In defense of the retreating metroids

Now a lot of people don't like the retreating metroids in Samus Returns. And I can get why, they can get repetitive and drag things out. I'm not going to defend them really from a gameplay perspective other than if you get good they do it less.

Part of what I love about Samus Returns is how it portrays the Metroids as the ultimate predators, aside from the hunter herself Samus Aran. Now for the most part it does this through speed and strength but there is another component to it as well: Smarts. A change of tactics can help a predator overcome particularly difficult prey. In this case if a Metroid is hurting it will run away and try to defeat its opponent later after it has rested in an attempt to exhaust the foe.

tldr It fits perfectly with the portrayal of Metroids, it just doesn't come off as fun to play sometimes.