Nintendo has posted a workaround for a Metroid Dread progression bug that crashes the game, while promising that a game update will be released to fix this issue by the end of October.
The bug rears its ugly Kraid-like head toward the end of the Metroid Dread’s story, crashing the game with an error that reads “The software was closed because an error occurred.”
The trigger for this is the use of the game’s map markers, which let you highlight and label specific door types on the map. If you use this and then interact with specific door types, the game will crash. Thankfully, the workaround is pretty straightforward. In fact, there’s basically just one step, as outlined by Nintendo:
- Restart the game and, before playing through this sequence, remove the door icon map marker to prevent this error from occurring.
Even with the workaround and knowledge of the issue, it could be quite a painful bug to encounter thanks to the way that Metroid Dread handles save data. While the game does make save points at various moments before boss battles and before entering dangerous EMMI zones, these are only temporary. To save between game sessions, you need to get to a designated save room and backup your progress. If you’re hit by this issue and have to reload the game, you’ll be sent back to the most recent save room, and not the last checkpoint you encountered, potentially wiping out a healthy chunk of game time.
Metroid Dread (outside of this thankfully quite minor minor issue) is excellent, and a glowing return for the series in its side-scrolling form. Continuing the story from the 19-year-old Metroid Fusion, and mixing it with modern gameplay intruded in Metroid: Samus Returns, it’s a must-buy for any fan of the series. In our Metroid Dread review, I wrote:
“Metroid Dread sees the galaxy’s best bounty hunter return in fine form. It takes the terror of being hunted from Metroid Fusion, the more modern direction of Samus Returns, and the freedom to add to the series’ decades of lore to create something that’s nigh on essential for Metroid fans.”
Source: Nintendo
