I don’t think it’s even a slight exaggeration to say that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is one of the most anticipated video games of the 21st century. It’s been close to two decades since the last entry in this beloved series, but soon, fans will finally be able to continue Samus Aran’s adventure.
Luckily, I’ve already managed to get my mitts on the latest Metroid Prime game – well, for a couple of hours at least. I visited Nintendo’s UK HQ in the beautiful town of Windsor, where I spent an hour or so with the upcoming release. During this time, I made sure to scan everything in sight, try out Samus’ exciting new psychic powers, and take on an intensive boss fight.
So, what did I make of my time with the game on Nintendo Switch 2? Does it appear to be living up to all of the anticipation? Here’s what I made of my hands-on experience with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
New, but the same
Despite arriving 18 years after its predecessor, I was struck by how faithful Metroid Prime 4: Beyond felt to previous entries in the series.
I played through the game’s introductory segment, as well as an area called Fury Green, and was treated to a carefully measured cocktail of ambient, hypnotic background music, beautiful otherworldly visuals, and frightening enemy encounters. As someone who really enjoyed the original Metroid Prime on the GameCube, it was wonderful to find that atmospheric, engrossing, and sometimes unsettling audio-visual experience truly intact.
And even in gameplay terms, a lot remains the same – the Morph Ball, Missile Launcher, and Scan Visor remain crucial parts of your arsenal. But Nintendo and Retro Studios have kept things fresh with new psychic powers, and these are incredibly fun to make use of.
With these psychic abilities, you’re able to do stuff like manipulate the position of certain objects and interact with technology left behind by a race known as the Lamorn. But I was loving a new ability which enables Samus to control the direction of a psychic beam in slow motion – crucial for opening locked doors and defeating particular adversaries.
As you’d expect, there’s plenty of problem-solving involved in Prime 4: Beyond, and mastering your understanding of new abilities like beam trajectory control will be crucial in overcoming various challenges. Puzzling seemed well balanced with all-action first-person combat, which felt familiar, yet refined.
I won’t speak about the boss fight in too much depth – you deserve to experience everything for yourself. However, I appreciated how it required me to combine careful evasion, relentless attack, and the considered use of my newfound abilities.
The battle forced me to think creatively about Samus’ capabilities, and I needed to make use of everything I’d learned in and outside of combat to overcome it. And that kind of intelligent, thoughtful design is very promising indeed.
Not so solitary
There’s a real sense of solitude…sometimes loneliness present in Metroid Prime games. You’re fighting solo against hordes of terrifying foes in twisted, wide-open environments. There’s little communication with others. Next to no one around to help you. Just you.
That feeling of isolation, which has been so central to the Metroid Prime series, was interrupted during my time with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, though. I had to assist another human character named Mackenzie in Fury Green, who was the polar opposite of Samus in temperament. He was high-energy, highly talkative, and sorta goofy – almost like a comic relief character from an early-2000s family movie.
I’m not expecting this individual to accompany Samus throughout the majority of the adventure, though I did feel as if he slightly disrupted the eerie, solitary vibe that’s made this series such a standout for so many players.
Of course, Samus will be accompanied by another companion in this entry – well, sorta. She’ll be making use of a motorcycle named the Vi-0-La, and although my demo ended before I got a chance to try it, I’m seriously digging the look of our hero’s new ride. The recently released ‘Survive’ trailer showed this off in a little more detail. It’s also worth noting that you can also purchase a Samus & Vi-0-La amiibo, which I got a day-one look at – that’s already available for purchase.
Primed for a modern era
As I mentioned earlier, the bones of what make the series great appeared to be relatively untouched. One moment, you’ll be trudging through a vibrant, expansive green area – the next you’ll find yourself in a dark, dingy room, being surprise-attacked by abhorrent creatures.
But modernization was there where it mattered. For example, there’s an enhanced, easy-to-use UI, which seamlessly enables you to scour through your inventory, your logbook (which contains information about enemies you’ve faced), settings, and more.
Of course, this time around, you can experience a Metroid Prime game in 4K – that’s if you’re using Quality Mode, which also runs at 60fps. Here, colors appeared punchy and rich, especially in the forest area. I personally had a great time with Performance Mode, though, which runs at 1080p at 120fps. In practice, gameplay was smooth in both modes, and load times were kept nice and brief – exactly what you’d expect from a title vying to rival the best Nintendo Switch 2 games.
There are also a number of ways to play – at least on the Nintendo Switch 2 edition that I trialled. I started off by trying tabletop mode using mouse mode, and this worked pretty well. You can smoothly scan your surroundings with one Joy-Con 2 controller, and use the other to move around – it’s pretty natural.
Personally, though, I preferred using a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller during the TV mode segment of the demo. As a console gamer, I felt as if I had a touch more control over tight movements – either way, it’s refreshing to see a diverse set of control schemes, and even better to see Nintendo’s latest hardware being used to full effect.
My early impressions
As a big fan of Metroid Prime and a long-time Nintendo fan, my expectations for the Prime 4 demo were pretty high. And luckily, I feel as if they were met. The smooth movement and gameplay, creative and frightening enemies, and generally atmospheric aura of the game had me hooked.
If I were to nit-pick, the introduction of a part-time companion felt a little jarring at times. But I’m still expecting the game to be largely focused around a solo high-stakes adventure, and to channel that feeling of isolation.
I’ve deliberately kept story details quiet here – I don’t want to spoil anything after all! But the premise does intrigue me, and I’m interested to learn more about the antagonist, Sylux, who was first seen in the 2006 DS title Metroid Prime Hunters.
More generally, I was impressed with aspects such as performance, modernized controls and visuals, and sound design that felt incredibly faithful to previous entries in the series. Yes, it still makes that unforgettable chime when you solve a puzzle. And the background music on Fury Green effortlessly immersed me in the world – in the same way that tracks in areas like Phendrana Drifts did back on Tallon IV.
Ultimately, my time with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has me very excited for the full game. I can’t wait to explore the vast, open desert area, to ride around on Vi-0-La, and to uncover more of the mysterious plot. But there’s not long to wait now, because Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 and the original Nintendo Switch on 4 December 2025.
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harry.padoan@futurenet.com (Harry Padoan)
