Metroid Dread lives up to its title as one of the scariest Metroid games yet, and that can be largely attributed to the E.M.M.I. robots that menace Samus throughout the game. Regularly encountered through Dread, the E.M.M.I. patrol certain areas and will pursue Samus relentlessly if they see her. Sections featuring them are always intense and fast-paced.
While Metroid Dread does an excellent job of creating a tense and mysterious atmosphere, the E.M.M.I. easily stands out as the most frightening part of the game. They provide a relentless antagonistic force unlike anything that Samus has encountered in previous adventures, and that fact alone makes them unsettling. Their relentlessness plays a role in Metroid Dread's high difficulty, and every layer of them reveals another reason why they are such terrifying foes to face.
Part of the eeriness of the E.M.M.I. units in Metroid Dread is that they weren't designed to be lethal in the first place. They were created by the Galactic Federation as research droids, designed to take samples from distant worlds and bring them back for analysis. This is shown in their full name, Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier. However, the units that Samus encounters became corrupted and diverted from their original mission. Their new programming leads them to use their equipment and abilities that were designed to survey and study in order to hunt and kill Samus, a task that they prove scarily adept at. Samus quickly realizes this, and knows that against an E.M.M.I in Metroid Dread, surviving the encounter is all that matters.
The E.M.M.I. Are Dangerous Enemies In Metroid Dread's ZDR
Metroid Dread's E.M.M.I. are also unnerving in their behavior. They rotate segments of their bodies 360 degrees and beyond and crawl around like spiders despite their rather humanoid shapes. The eeriness is only amplified by the odd beeping sounds that they make on patrol. Most disturbing, however, is what they do once they catch Samus. After trapping her, they will open up their faceplates. If Samus does not counter at just the right moment, then a large needle will emerge from the E.M.M.I.'s face and impale Samus through the chest, instantly killing her. It's quite horrifying to see Samus, one of gaming's most respected heroines, killed in a split second. Samus battles monsters like Experiment No. Z-57 without fear in Metroid Dread, but the E.M.M.I. are another type of monster entirely.
Quite possibly the most fear-inducing aspect of the E.M.M.I. is how powerful they are in Metroid Dread. Said to be made of the strongest substance in the universe, they are immune to all forms of damage with the exception of temporary power-ups that are rare and only allow Samus one shot to destroy them. In all other situations, the only thing that Samus can do when she encounters an E.M.M.I. is run away until she escapes its patrol zone. To put this into perspective, Samus has fought several forms of intergalactic evil, including putting down the schemes of Ridley and the space pirates several times. However, even for someone of her power and experience, the only thing she can do when faced with an E.M.M.I is run. Even knowing that Samus can kill the E.M.M.I. in Metroid Dread is little comfort considering how rare the opportunity is. That speaks volumes of how nightmarish of a foe they are.
In her legendary career, Samus has fought all sorts of enemies, but the E.M.M.I. have easily proven to be some of the most dreadful things she has faced. As implacable robotic pursuers, they are a very different threat for the series, and an extremely effective one. All in all, the E.M.M.I. do plenty to ensure that Metroid Dread is ed as the franchise's most frightening experience.