REVIEW: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Metroid Prime 4 has been “that game that will never be finished” in the Nintendo world for many years. Something like Half-Life 3 in the PC world or Bloodborne remaster for PlayStation fans. The eternal joke when you want to point out the absurdity of the time it takes to complete something. Because you see, the fourth part of Prime was announced back in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch. After that announcement, for many years we heard about the existence of a fourth Metroid Prime, but not an exact release date. And when everyone had already given up on that game, last year we finally got new signs of life, and after that a confirmation that the new Metroid will be released for both generations of the Switch console.

I would say that certain things left clear indications that this game went through multiple generations of consoles. The gameplay sometimes seems a little archaic, heavily influenced by the popular series from Nintendo’s workshop during the first Switch era. The fourth part is still what you would expect from Metroid Prime – a first-person shooter with a rather unique system of locking sights on opponents and a series of puzzle sections. However, in Beyond, they tried to introduce several new things, which, in my opinion, were not implemented very successfully in the end. I’m primarily referring to the desert open world between levels.

I couldn’t get rid of the impression that the developers tried to perform their Breath of the Wild with this game. Unfortunately, unsuccessfully. What makes the new Zelda unique, Metroid Prime 4 has lost with its semi-open world. There is, unfortunately, very little content in that desert world, and a good part of the enemies and scenery is monotonous.

I couldn’t get rid of the impression that the developers tried to perform their Breath of the Wild with this game. Unfortunately, unsuccessfully.

It felt like I was playing another game with a mediocre budget. I moved through the desert on a new motorcycle, breaking the crystal structures that I collected for the tasks and along the way destroying, for the hundredth time, one and the same opponents. True, from time to time I used to come across a hidden temple with a fun puzzle element, but in the end it was too rare and with very poor rewards.

However, once I dragged myself to the actual level, the fun experience would begin. There, the recognizable recipe of the series was much more visible, with fun shooting, discovering new possibilities and brain teasers that usually included the newly discovered abilities of our Samus. Fighting enemies is still a lot of fun, with a unique lockable aim and the ability to move it.

Fighting enemies is still a lot of fun, with a unique lockable aim and the ability to move it.

Think of it this way: when you press the left trigger button, you can use the right analog stick or controller movements to change the position of the crosshairs within the locked view. And once you lock your sights on an opponent, they’ll track as long as the opponent is on screen. This was especially fun for me when I detached the Joy-Con and played around with the gyro-aim, as it brings a really unique way of fighting.

Fights with regular opponents sometimes have a slightly archaic approach, with waves of enemies in certain areas, but due to the frequent switching between puzzle sections and battles it never becomes ultimately exhausting.

Fights with regular opponents sometimes take a somewhat archaic approach, with waves of enemies in certain areas.

What I really enjoyed were the boss fights. They usually required me to use the new skills that Samus picked up at that level, but in a very innovative way. Most of the new abilities are related to the psychic abilities I acquired from the ancient inhabitants of the planet Viewros. For example, one of the abilities is firing a projectile and homing it in slow motion, which allowed me to hit multiple targets in a short amount of time or pass through rapidly rotating objects.

As for the levels themselves, at first they give the impression of a large number of passages, but in the end they are quite linear. Every now and then I would come across a fork in the road, but the other path would always be closed until I unlocked a new ability or the story took me back to that section.

At first glance, the levels give the impression of a large number of passages, but in the end they are quite linear.

If anything, I particularly enjoyed the puzzle elements. Whether I was switching into a Morph Ball and exploring smaller tunnels, occasionally bouncing off like a pinball, or using new psychic abilities, I feasted on every puzzle section. They were usually not similar to each other, so I almost always got a nice dose of dopamine from discovering something new.

I only wish I could sometimes turn off the help of my Galactic Federation comrades. Honestly, I’d prefer to turn them off completely. I have always loved the Metroid series because of the feeling of loneliness, the fight of Samus against the entire planet and the gloomy corridors. Here, however, I was regularly interrupted by somewhat antipathetic comrades who are extremely stereotypical – from a timid character, to a girl who constantly admires you, to a typical “dude-bro” colleague. It’s like I’m watching some kind of action movie from the eighties. Not to mention how hard it is to revive comrades in the middle of fierce battles, because otherwise you will be greeted with a Game Over screen. I loved every moment when my comrades would leave me, I would lose the radio connection and finally start playing the real Metroid.

I loved every moment when my comrades would leave me, I would lose the radio connection and finally start playing the real Metroid.

Another thing that didn’t excite me too much is the scanning of objects to reveal the background of the world and its creatures. Each time I would have to switch to a special view, click on an object and hold scan, wait a second or two, and then get a text description of what I was looking at. After a while I just stopped caring and scanned things, especially since I learned most of the story through the animated cutscenes anyway.

Speaking of the story, in Beyond, Samus finds herself fighting Space Pirates whose goal is to steal an unusual artifact. During the conflict, the artifact is damaged and Samus, along with other fighters and enemies, is teleported to the distant planet Viewros. There, through holograms, we learn more about the advanced ancient Lamorn race and how to return home. The story has a few interesting twists, decent acting, and it took me about 13 hours to get through. Of course, if you want to discover all the secret passages, find all the improvements and unlock the hidden ending, the gameplay will extend for several more hours.

I have to praise the visual part of the game. Each level is unique, dotted with “out-of-this-world” objects, alien fauna and enemies. In the moments when none of my boring comrades were following me, I felt like the loneliest person on an alien planet—at once enchanted, but with a hint of dread at what lay around the next corner. All of this is further enhanced by the superb music, imbued with what I would best describe as a cosmic interpretation of Gregorian chants.

Considering we’re talking about a title developed for both generations of Switch, I have to admit that the overall visuals are unexpectedly good. Quality lighting, HDR support and little things like the reflection of Samus’s face when closing the visor really raise the bar for future Switch 2 games. And the most important thing – everything spins extremely smoothly. I didn’t have a chance to try the 120 FPS mode, but I played at a very pleasant 60 frames per second in 4K resolution (upscaled, to avoid confusion, we are still talking about a small portable format console

Finally, I return to the initial clash of modern and antiquated elements. When I see these graphics in Metroid Prime 4, I feel like I’m playing a title from 2025 on the Switch 2. The story has also progressed, with good acting, interesting plots and quality presentation. However, at the same time, the game is enslaved to the gameplay design of some past times, which is visible through throwing waves of enemies or inserting an empty open world. It seems to me that with all that ambition, a small part of Metroid that made us love that series was lost. That feeling comes back, from time to time, but just when I start to fully enjoy it, I hear the strained voice of a comrade who has just joined me…