Just over seven years since the game’s release on Nintendo Switch, Samus Aran’s latest adventure has finally arrived, in an enhanced version for Switch 2. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is the latest first-person bounty hunter adventure that sets a up-to-date standard for graphics on the up-to-date console.
While the experience is quite enjoyable from start to finish, it’s far from the best Metroid title, and not even the best one Metroid Prime game from the subseries. However, it is still worth your time and attention and is a worthy up-to-date entry in the decades-old series.
A up-to-date frontier
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond it feels like a fresh start for the series, which makes sense since the last title Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was released on the Wii in 2007. The gameplay is instantly familiar, which is both a good and a bad thing as it stays true to the series, but it feels like it lacks the dynamics that FPS gamers are used to in 2025.
In Samus’ adventure on the mysterious planet Viewros, where she and several Galactic Federation soldiers are stranded in a strange teleportation disaster, the game remains faithful to the series formula. Samus loses her abilities and must work to regain them, often having to retreat and return to previous areas to access places she couldn’t before gaining the up-to-date ability. His Metroidbut in the first person.
Unfortunately, the combat gameplay itself seems faint compared to other segments. The cannon on Samus’ shoulder feels like it has no impact (more audio or visual feedback would be nice), making it feel like you’re shooting marshmallows at the various flora and fauna in Viewros. The shooting itself seems sleek and not very flashy, but it is different from what it should feel like for a powerful bounty hunter with a powerful blaster on her shoulder.
Much of the game also lacks any real challenge on its base, Normal difficulty setting (only Normal and Easy are available from the start), making the standard enemies and battles you encounter feel tame and inconsequential.
However, boss fights are where it’s at Metroid Prime 4 lights up. Using Samus’ enhanced skills such as rockets, psychic grabs, elemental salvos, and figuring out which skill to apply to defeat the massive bad so she can continue her journey is the best part of the game’s FPS combat. These moments are few and far between, however, as you’re mostly tasked with dispatching smaller and very non-threatening enemies as you travel between areas and figuring out what to do next.
Fortunately, the combat portions are broken down into signature lithe puzzles and a up-to-date feature – open-world exploration in the motorcycle-like VI-O-LA vehicle that’s integral to the Viewros’ navigation. The huge desert of Sol Valley serves as the hub for travel to and from the game’s various locations, and while there isn’t much to do here other than gather resources and fight smaller enemies as you travel between areas, the biking is great.
Samus also uses her newfound psychic abilities in conjunction with her combat visor to scan everything in the environment to learn more about her surroundings, utilize telekinesis-like abilities, and unlock up-to-date abilities that a bounty hunter would not normally be able to utilize.
Despite countless bugs, the game is still a lot of fun and I spent 11.5 hours playing it on my first playthrough. It’s a great Switch 2 title that runs flawlessly in docked (4K/60FPS or 1080p/120FPS) or handheld (1080p/60FPS or 720p/120FPS) mode, making the game a pleasure to play.
Exploration and discovery, puzzle elements, and boss battles prevent the monotonous moments of gameplay in between, where there is no challenge until demanding mode is unlocked upon first completion. Before the final boss battle, I had only died two or three times during my playthrough, which was probably intended primarily for the sake of accessibility, but I still felt a sense of dissatisfaction when it came to keeping the shooter gameplay engaging, especially since you can’t boost the difficulty until you’ve beaten the game once.
In the same vein, there are multiple control schemes, including JoyCon mouse controls and Wii-like gyroscopic aiming. Both are decent options that provide unique playstyle options, but I still think the classic Pro Controller is my favorite method.
Mystery and history
IN Apart fromthe story events have very little in common with previous games in the series, which makes it accessible to newcomers and also feels like a completely up-to-date story arc. Samus once again plays the quiet hero and villainous Sylux (returning from the game’s spin-off Metroid Prime: Hunters on the Nintendo DS) appears alongside Metroids, but is a very underutilized presence throughout the game’s history, as he was the catalyst for its events.
Majority Metroid Prime 4 appears to be a set-up for a up-to-date trilogy that focuses on Samus and Sylux, and instead focuses on the mysterious age-old alien race Lamorn and the Galactic Federation soldiers that Samus meets along the way. This makes for a pretty hit-or-miss narrative.
The highlight of this story is discovering the mystery of Lamorn and what happened on Viewros. Samus has been appointed as their “Chosen One” to lend a hand spread their knowledge and history throughout the cosmos, and reading lore entries found throughout the world helps unravel the story of what happened to the Lamorns. The last remaining members of the race have gifted Samus with their psychic abilities, allowing her to do their will, and she does so without much resistance.
Several Galactic Federation soldiers are scattered throughout Viewros, and Samus encounters them during her adventure. They begin to gather at a central base of sorts, wondering how to get home. The characters are fairly stereotypical soldiers – the nerdy engineer, the grizzled veteran, the wide-eyed novice, etc. – but each of them brings a touch of lightness and humanity to Samus’ stoic silence. They lend a hand improve Samus’ costume and abilities, and eventually form a team to save the day. Overall, I think they’re a nice addition to the game.
However, they have a nasty habit of playing in the backseat and rewriting things for you before you can figure something out on your own. This was a concern for some people after a preview event that took place in early November, which I also attended, and it turned out to be justified. Whether you’re on combat missions with them, or they’re supporting you via radio (thankfully, this is scarce), they can’t lend a hand but explain things to you if you take too long trying to figure it out.
Once the game’s events are over, you’re left with a choice: start New Game Plus and reset all scanning and item progress, which is unfortunate because unlocking the larger flashback cutscene in the gallery requires 100% completion (or a $30 Amiibo). The point of no return is pretty obvious though, so if you want to get everything the game has to offer, scan every thing you come across and collect every power-up item before heading out on the final mission.
There is an unforgettable moment in the game where Samus first meets one of her NPCs, who asks her to introduce herself. Then she walks into the lithe and they immediately know who she is. She is a legend. Her reputation precedes her. She is This girl. That’s right Metroid Prime 4 I kind of feel it. Samus shows up and does some frigid stuff without saying a word, and that’s enough to make the experience worth it.
But unfortunately, I can’t lend a hand but feel that there could have been so much more, even if the game is meant to be a cliffhanger experience and a jumping-off point for what comes next.
