To answer the question posed in one of the earliest posts on this blog: yes, Metroid 6 HAD, in fact, just leaked!
Before I begin, I'd like to preface that I WILL be going into spoilers for Dread, so if you'd like to play it ahead of Ravenous's release, I'd suggest turning back now.
Anyways.
One of the biggest announcements from this month's Nintendo Direct was the announcement of the 6th entry in the 2D Metroid saga, Metroid Ravenous. Seemingly once again being handled by the incredibly talented folks over at MercurySteam, Ravenous continues the story from its predecessor, Metroid Dread, this time focusing heavily on Samus's new Metroid instincts that were awakened towards the end of Dread and served crucial to defeating Ravenbeak and escaping from ZDR.
We only got a taste of what Samus's new powers were capable of in Dread, but now we get to explore them over the course of an entire game in what looks to be the most visceral and intense Metroid title to date!
A lot of specific details are left vague, but it seems that the story this time will center on Samus getting stranded on a mysterious new planet after being attacked by a new group of samurai-esque antagonists. Her objective? Defy the odds and escape the planet alive through any means necessary.
The trailer puts a lot of emphasis on Samus's Metroid powers, which were mostly relegated to late-game cinematics and QTEs in Dread, but now seem to be fully under the player's control in Ravenous. Based on what we see in the trailer, it appears Samus will be able to drain the life force from enemies after performing a melee counter, and doing so appears to fill a new meter in the top left corner of the screen. It looks like this meter might represent Samus's health, as a shot late in the trailer shows a chunk being taken out of it when she gets hit by a heavy attack. However, this same shot also features a second meter in the top-right corner of the screen, with what looks like a flame icon in the middle, that gradually depletes as Samus fires off shots that have fiery-looking particle effects. It's also worth noting that some shots have a snowflake-looking icon below the top-left meter. Could we be seeing multiple kinds of elemental ammunition in this game?
The HUD in general just looks way different than it has in any other 2D Metroid game, and it's hard to tell what any of it means without more information, but based on what we can see in the reveal trailer, it wouldn't surprise me if Ravenous's handling of elements like energy and missiles is a departure from the norm.
It would appear that Aeion Abilities are returning as well, with Dread's Flash Shift in particular seemingly appearing multiple times throughout the trailer, which I find exciting as that was one of my favorite abilities in Dread. And while it could only be used horizontally in Dread, it would appear that you'll be able to shift vertically in Ravenous as well, which would significantly increase its already high level of utility.
We also see scenes where Samus is running on top of water, and one where she's subjected to increased gravity, which not only slows her down, but appears to make her missiles come crashing down after firing, kind of like in Fusion's Nightmare fight. Based on the purple hue of both the area in-game and on the minimap in the latter shot, I'd assume this is a new environmental condition that'll be present in some areas, one that will likely be nullified by an upgrade at some point.
Then there's the final few scenes of the trailer, which show Samus's suit transforming into the Metroid Suit, which I'd have to imagine will have far more gameplay screentime in this one. And as expected, it looks stupidly powerful. It's unknown exactly what role the Metroid Suit will have in Ravenous's gameplay, whether it'll be reserved for boss fights and key moments, or perhaps a time-limited super mode you can enter after filling a meter or something, or something else entirely! We'll have to wait for more information on that as well.
Perhaps the most intriguing scenes show a third-person over-the-shoulder view of Samus walking through a parted crowd of what appears to be Chozo Soldiers?? A second scene from assumedly the same sequence shows an imposing, winged figure descending from above, with what looks like two strands of red fabric draping from their body. It looks strikingly like Raven Beak to me, which has me believing this is some sort of flashback. It's very likely a non-playable cinematic given the 3D, over-the-shoulder perspective that's completely different from the main 2D gameplay.
Though, it could very well not be a flashback, and this figure could simply be a new character. For a while I was under the impression that, with the deaths of Quiet Robe and Raven Beak in Dread, the Chozo had gone completely extinct, but I've since learned that that may not be the case. There's a lot of details of the current story that I'm fuzzy on, so I definitely intend to replay Dread before Ravenous comes out to get up to speed, as well as to experience the story with the added context of Fusion. Regardless, though, it seems the Chozo will once again play a role in Ravenous. Perhaps not as large of a role as in Dread, but they will have a role all the same.
All that said, I'm super excited to see where the story goes in this one. I think the story-telling is a highly underrated attribute of the Metroid series, and this one should be interesting in that Dread, if I remember correctly, was intended to be the conclusion to that story arc that began with Metroid NES all those years ago. That would make Ravenous the beginning of a brand new story arc for 2D Metroid, which is exciting to think about. What that entails, though, I'm not sure, especially considering this game seems to be a pretty direct logical continuation of Dread.
There's probably more I could go into, but we'd be here all day. This reveal trailer has a ton packed into it with very little in the way of concrete details. Though, we shouldn't have to wait long at all to hear more, as the game is launching REALLY soon. January 28th, 2027, to be exact. That's 4 months away. I totally anticipated this being a Spring or Summer title, so getting it so soon was a really nice surprise. That, and it's kind of jarring to see a substantial Nintendo release in January. That month is usually reserved for smaller games and ports/remasters, with the one exception I can think of off hand being Pokemon Legends Arceus back in 2022.
The game is also launching alongside a trio of amiibo figures, depicting this game's standard iteration of Samus, a Chozo Statue (which is an interesting choice), and Samus in her Metroid Suit, though that one seems to be exclusively available as part of the game's Special Edition, which includes the physical game, a steel book, and the aforementioned Metroid Suit amiibo for $119.99. Fifty extra dollars for an amiibo and steel book is pretty dang steep, I must say.
Regardless, though, this was the one thing I REALLY wanted to see out of this most recent Direct, and it delivered in a big way! Metroid has lowkey been one of my favorite Nintendo franchises lately, and having recently been super into playing the 2D games, Ravenous is coming around at the perfect time for me. Not only does it look like another MercurySteam masterclass, but we'll be playing it very soon, and I cannot wait to learn more as we get closer to launch!
