I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Ever since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ended on a slight cliffhanger (provided you obtained the 100% completion rating) back in 2007, I’ve been wondering where exactly Nintendo and Retro Studios might take the series next. 18 years would follow, and that’s an awful long time to formulate an idea of what the perfect sequel might look like.
Now that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally here, it’s absolutely nothing like I’d imagined – and that’s a good thing. What Retro Studios has delivered might well be the studio’s finest work yet, and it’s certainly up there as one of the very best Metroid games of all time.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
I should say, however, that I think this game may prove divisive. Retro has successfully replicated that magical feeling of discovery from the GameCube original, but it’s also taken some pretty wild swings with Beyond’s new open-world hub, high-speed motorbike traversal, and yes, Galactic Federation companions. I’m not sure everybody is going to get along with it like I did, but what I do know is that Beyond feels like a natural evolution of Corruption. The Prime games have set themselves apart from the rest of the series by expanding Samus’ world to introduce more and more side characters, and this latest entry takes this concept further than ever.
To illustrate, Beyond kicks off on the planet Tanamaar, with Samus fighting alongside a host of Federation troopers against an attack from Sylux and their Space Pirate cronies. It’s a great sequence to get reacquainted with your beam attacks, missiles, morph ball, and double jump before most of it gets ripped away in classic Metroid style. Y’see, following a confrontation with Sylux, Samus gets transported to the mysterious world of Viewros, seemingly alone in a hostile environment stuffed with creatures looking to kill you.
What follows is an intriguing mystery that introduces the brand-new Lamorn race, which is essentially Prime 4's Chozo. Uncovering what happened to the Lamorn is a joy, and you don't need any prior series knowledge to enjoy this story. Phazon's out, Dark Samus is out, and Sylux gets enough screen time as the new Big Bad. Fans will adore it, but newcomers can get right on board, too.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
The first thing that leapt out when wandering around the lush opening section of Fury Green was just how beautiful Beyond really is. Environments and creatures are brought to life like never before, with accompanying lighting and particle effects making this the best-looking game Nintendo has ever published. The art design is simply astonishing, constantly compelling you to just stop and soak it all in, which was easy given how much there is to uncover with the Scan Visor. Go back to (the lovely-looking) Prime Remastered and you'll see just how much of a step up this is.
The visuals are augmented by the incredible soundtrack, which is comfortably the best since the original Prime. You've likely already heard the Fury Green theme from trailers, but every major biome rocks its own awesome variant, from the thumping, electrically-charged Volt Forge to the calming, ethereal Base Camp. I quite literally sat for about 10 minutes just vibing in the latter, and with the combined effects of the art style and audio, it was the first of many moments where I thought, 'Okay, yes, this is a really special game.' It's the kind of thing you just know you'll be going back to in 10, 20 years' time.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
The enemies and boss characters are comfortably some of the best, most grotesque in series history, and the battles that ensue are equally thrilling and challenging. Even better, they're all completely new and don’t lean on nostalgia – sorry Ridley, maybe next time. There are loads of different enemy types, including the ferocious Grievers, the exploding Pyremite, and the deadly Psy-Bots. I only wish there was a 3D model feature like Prime Remastered to better appreciate their incredible designs.
Provided you have the right setup, you can choose between two performance modes on Switch 2: Quality at 4K/60fps (1080p handheld) or Performance at 1080p/120fps (720p handheld). The bump up to 120fps in Performance Mode is certainly noticeable, but not half as much as the resulting downgrade in resolution. As such, I spent the vast majority of the time in Quality Mode; it looks absolutely gorgeous in 4K while docked, with performance that appeared locked at 60fps with no noticeable dips. Trust me, you’ll want the highest resolution possible for this game.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
You've also got several different control methods from the off, including dual-stick aiming and motion aiming. Opt for the former, and you use the analogue sticks for your movement, while gyro aiming can help with fine-tuning. Mouse controls are also featured for both options, so if you're playing with the Joy-Con 2 detached, you can put the right controller side-down to immediately activate mouse mode. It's a little erratic at first, so you'll probably need to bring the sensitivity down a bit, but it feels pretty great. Overall, my control method of choice remained dual-sticks with a Pro Controller, but all options feel perfectly viable.
In typical Metroid fashion, you’ll be exploring various biomes throughout the world of Viewros, including the luscious forest of Fury Green, the frozen laboratories of Ice Belt, and much more. In addition to familiar abilities and armaments — missiles, grapple beam, morph ball — Samus gains a host of new psychic powers early on. This includes the ability to move devices remotely and open up paths, hurl your morph ball bombs at enemies and bomb slots from a distance, and directly manipulate the direction of your ‘Control Beam’ to hit multiple targets at once.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
In pre-release trailers depicting the psychic powers, I was worried that they might prove gimmicky, but this isn’t the case. It makes for some really cool sequences, including (but not limited to) the new Psychic Boost Rails, which hurl you around the environment on an almost-but-not-quite invisible path; perfect for locating those coveted Missile Expansions. Think of the Magatsu Rail from Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, and you’re on the right track.
Of course, you’ll also gain new weapons on your travels, and these work a little differently this time. In the past, you’d acquire new beams while your standard missiles would remain the default sub-weapon. In Beyond, your Power Beam is maintained throughout, while elemental beams — specifically Fire, Ice, and Thunder — are mapped to the missile input and require their own ammo called Shots.
So, in addition to Missile Expansions, you’ll also be on the lookout for Shot Expansions. I was concerned this might limit my approach to battles if I’m constantly worried about running out of ammo, but truthfully, you’ll find so many expansions on your travels, depleting your supplies is never a major concern.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
Travelling from one biome to another is also a little (a lot) different this time around. A few hours in, you’ll gain access to Vi-O-La, an awesome futuristic motorbike that comes equipped with boost abilities and projectile weapons. It controls like a dream, too, with light touches of ‘L’ allowing you to slide and turn sharp corners at will. Upgrades found in the environment add more boosts to your arsenal, and soon you’ll be racing from one end of the hub world to the other in no time at all.
Sol Valley itself is a pretty vast area, and at first it felt completely empty, but looks can be deceiving. In addition to connecting the major locations necessary to progress the story, Sol Valley also includes a bunch of Shrines (yes, there’s that Breath of the Wild influence), Galactic Federation debris sites, and dozens upon dozens of Green Crystal clusters that you simply drive through at speed to collect.
Ultimately, including such a meaty open world amongst the usual labyrinthine biomes is a stroke of genius on Retro's part. Think about how previous Metroid games (or really any Metroidvania titles) work: completely different environments will be separated by a mere door or an elevator, and while this works perfectly well from a gameplay perspective, logically it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
What Sol Valley demonstrates is that these games don't need to be confined to dense corridors for the duration of the experience. You can open up the world, make the biomes link together more logically, and still maintain the essence of that classic Metroid experience. I can't wait to see how it influences the genre going forward.
Like the missiles, energy tanks, and whatnot, those Green Crystals found in Sol Valley are a finite resource. You’ll need to nab the whole lot to bag some sweet rewards, but the game introduces some neat little perks later on that make this a lot easier than you might think. Truth be told, this is possibly the most approachable Metroid game ever, since hidden Scout Bots located in each environment can also ping their radars and reveal the locations of any undiscovered items on your map. Granted, you won’t be able to activate these until much, much later in the game, but it makes chasing that 100% completion rating a lot more digestible than ever before.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
As you make your way across Viewros, you’ll also run into a handful of Galactic Federation troopers: Myles Mackenzie, Reger Tokabi, Nora Armstrong, Ezra Duke, and VUE-995. Honestly, none of them are even remotely as irritating as previews suggested, and I genuinely came to enjoy their presence. There are brief moments where one or two might join you in the fight, but these are kept to a minimum, and Retro wisely ditches them before they outstay their welcome. Overall, the dialogue is a lot stronger than anything seen in Corruption, and the voice actors do a wonderful job at bringing them to life.
But this is also where my one little nitpick comes in. While exploring Sol Valley, Myles will occasionally ping you on the radio to let you know what you should be doing next. Whether it’s making your way to your next objective or heading back to Base Camp to activate a new beam upgrade, Myles is essentially Prime 4’s Navi from Ocarina of Time - always there to nudge you in the right direction.
It’s not as frequent as you might fear — once you’ve heard him once, that’ll be it until your next major outing on Vi-O-La — but I’d love it if Retro Studios could add the ability to mute him completely. Sometimes I just want to ride around in peace, y’know?
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
I did find myself longing for a couple of extra features: namely, the ability to change the bike's colour and to listen to some custom music while roaming about. Well, these are both here... if you buy the amiibo.
The Vi-O-La figure unlocks skins for your ride, while Samus adds the Vi-O-La Radio, letting you toggle through a small selection of banging Metroid-themed tunes. It's frankly irritating that Nintendo decided to lock these features behind amiibo; they should have been in the game by default, no question. The Sylux amiibo apparently unlocks a specific cutscene early, which you'll otherwise need to 100% the game to see. All other Metroid series amiibo just play a random Metroid-themed jingle.
At the time of writing, I’ve beaten the game with 100% items and 97% logbook scans, and this has taken me roughly 16 hours (don’t worry, I'm already looking for that remaining 3%). Keep in mind that I’ve sped through for review, so playing through at your own, slower pace could nudge your time to over 20 hours if you’re after absolutely everything; mainlining the story may shave it down to around 10 hours.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
I’d recommend finding all collectibles if you can, though, since this will uncover everything in the game’s Gallery section, which is filled with concept art from Beyond’s development – it’s a lovely behind-the-scenes look at a game that’s been heavily shrouded in mystery for years.
Conclusion
After 18 years of waiting, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond manages to replicate that magical sense of discovery from the GameCube original while pushing the series in some incredible new directions. Separating the main biomes with a vast open world sounds ridiculous on paper, but the slick traversal provided by Vi-O-La makes exploration more satisfying than ever.
Combine this with the stunning art direction, ferocious new boss characters, and a surprisingly endearing squad of Federation troopers, and Beyond is quite possibly the boldest, most well-realised Metroid game to date. Make no mistake, the long wait has been more than worth it. Welcome back, Samus.
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