Some players might fear getting a softlock in Metroid Dread. There aren’t any waypoints and only general instructions on what to do, so there may be times it seems like players just need to start the game over. Those wondering if their Metroid Dread save is softlocked should read on to get back on track.
Can you softlock in Metroid Dread?
Yes, players can softlock in Metroid Dread in Ferenia due to a glitch.
It’s normally not possible to softlock in Metroid Dread. Some players might get stuck in a situation where they don’t know where to go, but that’s just the game’s way of funneling them in a particular direction. However, there is a glitch in the game at launch (which will likely be patched soon) that can cause a softlock. We’ll detail it below, just be warned that there are some minor spoilers.
There is one particular part of the game early on where it might seem like the player has softlocked. This is after defeating the first boss and making it to Cateris for the first time. Most of the locations on Artaria will be blocked off, and the paths available in Cateris will seem like they’re unpassible. However, there is a way forward, which we detail here.
Other than the above instance, we’ve managed to find our way forward without much confusion. As stated above, Metroid Dread does funnel the player into the next area by closing off previous routes. This can make it seem like the player has made a mistake, but this isn’t the case. We never had the game block an area we needed to get to at that specific point in the game.
If it does seem like the game has softlocked, there are a few tips that players can follow to figure out where they need to go:
- Remember one of the first things the game teaches: when in doubt, blast walls.
- Use the map, placing the cursor over a specific type of door and pressing Y will highlight every instance of that door a player has discovered.
- If a room is flashing on the map, it means there’s something still there.
While we managed to make it through the game without softlocking, there is currently a glitch that allows the player to leave an area prematurely. This prevents a passage from being opened which makes it impossible to progress further.
Twitter user @XCadril contacted us and stated that they softlocked the game by doing the following:
- Watched the cutscene with Quiet Robe in Ferenia where they opened the new path in Berenia.
- Fought the Chozo Robot but died.
- Instead of restarting the boss fight, they left and spoke with ADAM again in the network room.
- They saw the shortcut wasn’t opened and went back to fight the Chozo Robot.
- After defeating the Chozo Robot they returned to the passage Quiet Robe opened in Berenia and it was still blocked.
It seems like the passage in Berenia isn’t actually opened until the Chozo Robot is defeated. So, as far as we can tell, players MUST defeat the Chozo Robot after the cutscene and before talking to ADAM in a network room. To make sure players don’t get softlocked, they should fight the boss as soon as it appears. Unfortunately, if this occurs, the only way to fix it is to start the game over.
