Samus has done it now. At this point in Metroid Dread, the X Parasites are freely roaming the planet, and in a desperate bid to finish Samus off, have decided to stop all thermal venting activities, thereby freezing Artaria over. This can be remedied by defeating the X Parasite behind it all, Experiment Z-57 — but as you might have already guessed, this boss definitely has more bite than bark.
Reaching Z-57 requires Artaria to have frozen over, which means that you must have obtained the Gravity Suit. There is only one route to Z-57, because Artaria’s flash-freeze has locked many pathways. Follow the route to Cataris, and from there, travel to the southeast. You will find a Morph Ball launcher, which will take you straight to the boss.
Z-57 has a few attack patterns, listed below:
- Double Swipe: Z-57 raises a tentacle in one corner of the room and swipes diagonally. To avoid, simply go to the opposite side and Phase Shift towards the attack. This attack will always be done twice in a row, coming from both sides.
- Laser Barrage: Z-57 vomits a laser that leaves behind damaging creep on the floor. One safespot will always appear, but you have to wait for Z-57 to pause its attack before you can jump to it.
- Side Laser Barrage: Z-57 posts on one side of the room and does a vertical version of the Laser Barrage. Get near its head and wait for the attack to end — you will have a counter opportunity. During the counter sequence, unload with as many missiles as possible.
- Quad-grip: Z-57, after taking enough damage, will grip the walls of the room with its tentacles. Lock on to all of them with Storm Missiles to get rid of this phase.
- Wave Barrage: Z-57, after falling from the quad-grip, will spit out both a wind and a series of projectiles. You will need to run to the right and jump through the gaps in the projectiles, similar to a Flappy Bird mini-game.
- Triple Swipe: Similar to the Double Swipe, Z-57 will add a third swipe that cleaves both sides of the room. The only safespot is directly in the middle.
Once you’ve taken out Z-57, you are well on your way to getting the best upgrade in the game — the Screw Attack.
