Metroid Dread recompiled natively for PC and Steam Deck
By Tgames · · 2 min read
Metroid Dread runs natively on PC: version 0.5.0 of the recompiled port, released on October 30, adds Linux, Steam Deck and 5.1 sound.
A Switch game turned into a PC program
Metroid Dread Recomp, by yozander2009-stack, is not emulation: the ARM64 code of MercurySteam's game (2021) is translated into C by SwitchRecomp, MZ Labs' recompiler, then compiled on your PC by a GCC bundled with the program. Graphics go through OpenGL 4.3, with an optional native Vulkan renderer taken from ScarletNX. The first version, 0.1.0, came out on October 22; five more followed in eight days.
What's new in 0.5.0
What you need
The repository contains no Nintendo files: you need both parts of your own copy of the game, version 2.1.0, dumped from your console: the ExeFS (the code) and the RomFS (the data). Each file is checked before compilation. According to Notebookcheck, an Intel Iris Xe chip reaches about 60 fps. The project is a pre-release (0.x) that may crash, and its README states that a large part of the code was written with the AI Claude. The GitHub account is recent: only download from the repository listed in the sources. The recompiler's source code is under the Apache-2.0 license, the executable under GPL-3.0.
Other Nintendo games have received the same treatment, such as Zelda Tears of the Kingdom recompiled for PC and Metroid Prime 2 Echoes running natively.
Sources: Metroid Dread Recomp (GitHub) · Releases · Notebookcheck
A Switch game turned into a PC program
Metroid Dread Recomp, by yozander2009-stack, is not emulation: the ARM64 code of MercurySteam's game (2021) is translated into C by SwitchRecomp, MZ Labs' recompiler, then compiled on your PC by a GCC bundled with the program. Graphics go through OpenGL 4.3, with an optional native Vulkan renderer taken from ScarletNX. The first version, 0.1.0, came out on October 22; five more followed in eight days.
What's new in 0.5.0
- Linux and Steam Deck: a self-updating AppImage, tested on Steam Deck, and adding it to Steam from Desktop Mode.
- 5.1 sound, keyboard key remapping and swapping of the A and B buttons in menus.
- Cheat codes in Atmosphère format, enabled from the F1 menu (only those that modify values work).
- Format 32:9 experimental, and a cap at 90 fps, in addition to the original 60 fps.
- Fixes: AMD cards crashing after loading a save, Windows scaling (125%, 150%), rumble on PS4 and PS5 controllers over Bluetooth.
What you need
The repository contains no Nintendo files: you need both parts of your own copy of the game, version 2.1.0, dumped from your console: the ExeFS (the code) and the RomFS (the data). Each file is checked before compilation. According to Notebookcheck, an Intel Iris Xe chip reaches about 60 fps. The project is a pre-release (0.x) that may crash, and its README states that a large part of the code was written with the AI Claude. The GitHub account is recent: only download from the repository listed in the sources. The recompiler's source code is under the Apache-2.0 license, the executable under GPL-3.0.
Other Nintendo games have received the same treatment, such as Zelda Tears of the Kingdom recompiled for PC and Metroid Prime 2 Echoes running natively.
Sources: Metroid Dread Recomp (GitHub) · Releases · Notebookcheck
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