Metroid Dread Shinespark

As you progress through Metroid Dread you'll gain the Speed Boost ability, which lets Samus mow through enemies and structures like some sort of human missile. As part of this ability she is also able to "Shinespark". By holding down on the 'L' stick whilst in Speed Boost mode, Samus will glow purple and she can now stop running, walk around and manoeuvre herself into positions in order to launch herself in a chosen direction.

Shinespark only has a very limited duration of five seconds so you need to make sure you launch yourself where you want to quite quickly or else you'll need to start the whole procedure again.

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In the general run of gameplay this ability doesn't get much of a look in. However, once you start hunting down collectibles, you'll come across lots of little speed blocks stuck in all manner of hard to get to places and this is where it comes into its own.

Metroid Dread Shinespark 1

Metroid Dread - How does Shinesparking work?

To get the most out of both speed-boosting and shinesparking it's useful to know a few other details about how these mechanics work.

Firstly, while speed-boosting you will keep your momentum indefinitely until you either stop running OR change direction. However, you can still change direction by wall-jumping while still maintaining your boost. This is vital to puzzle successes later down the line.

Further to this, when Speed-boosting you can slide by tapping 'ZL' once or even go straight into a boost-charged Morph Ball by tapping the same button twice. These moves are also integral to nabbing some of the harder collectibles later on. In order to then leave Morph Ball form and still keep your boost, simply tap 'ZL' once and you're back to running upright.

Metroid Dread Shinespark 2

Whilst in Shinespark mode you can perform a midair charge by holding in 'Y'+'B' in your chosen direction. There seems to be some debate as to whether this is executed with just the 'B' button, but in our experience both are required to guarantee the move is performed exactly when you need it.

You can also go into Morph Ball form while in Shinespark mode and then hold the 'B' button in order to charge yourself up and push any direction to shoot off like a bullet and break whatever block it is you're aiming for.

Speed Boost and Shinespark are absolutely essential tools if you want to 100% the game and you should practice getting good at using them — we find shuttle hanger areas ideal for this — if you want to pick up every single item across ZDR. Good luck!

This guide is part of our Metroid Dread walkthrough and guide series, which includes all ability locations, all missile tank locations, all energy tank locations, all energy parts, all suit upgrades, all power bomb tanks, plus every compatible amiibo unlock, E.M.M.I. and boss battle tips, and other helpful tips to help you get through the game and get those post-game unlocks.