Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Initial Review and Release Date

After eight years of waiting, countless delays, and a complete development restart, I finally got my hands on a review copy of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. And honestly, the Metroid Prime 4 has me feeling conflicted. Like really conflicted, to be honest with you. See, I've been playing this for about 15 hours now, and every time I think I know exactly how I feel about it, something happens to make me completely reconsider. It's simultaneously everything that I wanted from a new Metroid Prime 4 game. And it's also somehow not what I expected after waiting nearly two decades for a proper sequel. So, let's talk about it. The good, the bad, and the absolutely bizarre choices Nintendo and Retro Studios made that made the entire Metroid community go up in arms right now.

First things first, yes, this is absolutely a Metroid Prime game. The second you pick up that controller and step into Samson's power suit, it feels like slipping on your favorite jacket that's been hiding in your closet for way too long now. The weight of her movement, the way the arm cannon sways as you turn, that distinctive hood with all the scanning data is all here, and Metroid Prime 4 feels exactly how you remember it. But maybe that's the problem, though. But we'll get into that later.

Metroid Prime 4 Opening Mission and Atmosphere

Metroid Prime 4 opens with Samus responding to a distress call from a Galactic Federation research station, and within minutes, you're thrown into this massive space battle that honestly rivals anything that we've seen in the series. Ships exploding around you, Federation soldiers cheering as your gunship swoops in overhead. It's a pure spectacle. And then that iconic three-point landing while the music swells. I got chills. This is how a Metroid Prime 4 game should start, that's been in development for hell about the better part of a decade. It should be a spectacle.

But then something weird happens about an hour into the game. You lose your powers. Shocker, I know. And then end up stranded on this mysterious planet called Voss, where things start to get interesting because Voss isn't like Talon 5 or Ether. It's got this central desert hub called the Soul Valley that connects all of the different biomes. And yes, you can summon a motorcycle to traverse it. I know that sounds weird before a Metro game like Metroid Prime, but honestly, it works better than I expected. The viola bike feels responsive. You can shoot while riding it. And there's something oddly satisfying about boosting through the sand while locking on and blasting these rolling signal drones.

The plan in itself is gorgeous. By the way, playing this on the Switch 2 in quality mode at 40k 60fps is stunning. The fury green jungle area has this bioluminescent quality that makes everything feel familiar. Water droplets hit your visor. Samson's face reflects in the glass when lightning strikes. And those environmental details that make the original Metroid Prime game so immersive are all here. And then plus some. The art direction leans into this retro 70s science fiction aesthetic that makes everything pop without chasing photo realism. And honestly, it was the right call.

New Mechanics & Abilities in Metroid Prime 4

Now, let's talk about the new mechanics because this is where Prime 4 actually tries to evolve the formula. Samsons get these new psychic abilities pretty early on from encountering some alien tech, and they fundamentally change how you interact with the world. Your scan visor now doubles as a psychic sensor, letting you manipulate objects with telekinesis. Need to grab that door? Grab that glowing energy globe and guide it through the lock mechanism. Metroid Prime 4 starts out simple but gets surprisingly complex as you progress.

The real game changer, though, is the control beam. You charge up a shot and then actually pilot through the environment in slow motion. Picture this. There's a door that's locked from the other side. You find a small opening in the wall, fire your control beam through it, and then steer it around the corners until you hit the switch. It feels incredible when you nail it. There's this boss fight against this planet creature called the Carvex, where you have to curve your beam around multiple weak hit points in one shot, and then when you pull it off, it's a freaking chef kiss. It's that kind of mechanic in Metroid Prime 4 that makes you feel like you're discovering something new, even in familiar territory.

The combat itself feels refined in Metroid Prime 4 but not revolutionized. You still have your locking on target, which lets you circle strife enemies while keeping it centered, but the enemies are smarter this time around. They'll flank you. They'll use a cover. And then some space pirate variants actually coordinate their attacks. I died more in the first 5 hours in Prime 4 than I did in my entire playthrough of the remaster, and that's not a complaint at all. The challenge feels earned and not cheap at all.

Sileux and the Planet Voss

Speaking of combat in Metroid Prime 4, let's talk about Seux. Finally, after being teased to sense Prime hunters on the Nintendo DS, this dude finally has his time to shine as the main antagonist. Without spoiling anything, his vendetta against both Samus and the Federation actually makes sense. And the way he commands these corrupted Metroid asses layer of what the hell is going on that keeps you pushing forward. Every encounter with him feels like a proper rival battle, not just another boss fight.

But okay, we need to address the elephant in the room, or should I say the miles in the room. About 2 hours into your time on Voss, you rescue this Federation engineer named Mile McKenzie. And look, I'm just going to be straightforward with you guys. This character in Metroid Prime 4 is going to be divisive as hell. He's this nerdy quippy guy with thick-rimmed glasses who follows me around making observations about everything, and I mean everything. Hey Samus, you might want to save your game. Whoa, this door sure looks locked. Is it just me, or does it smell weird in here?

The first time he made a joke about the smell, I chuckled. The fifth time, he reminded me about the basic game mechanics I've been using for almost 20 years. I wanted to leave him with the damn space pirates.

And here's the thing, you can't just let him die. If it dies, it's game over. You get that Federation trooper killed and an action screen, and you have to start from the last save point. This is an escort mission that lasts for a significant chunk of the game, folks. And here, before you ask, no, there's no option to turn off his commentary without muting all of the dialogue entirely. I checked multiple times. You just can't.

But now, to be fair, he's not always going to be with you physically. After certain story beats, he establishes radio contact and becomes more of a voice in your ear than a physical presence. But that makes it much worse because now you can't even leave him behind. You're exploring this atmospheric alien ruin. The music is building. You're completely immersed in Metroid Prime 4. And then he says some stupid crap in your ear that just really pisses you off.

Exploration, Storytelling, and Pacing

It's like they took the subtle environmental storytelling that made Metroid Prime 4 so special and then decided that it needed like a Marvel movie sidekick to explain everything to you. And look, I get it. Nintendo wants to make it accessible for newcomers, but there had to be a better way to do this. Metroid Prime 3 had other bounty hunters that you could occasionally team up with, but they knew when to shut the hell up. Miles doesn't have that setting.

The frustrating part is when the Metroid Prime 4 lets you breathe when you're alone, just exploring and discovering secrets is phenomenal. The lore civilization that once inhabited Voss has left behind this incredible mystery. Their technology is woven into this puzzle. Their history is told through the scan artifact and hieroglyphics. There's this underlying narrative about how they tried to preserve their legacy of Metroid Prime that actually ties into the broader themes of the game in ways that I won't spoil. It's compelling stuff. It's compelling stuff when it's not being explained to death by your unwanted buddy.

And the logbook indicates there are at least five more Federation troopers to rescue throughout the game. Five more potential mild McKenzies. Though from what I've counted so far, they each have different personalities. One's a gruffy military type. Another is a scientist who actually provides useful information without the comedic Marvel route. So maybe Miles is just the worst of the bunch. I'm hoping. I'm just choosing to be optimistic here.

The pacing is another interesting choice. Unlike previous Prime games, where you get drip-fed abilities over many hours, Metroid Prime 4 frontloads you with upgrades. Within the first three hours, I had missiles, morph ball bombs, the physical glove, and the control beam. It makes the early game feel less restrictive, but I do wonder if this pace continues throughout. Part of the Metroid magic is the feeling of gradually becoming more powerful, and if you get everything too quickly, that progression curve flattens out.

Level design walks this line between classic Prime and something more modern. The individual biomes are the jungle, the frozen lab, and the industrial section. They all have this intricately designed with that classic Metroid DNA. Hidden missile expansions behind bombable walls, energy tanks that require creative use of your abilities to reach, and points that reveal lore about the planet's history. But connecting them all is this more open desert area that feels almost like a mini Hyrule feel.

It's not a fully open world, but it's definitely wider than anything that we've seen in Metroid Prime before. The motorcycle sections in Soul Valley actually remind me more of the sailing wind walker than anything from Metroid's past. It's this connective tissue between the real meat of the game. While some fans are calling it padding, I found it oddly meditative. Cruising through the desert at sunset, the soundtrack shifting to this lonely guitar melody, occasionally, combat encounters with these massive sand worms that burst from the dunes are different, but not necessarily bad.

Metroid Prime 4 Performance and Soundtrack

What is bad is how the game Metroid Prime 4 handles some of the storytelling. Samus is still silent, which is fine. It's classic. We all remember Other M., but when you pair her silence with chatty NPCs, it creates this awkward dynamic where people are having full conversations at her while she just stands there mute. At least give her some body language or something. A shrug, a nod, anything to show that she's actually engaged with what's happening instead of just being another passive observer in her own story.

The technical performance deserves praise, though. On Switch 2, the game sings. The 20 FPS performance mode is overkill for a game like this, but having the option is nice. I stuck with the quality mode for the 40k resolution, and it maintains a rock-solid 60 frames per second during the most chaotic battles. Load times are nearly instant, and transitioning between areas takes a second instead of just hiding behind those classic slow-opening doors. And I haven't encountered a single crash or game-breaking bug in my entire playthrough so far.

The soundtrack of Metroid Prime 4, composed by Kenji Yakamoto returning from the original trilogy, absolutely nails the Metroid atmosphere. The main theme reimagining gives me goosebumps, and each area has its own distinctive musical. The main theme reimagining gives me goosebumps, and each area has its own distinctive musical identity. Fury Green has haunting vocal choruses. The industrial zones pulsing with mechanical rhythms. And when you're in combat, the music dynamically shifts to match the intensity. It's exactly what you want from a Metroid Prime 4 game soundtrack.

Is Metroid Prime 4 Too Safe?

But here's my biggest concern. Is the game Metroid Prime 4 too safe? After 18 years of multiple console generations and seeing Nintendo revolutionize Zelda with Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey, Prime 4 feels conservative. Yes, the cycle abilities add new layers. Yes, the production values are stellar, but fundamentally, this could have been released in 2010 and not feel out of place at all.

Part of me does love that this feels like a comfort food for gaming, a warm blanket of familiarity in an industry that's constantly trying to chase the next big thing. But another part of me wants Retro Studios to take the big risk. Where's Metro Prime's 4 Breath of the Wild moment? Where's the system that makes us rethink what a Metroid Prime game can be? Maybe that's coming in the future. I'm only about 15 hours in, and there's still a whole area that I haven't accessed yet. The hints about Voss not being any star chart, the mysterious connection between Sull and the Metroid's, and the true fate, there's plenty of mystery left to uncover for me, and the game's later hours can nail those revelations while toning down the companion chatter. Hopefully, this could still end up being something truly special.

Boss Battles, Scanning, and Sequence Breaking

Boss battles at least show some creativity in Metroid Prime 4. Without spoiling anything specific encounters, there's this one fight on a collapsing bridge where you're juggling environmental hazards, multiple enemy types, and a clicking talk that had my palm sweating. Another boss requires you to use your cycle abilities to tone his own attacks against it. These aren't shooting the glowing weak points affairs. They're gena puzzles that test everything that you learned in the game.

The scanning mechanic, love it or hate it, is more integral than ever in Metroid Prime 4. You're not just scanning for lore anymore. Enemy scans reveal specific weak points. Environmental scans provide puzzle hints. And there's an entire subplot about preserving the Lorax history that only makes sense if you're thorough with your scanning. It's optional for progression, but it's essential for understanding what the hell is actually happening on this planet.

I do appreciate that Retro Studio hasn't forgotten about the sequence breaking. Already, speed runners are finding ways to access areas early using sophisticated bombing, jumping, and damage boosting. There's this one missile expansion that I grabbed about 3 hours before I was supposed to, by doing this insane morph ball jump chain that took me about 40 minutes to nail. The game doesn't explicitly encourage this, but it doesn't prevent it either. And in that respect, for a player, creativity is pure Metroid.

Was the Restart of Metroid Prime 4 Worth It?

The million-dollar question is whether Metroid Prime 4 justifies this torture development cycle. Was it worth canceling the original version or starting over? Having not played the mysterious first iteration, I can't say that for certain. But what we have here is a highly polished, mechanically sound, absolutely gorgeous Metroid Prime game that plays it frustratingly safe in some areas while taking bizarre risks in others.

It's a game that feels simultaneously stuck in 2007 and perfectly crafted for 2025. It respects the legacy almost to the fault while adding just enough new ideas to avoid feeling completely stale. Whether that balance works for you will depend entirely on what you want from a new Prime game after all this time.

As for me, I'm a little bit torn. Every time I start feeling a flow state for the game, scanning alien artifacts, piecing together the mysterious Voss, and using the control beam to solve environmental puzzles, I think to myself, "Yeah, this is exactly what I wanted." Then Miles pops up another conversation about those enemies that you sure don't like us, huh? And then I want to throw my controller at the damn screen.

Here's what I'll say about. If you love the original Prime Trilogy, you're going to find a lot of love here in Metroid Prime 4. The core gameplay loop is intact and refined. The atmosphere when it's allowed to breathe is incredible. And clearly, there was a lot of care put into making this feel like a proper sequel rather than just a cash-in. But if you're hoping for Nintendo to reinvent the wheel in the way that they did with some other franchises, you might leave hungry for something more revolutionary.

Metroid Prime 4 releases in February, and I'll have my full review up once I finish everything that the game has to offer. But with what I've played so far, I'm casually optimistic that the bath hat could elevate from this good to great. But even if it doesn't, even if Miles talks throughout the whole damn game and the game never takes a break from its own formula, it's still Metroid Prime. And after 18 years, maybe that's enough.