How To Avoid Metroid Dread's Fatal Door Glitch

After keeping fans waiting for over a decade for a new mainline "Metroid" title, Nintendo released "Metroid Dread" to critical acclaim on October 8. Though reviewers praised everything from its pacing and atmosphere to its soundtrack and epic boss fights, Samus' return to the spotlight came with some quirks and unpleasant developments. Players have reported a particularly nasty surprise that manifests during the "Dread" endgame, bringing their sessions to a grinding halt at a point when pacing can make or break an experience.

In the final stretch of "Metroid Dread," multiple people have encountered a bug that forces the game to shut down, accompanied by the message "The software was closed because an error occurred" after destroying a specific door. Nintendo acknowledged the problem in a tweet on October 14, apologizing for the frustration it has caused and promising a fix by the end of the month. If you'd prefer not to wait multiple weeks to finish the 2D action-adventure, Nintendo also provided a workaround, detailing what causes the error and the best way to avoid it.

According to a Nintendo support page, destroying the door in question with a map marker attached to it on the map triggers the error and forces "Metroid Dread" to close. Thankfully, following an easy, two-step solution allows you to side-step the bug. "Restart the game and, before playing through this sequence, remove the door icon map marker to prevent this error from occurring." Nintendo did not state which door produces the problem — it clearly designed the support page to aid those who have already hit the roadblock.

This is not the only "Metroid Dread" headache both Nintendo and players have dealt with since the title launched last week. On day one, the side-scroller had already appeared on emulation systems, with the platforms promising features like unlimited frame rate options and 4K resolution. The "Metroid Dread" credits caused an uproar not long after, as multiple developers alleged that MercurySteam had not properly acknowledged their contributions to the game. Much like Nintendo's response to the door glitch, the studio had an explanation ready, though its answer did not satisfy everyone.

Despite these challenges, "Metroid Dread" has achieved an 89/100 Metacritic score, making it clear that the follow-up was worth the wait for most new and returning "Metroid" players. Just don't forget to download the October 2021 software update if you want to experience all it has to offer (relatively) worry free.