games. 0:14:28.319,0:14:33.730 There are those who play Metroid games primarily[br]for the action and atmosphere - and are less 0:14:33.730,0:14:36.040 interested in the exploration aspect. 0:14:36.040,0:14:41.850 If that’s the case, then Metroid Dread gives[br]you the feeling of exploring a large, interconnected 0:14:41.850,0:14:46.440 world - but with less risk of getting lost,[br]and without the need to get bogged down in 0:14:46.440,0:14:48.449 tedious backtracking and map-reading. 0:14:48.449,0:14:54.810 And, on top of that, you’ll find a game[br]that is alarmingly well paced - a whirlwind 0:14:54.810,0:15:00.160 tour of different abilities, biomes, and bitchin’[br]boss fights, where you’re always making 0:15:00.160,0:15:01.529 forward progress. 0:15:01.529,0:15:06.889 Then, there are those who play Metroid games[br]primarily for the joy of exploring and navigating 0:15:06.889,0:15:09.600 a complex spaghetti mess of a world. 0:15:09.600,0:15:14.620 If that’s the case, then Metroid Dread can[br]feel rather patronising. 0:15:14.620,0:15:18.810 At some point you’ll realise that you don’t[br]need to think too hard about navigation, because 0:15:18.810,0:15:22.889 the way forward is always pretty obvious.[br]So you can stop thinking so hard about this 0:15:22.889,0:15:27.600 stuff and just let the game whisk you off[br]to the next stop on its guided tour. And if 0:15:27.600,0:15:30.820 you care about navigation, that’s not much[br]fun. 0:15:30.820,0:15:35.779 Plus, when it comes to exploration, you may[br]find yourself attempting to break out from 0:15:35.779,0:15:40.170 the critical path to find items - only to[br]be rebuffed by points of no return. So you 0:15:40.170,0:15:45.000 may not bother to hunt down optional goodies[br]and secrets, even when the game does open 0:15:45.000,0:15:48.839 back up. You’ll just stick to the critical[br]path. 0:15:48.839,0:15:52.260 And then, there are those who play Metroid[br]games multiple times. 0:15:52.260,0:15:57.029 If that’s the case, then - sure, your first[br]go at Dread may be guided by an invisible 0:15:57.029,0:16:02.889 hand - but subsequent adventures are about[br]deliberately fighting against that hand. Using 0:16:02.889,0:16:07.439 the movement tech and bugs to break out of[br]the game’s sequence, and do things in a 0:16:07.439,0:16:09.269 better, faster way. 0:16:09.269,0:16:13.480 And its not like the developers are unaware[br]- if you manage to get the bombs before you’re 0:16:13.480,0:16:18.130 supposed to, you can insta-kill Kraid in a[br]special, secret cutscene. 0:16:18.130,0:16:23.430 For me, personally, I’m not really into[br]sequence breaking or speed-running. And while 0:16:23.430,0:16:28.370 I really dig the action and atmosphere of[br]Metroid games, my favourite bit has always 0:16:28.370,0:16:34.220 been navigation and exploration. So, as much[br]as I loved Dread’s combat and controls, 0:16:34.220,0:16:37.680 I did feel a bit let down by the game’s[br]world design. 0:16:37.680,0:16:42.529 I wanted to figure things out for myself - but[br]just stopped trying and let myself be guided 0:16:42.529,0:16:47.850 to the end. I wanted to explore - but, felt[br]trapped by points of no return, so ended up 0:16:47.850,0:16:53.990 with a paltry 39% completion rate. And I wanted[br]to feel deeply connected with this world - the 0:16:53.990,0:16:59.220 same way I feel about Hallownest, Zebes, and[br]Lordran - but that didn’t really happen. 0:16:59.220,0:17:05.370 So that’s me. What about you? What was your[br]experience on planet ZDR? And what sort of 0:17:05.370,0:17:11.299 Metroid player are you? Let me know, in the[br]comments down below. Thanks for watching.