Speedrunning is nothing new to Metroid. Ever since the original game locked endings, or increasingly bare outfits for Samus, behind completion times, there has been an enthusiasm for finishing the games as quickly as possible. Metroid Dread is no exception. What makes the new release novel is the explicit encouragement from developers MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD by rewarding classic speedrunning techniques with hidden content. A clever sequence break makes fighting Kraid, an early boss fight, significantly easier.

Sequence breaking is when a player goes out of the main path, which they are supposed to go down, in order to get powerful items earlier in the game than intended for most players. Sometimes, sequence breaks rely on glitches. Clipping through a wall or exploiting a tricky jump can allow access to new areas. Sometimes though, they rely on a thorough knowledge of how the game works and a little extra skill to navigate a tricky area.

In Metroid Dread, grabbing a couple items early will let you defeat Kraid significantly more quickly. This technique requires no meta-game trickery, implying that the designers explicitly intended players to utilize the exploit. As outlined by YouTuber TheSeventhForce, the technique requires that the player obtain the series' iconic grapple beam ahead of time. The beam allows Samus to pull items out of the way and to hook on to grapple points. Using the beam enables Samus to make her way to the Morph Ball Bombs. Without the exploit, players will only find the bombs after the Kraid fight, but a little maneuvering will help grab them early.