Welcome to Switch History, the feature series dedicated to rounding up the software updates for Nintendo’s various Switch games. In today’s piece, we’re highlighting the updates for 2021’s long-awaited masterpiece, Metroid Dread:
Update History:
Ver. 2.1.0 (Released April 7, 2022):
New Modes Added:
Three different boss rush modes have been added to the game. Press the R Button on the “Samus Files” screen to move to the Boss Rush selection screen.
Boss Rush:
- A mode where players fight 12 continuous boss battles, and aim for the best time.
- Any damage received is carried-over into the next fight. Weapons are fully-restored between battles.
- If Samus is defeated, players may select “Retry” to continue playing from the start of the battle they lost. There is, however, a time penalty for being defeated.
- Bosses fought in Boss Rush can be fought one-on-one at any time by selecting “Practice”.
*Unlocked by clearing the main game a single time. (In the event that a player has completed the game before the update was released, they will be able to play Boss Rush immediately after updating).
Survival Rush:
- A mode where players see how many bosses they can defeat inside of the 5 minute time limit.
- Any damage received, or weapons spent are carried-over into the next battle. Even if time remains on the clock, Samus being defeated will result in a game over.
- Defeating a boss will add a fixed amount of time to the countdown clock. Defeat a boss without receiving any damage to receive an even bigger time bonus.
*Survival Rush is unlocked by completing either Boss Rush or Dread Rush.
Dread Rush:
- The basic rules are the same as in Boss Rush, but if Samus is hit by a boss, her energy drops to zero and she is defeated.
- Bosses fought in Dread Rush can be fought one-on-one at any time by selecting “Practice”.
*Unlocked by clearing the main game using Dread Mode. (In the event that a player has completed Dread Mode before the update was released, they will be able to play Dread Rush immediately after updating).
General Fixes:
- Fixed an error where the Game Over screen would not display properly when Samus takes damage and is defeated immediately after destroying a central unit.
Ver. 2.0.0 (Released February 9, 2022):
New Difficulties Available:
- “ROOKIE MODE” has been added to the game. This is a mode suited towards new players, with the following adjustments:
- Dropped items from enemies now replenish greater amounts when picked-up.
- Damage received from Boss attacks has been lowered.
- Destructible Boss projectiles have been made easier to break than usual (excluding some attacks).
- Increased number of missiles available when beginning game.
- Made the finishing counters when defeating some Bosses easier to perform.
- Selected when starting a New Game, and choosing “SELECT DIFFICULTY”.
- “DREAD MODE” has been added to the game. This is an extremely high-difficulty mode, where any damage taken from enemies or traps will lead to an instant Game Over.
- Can be selected after clearing HARD MODE, when beginning a New Game, and choosing “SELECT DIFFICULTY”.
New Details Added to Results Screen:
- Several new details have been added to the results screen that appears after clearing the game. These new details will not appear, however, for game files that were started prior to updating the game.
General Fixes:
- Fixed an issue where Samus sliding down a surface and touching a frozen enemy would force the game to close, after the message “The software was closed because an error occurred” appears.
- Made several other fixes to improve playability and enjoyment of game.
Demo Update:
The following updates to the “Metroid Dread DEMO” are also now available (Ver. 2.0.0).
- The scale of the playable area has been expanded, with the Corpius boss fight now being available.
- Added “ROOKIE MODE”, a mode suited towards new players, where dropped items from enemies now replenish a greater amount, and bosses’ attack power has been lowered.
- Added “SELECT DIFFICULTY” options when beginning the demo.
Ver. 1.0.3 (Released November 16, 2021):
General Fixes:
- Fixed an issue where Samus’ damage detection would disappear under certain conditions.
- We made the decision to fix this issue because there is a possibility that it may occur unintentionally, and if it does, it will result in a play experience that is far different from the way Metroid Dread was originally intended to be experienced.
Ver. 1.0.2 (Released November 3, 2021):
General Fixes:
- Fixed an issue where retrying after a game over would cause the play time to be added only when retrying a specific boss fight.
- Fixed an issue where the game would force-quit if you hit an enemy frozen by an Ice Missile with the Shine Spark in a certain way.
- Fixed an issue that caused Samus to move strangely when jumping at certain times in the Morph Ball Launcher.
- Fixed an issue where the final boss would get stuck on a wall and not be able to move during a certain attack, making it impossible to progress in the game.
- Fixed an issue where Samus would get stuck in the wall when defeating the E.M.M.I. in Ferenia in a certain position.
Ver. 1.0.1 (Released October 21, 2021):
- Fixed an issue where, if a map marker is placed on a specific door on the map screen (the door destroyed with the beam obtained at the end of the game), destroying that door at the end of the game would cause the game to forcefully quit with the message “The software was closed because an error occurred”.
- Fixed several other issues to improve overall gameplay experience.
Source: Nintendo
