Metroid Dread controls - Nintendo Switch

Published October 8, 2021 3:15 PM, by Donovan Erskine

After a long buildup of anticipation, Metroid Dread is available now for the Nintendo Switch. As fans jump in, they’ll have to reacquaint themselves with the style of Metroid games in 2D. This includes learning how to pull off all of Samus’ maneuvers. Let’s jump in to take a look at the controls and keybindings in Metroid Dread.

Metroid Dread controls - Nintendo Switch

Samus has a lot of weapons and abilities in her arsenal, which you’ll want to master if you plan on taking down the slew of enemies that the game throws at you. Here is the full list of controls for Metroid Dread, as found in-game:

Attack controls

• Wave Beam: Y
• Diffusion Beam: Y (Hold)
• Grapple Beam: ZR (Hold) + Y
• Ice Missile: R (Hold) + Y
• Storm Missile: R (Hold)

Aeion controls

• Phantom Cloak: Right Stick Button
• Flash Shift: A (Hold) + Left Stick (Tilt)
• Pulse Radar: Right Directional Button

Morph Ball controls

• Morph Ball: ZL or Left Stick (Tilt) while crouched
• Bomb: Y (While in Morph Ball)
• Cross Bomb: R (Hold) + Y (While in Morph Ball)
• Power Bomb: R (Hold) + Y (Once fully charged while in Morph Ball)

Miscellaneous controls

• Spider Magnet: Left Stick (Tilt towards blue magnetic walls)
• Speed Booster: Left Stick Button (While running)
• Space Jump: B (During Spin Jump)

Unfortunately, you can not re-bind any of the controls in Metroid Dread. This shouldn’t come as a surprise though, as you can’t usually customize the control settings on the Switch like you can with a PC.

Those are all of the controls for Metroid Dread on the Nintendo Switch. It’s the first game in the series to be released for the Nintendo Switch, so there may be a bit of a learning curve as far as controls go. If you’re jumping into Metroid Dread, check out our topic page dedicated to the game for a series of helpful guides.