In a recent Twitter thread of cover art, Nintendo showcased the evolution of theories have circled Samus’ Metroid Dread suit in recent months.
Metroid Dread launches on October 8, and Nintendo has ramped up its marketing and advertising for the game. These campaigns have been giving fans high hopes for the series' next installment, seeing as advertising of Metroid has been comparatively more sparse in the past - despite Metroid sitting among some of Nintendo’s most coveted franchises, like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. Prior to the announcement of Dread (and, to a lesser extent, Metroid Prime 4) there was concern that the Metroid franchise was being forgotten by Nintendo; but the game company appears to be breathing new life into one of its longest-running series after all.
The images on Nintendo's Twitter show Samus Aran as she appears in the key art of Metroid games. As is always the case, her vibrant power suit stands out. Each image shows a slight variance in her suit, but the message gleaned from her power pose is always the same: “The galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter. She never fails.” Nintendo announced the images with a “Galactic Federation Mission Assessment” that affirms Samus Aran is “active” in the galaxy, while the artwork suggests these assessments haven't changed since her introduction to the gaming world.
Metroid fans have spoken in circles about the plot of Dread since the game was announced at E3 2021. Since then, short teasers, trailers, cryptic messages, and some concept art are all Nintendo has provided. Last month, Nintendo released high resolution images of Super Metroid that really excited fans. It was a tender glance into the stylistic simplicity of gaming art in the 90’s. However, the most recently released Metroid Dread trailer - the most revealing one of them all - gave Metroid fans a decent overview of the game leading up to its release next month.
Whether players are veterans or new to Metroid, the newest installment in the franchise could be unlike any other game currently on modern consoles. It fuses nostalgia and new concepts, as well as classic 2D platformer with 3D, high resolution visuals. It also hosts fast, advanced gameplay mechanics that - really - only an icon like Samus might be able to keep up with. Those who have preordered the special edition of Metroid Dread will likely receive additional concept art like these images.
Source: Nintendo/Twitter