Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is certainly a bit different from what I expected, but it’s largely a strong next step for the series. Though some bizarre padding and an oddly empty open world keep the game from being a stone-cold classic, Metroid Prime 4 is still a great experience that manages to mostly live up to its long wait.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Developer: Retro Studios
Price: $100 CAD, $70 USD
Platform: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
MonsterVine was supplied with a Switch 2 code for review.
I remember exactly where I was when Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was first announced – I was walking down a street in Los Angeles with MonsterVine Founder William Saw and Editor-in-Chief Austin Adamson during E3 2017. We were on our way to an early appointment as the Nintendo Direct was happening, chugging hot coffee and trudging through the heat, when we all saw on Twitter (God rest its miserable soul) that Metroid Prime 4 was actually happening. I was three years into my tenure at MV, but I didn’t know that the game wouldn’t actually release for another seven and a half years, following a development restart, global pandemic, and all sorts of other wacky hijinks. But hey, here it is, and honestly? It was mostly worth it.
Though exploration is admittedly less of a focus in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, I actually didn’t mind the more linear nature of this one. It doesn’t feel entirely streamlined, and there’s just enough exploration and puzzle-solving in each area to maintain that Metroid feeling. I never felt too overwhelmed by places, but they never seemed too thin or straightforward either. It’s just as exciting to find new upgrades and optional power-ups as you progress through each zone, and the introduction of the VI-O-LA motorcycle makes navigating through larger areas more exciting. Plus, Samus looks incredibly badass on a huge sci-fi motorcycle.
Combat is exciting and fast-paced, with the different elemental blasts that you gather becoming an instrumental and thrilling part of battle. Freezing, burning, and electrifying enemies is a blast, and finally gaining access to classic subweapons like the Super Missile and the Psychic Bomb makes you feel like a god. I love the new Psychic abilities too, as they’ll have you guiding energy shots, using telekinesis, and solving puzzles in new ways. It’s a suitable evolution of the mechanics from previous Metroid Prime titles, and lives up to the hearty reputation that its predecessors thusly established. Also, I have to say that I just love scanning stuff. Getting bits of lore through scanning everything around you is always a plus for me, so I’m glad that’s returned here.
“If anything, the cast helps round the game’s world out rather well, so I’m glad they were included in the way that they were.“
Much has been said online about the NPCs of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. The clips I saw of the infamous Myles MacKenzie certainly had me a bit concerned, but I didn’t need to be. Honestly, the first five minutes of his presence are shockingly irritating and out of place, but almost immediately after that, he becomes a completely fine and occasionally pretty likable character. It’s like a boomer marketing executive wrote his intro, while the writing staff did the rest. The rest of the cast is absolutely serviceable as well, and they don’t spend as much time with Samus as I feared, keeping the impeccable isolation that Metroid is known for intact. If anything, the cast helps round the game’s world out rather well, so I’m glad they were included in the way that they were.
That said, there are certainly a couple of issues in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. The biggest of which comes from the “Green Crystals.” Essentially, throughout the game, you can collect green crystals around the open desert while travelling between areas. It seems fairly optional, given they mostly provide you with minor upgrades when you bring them back to base. Just before the final area, though, you learn that you need to gather a certain amount of them to get the Legacy suit and a necessary item called the Memory Fruit. I had diverged from the main narrative to drive around the desert and gathered every Green Crystal (which I really wish was given a more interesting name) I saw, and I just barely had enough to progress. I can’t imagine how frustrating this moment is for people who didn’t spend a couple of hours driving around pretty aimlessly, as this really does come off as empty padding.
This leads to the other main issue – the open world of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is pretty empty. There’s little incentive to drive around to find the Green Crystals, as there are just a handful of puzzle-oriented shrines to explore within the desert. I’m not saying there needs to be Ubisoft towers or anything, but given there’s almost nothing in general, it just feels a bit strange to spend so much time going back and forth through this huge space with almost nothing of interest to do or take part in. If there were cool things between crystal patches, it would feel much more natural to collect them, so the emptiness just makes the fetch quest feel more tacked-on.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond retains the series’ fantastic atmosphere.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a beautiful game that truly shows off how far the Nintendo Switch 2 is from its predecessor’s hardware. Being able to choose between Quality and Performance Mode in a Nintendo game is a little surreal, but I found both modes to be completely sufficient in terms of looks and performance. Samus looks fantastic in her new suits, while the other NPCs and enemies have tight designs that work well in the game’s world. The music and sound design are top-notch as well, with Sylux’s battle theme standing out as a real favorite.
The Final Word
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has a couple of stumbling points, but it’s still a primarily great follow-up to the titles that came before. The environments are soaked in eerie atmospherics, the characters are surprisingly pleasant, and the gameplay is as satisfying as ever. The linearity may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I think that this all comes together to make for a unique and solid Metroid Prime title. Let’s just hope we get the next one before 2033.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
