Overall, I'm thrilled to see another Metroid Prime after such a long break. It's hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years since Metroid Prime 3, the series is up there with my all time favorites. The core pillars of a Prime game, such as being in Samus' helmet, scanning, going into the morph ball, exploration, atmosphere, the map system , collecting secrets and combat are still as strong today as they were when the first Metroid Prime hit the Gamecube.

However, it's no surprise this one is a little rough considering the development hell it went through. It feels very dated in a lot of ways. The overworld map desert is a bit bland, and any tasks beyond traversal with the Vi-0-La bike had me rolling my eyes. The structure feels a bit strange, with a shockingly bad ending, one of the worse and most puzzling I've seen that feels entirely incomplete and incompatible with Samus as a character.

Still, the "dungeons" are fantastic. Volt Forge and the Ice Belt in particular had me in awe. I liked the home base of Fury Green and the friends you make along the way.

So it's a mostly pretty great for me, with a few caveats that dropped the score for me - the poor ending, the slightly dated feel , lack of Screw Attack (by law, this should be in every Metroid game) and even the lack of classic fanfare in the end credits bugged me more than it should.

Still, the soundtrack is incredible, the item fanfare got me fired up every single time, backtracking with new abilities is as addicting as ever and I think it's a good game that could have been better.

18 vuotta, niin kauan kestää että vauva kasvaa täysi-ikäiseksi ja niin kauan kesti Metroid Primen kolmannen ja neljännen osan välillä. On suoranainen ihme, että uusi Metroid Prime todellakin on pelattavassa muodossa ja vielä ihmeellisempää on se, että julkaistu peli oli näinkin hyvä. Tämä ei ole Breath of the Wildin tapainen pelisarjan uudistaja ja messiaspeli, mutta silti erittäin viihdyttävä ja hyvin tehty kokonaisuus. Pelissä on Switch 2 siisteimmät grafiikat ja art direction, joka tietyissä paikoissa pysäyttää vain ihastelemaan ympäristöään Tämän lisäksi on uskomatonta, että peli pyörii telkkarin kautta 4k60fps performance moodilla. Jotain taikuutta Retro Studiosilla on selkeästi tehty.

Peli toimii pitkälti perus Metroid kaavalla, mutta pelisuunnittelu muistuttaa hyvin paljon vanhoja Zeldoja (ennen BotWia). Alueet ovat luolastoja joissa saa luolaston puolessa välissä uuden ominaisuuden jolla saa reitin auki alueen pääbossille. Kun alueen pääbossi on lyöty, alueille ei paljolti enää palata. Joku voi ajatella tätä huonona asiana, mutta Zeldassa tämä kaava on toiminut, joten itselläni tämä ei ollut ongelma tässäkään pelissä. Alueita/luolastoja yhdistää Sol Valley, joka pitkälti muistuttaa Zeldojen Hyrule Fieldiä. Sol Valleytä varten Samus saa käyttöönsä scifi moottoripyörä Violan, ja toisaalta sen kanssa ajaminen pitkin Sol Valleyn aavikkoa muistutti minua myös Wind Wakerin seilailua. Tämä moottoripyöräily tarjosi mukavan vastapainon luolastojen tiiviimmille kokemuksille.

Pelissä on hyviä bossitappeluita, kivasti lisää tarinaa ja mukavasti lisää modernia henkeä NPC-hahmojen ja cutscenejen muodossa. Peli piti tiukasti otteessaan loppuun asti ja on hienoa nähdä että pelejä tehdään edelleen hyvin pelimäisiksi. Loppubossi tarjosi jo mukavaa haastetta, mutta Dreadin kaltaista turhautumista tässä pelissä ei tarvinnut kokea. Tämä oli itselleni kaiken odotuksen arvoinen kokemus ja toivon hartaasti, että Metroid Prime 5 tulee hieman nopeammin kuin 18 vuoden odotuksen jälkeen.

Kiitettävä 4/5

3.5/5

The fact we were able to get a fourth Metroid Prime game to be released after the development hell it went through, and the time since 3 released can't be ignored. By now I'm sure you've seen many reviews blasting the game and being pretty critical of it. Some of the criticisms are rightfully earned. This is a pretty good game, but not a very good Metroid game if that makes sense. I still enjoy ed my time with it and rolled credits on it, but I'd be lying to myself if I didn't admit I was a bit disappointed.

Visually, this game absolutely shines. This is probably the best looking game released on a Nintendo platform ever. Some of the set pieces and design choices aren't great, but at least they look pretty. I did have an issue with the contrast when driving around the desert area, as the bright sun and sand, contrasted against the dark sky really washes out the colors at times.

In terms of gameplay if you've played any of the other Metroid Prime games, you know what to expect. Metroid-vania semi open world that will require backtracking periodically as you unlock new abilities and can open new areas. The desert acts as a hub world between each of the more interesting areas you need to explore. You drive the new bike to get from place to place in the desert and while the design of the bike is cool, it's execution leaves a lot to be desired. Too open, with not enough interesting bits scattered around. Samus's abilities in this entry focus around kinetic type energy which sounds interesting, but the puzzles relying on it basically have you pull lever a to move platform b, or move orb from location a to b. I'd almost go as far as to say there are no puzzles in this game as no thought was required to solve them. The other big new addition this time around is the supporting cast of characters. Each zone has a person you'll find and have to help rescue as you complete the areas. They are somewhat competent as they will all help in shooting enemies, but later on when you have the full team I'd almost wish you hadn't as you're constantly needing to heal/revive them as they don't understand they should move away from the massive attack coming right at them.

I'm glad we were able to get another Metroid Prime game. I hope if we do see another one in the future, they learn from mistakes and criticisms of this one to make a more fun game. It was pretty, but also pretty shallow.

As far as I know, Metroid is widely known due to its lack of characters, this lacking of interaction helps to accentuate the claustrophobic and isolated atmosphere, it´s one of those things that makes Metroid to be Metroid. Finally, Metroid Prime 4 intends to be a breath of fresh air within the Prime series, this intend translates itself in many controversial design decisions, such as, adding a colorful cast of partners, so they can help you in your main mission. I genuinely think if you are gonna bring some characters to the table, you´d better make them interesting at the least, not necessarily being the peak of character writing, as long they have a glimpse of charisma. It´s disappointing that Metroid Prime 4 fails badly in having either attractive nor well written characters. They are kind of annoying sometimes, and to be honest, the game would be mostly the same if they weren´t there. There is this MacKenzie person who joins you at the beginning of the game, and for what´s worth, he´s not as bad as other people make him out to be, but he surely can drags the pacing when he advises you all the time what you have to do. I´m aware that this is deliberately done so other people won´t drop the game, but I would like to have the option to choice myself if MacKenzie should be telling me what I have to or don´t. I don´t mind having characters around me, but if you are going to do it, do it in the best possible way.

Honestly, I think that´s my biggest complaint, because I did enjoy a lot of what Metroid Prime 4 has to offer. Personally, I love how the game uses the scanner as another way to expressing more of a subtle narrative, getting to learn everything about your environment with full detail, making the world to feel more credible. I found the level design to be amazing, and as for me, the dessert area was no problem, I thought it was fun to explore what little of it lets you to. I think we can all agree that, being a nexus which connects all of the areas of the game, it surely has a lot of room from improvement, nevertheless, it was fun for me. Bosses are incredible this time around, their battles are filled with freniness, you´d have to be mostly aware of your surroundings because of their non stop ranged attacks, not reaching the level of a bullet hell, but still being challenging enough. I know nothing about music, but the soundtrack rocks.

So... miracles do happen. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is actually released, and I've played it. Is it worth the incredibly long wait? Well... depends.

First things first: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a technical marvel and an audiovisual feast. The game runs well and looks absolutely stunning on Switch 2. Even the performance mode is 60 fps and 4K. That's wild, especially on a Nintendo console! The graphics are complemented with a really good, psychedelic art direction that makes multiple locations look gorgeous. To top it off, the game has some really good music and ambiance. The music sounds distinctly Metroid but with all kinds of off-kilter choices, like heavy guitars on some tracks or crazy, squelching synths on others. In short, the game is a treat for the eyes and ears.

Elsewhere, the game is weirdly safe. It feels a bit like a remasted of an older game than a new, modern one. The gameplay is very similar to Metroid Prime Remastered (well, it IS a game in the Prime series). That means, the controls, powerups and mechanics are largely the same, and I didn't really vibe with them in Metroid Prime Remastered. For example, the combat feels similarly impactless here. The biomes, while awesome looking, are also pretty standard. I mean, the biome themes are 'forest' , 'fire', 'ice' and 'electricity'.

It's also probably a sacrilege to say but I don't really like the scanning mechanic – especially since most scans give you nothing useful or interesting to read. It feels more like a chore than a fun mechanic to me. Because of my own stubbornness, I still couldn't help but scan everything in case I could actually get 100% scan rate. That's 100% on me.

I think the most divisive things in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond are the "open-world desert" as well as the federation trooper characters and the cutscenes with them. The desert felt a bit like an afterthought, and it was weirdly under-utilised. I had some fun there though, zooming around with Samus' new, cool motorbike. The federation troopers were... there. I don't think they were worth the pre-release drama (although having the humor character Mackenzie be your over-helpful tutorial and cliché radio guy wasn't the best choice) but they didn't really add much to the game either. They mostly were pretty predictable or said aloud what had just transpired.

As for the story, I got left a bit confused. I feel like the story of the federation troopers ended quite weirdly, and I don't know how the final boss connected to the game world, Viewros, and its story.

While I sound very critical of the game here, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is not a bad game. The devs clearly put effort and thought into it, and the puzzle designs are typical Nintendo-like quality. And since it sticks so close to old conventions, if you are a fan of Metroid Prime series, I guess you'll feel right at home and like what's on offer. I, too, had fun with it and I liked it a bit more than the Metroid Prime Remastered. Maybe I was just waiting for something new or different.

After almost a decade since its initial announcement, and another decade on top of that since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally a real game that you can play right now. It's very difficult for a game to live up to the level of anticipation created by that long of a gap, especially so when its development has been as troubled as it seems to have been with this game. After development was publicly scrapped and handed over to Retro Studios back in 2019, it became clear that something about Kensuke Tanabe's vision for Metroid Prime 4 wasn't gelling.

In many ways, Beyond shows the scars of a game with development issues. This game feels like it's constantly being pulled in different directions. At times, it wants to be an action-packed cinematic experience, and at others it just wants to be an atmospheric place for you to hang out in. Sometimes, it seems like it wants you to explore and roam freely, but then it also constantly tries to nudge you in specific directions. One moment it feels exactly like the first Metroid Prime, and the next it feels like a radical departure from anything Metroid has ever done before. These conflicts often threaten to tear the experience apart.

Having finished the game, it doesn't surprise me at all that Beyond has had such a polarizing reception in fan spaces. This game truly does reach dazzling new heights for the Metroid franchise. But it also makes some confounding design choices in the process. In the end, I feel like I'm solidly in the camp that likes this game. Sure, a lot of the risks taken by Retro Studios don't pan out, but believe me when I say that Beyond is just dripping with every bit of the magic that I felt playing the first Metroid Prime.

Let me take a step back to explain. Beyond shakes things up at a core level by altering the way the experience is structured. This game's world is more akin to a 2000s Zelda game than it is to the tightly-knit maze of a typical Metroid game. Beyond's main areas are now linked through a large overworld desert called Sol Valley which has shades of Hyrule Field or The Wind Waker's Great Sea. I didn't immediately hate this! It's quite a novel thing to see in a Metroid game, and they have really nailed the game-feel of riding your shiny new motorcycle.

But as the hours pile on, Sol Valley becomes a sore spot. For an area that is so large, it is truly visually uninteresting and featureless. There really aren't that many secrets to find or points of interest to explore. This is something that the developers mistakenly tried to remedy by filling Sol Valley with green crystals that you are frustratingly forced to collect in order to fuel an unnecessary endgame grind. It feels like a retroactive inclusion to justify the very existence of the overworld. By the end of the game, Sol Valley feels like blatant padding for a game that already feels spread way too thin.

Once you leave Sol Valley and enter one of the handful of "traditional" Metroid areas, however, things improve. Right out of the gate, Metroid Prime 4 is a visually stunning experience. The areas outside of the desert are dense with detail, and I was constantly delighted by what I was seeing. The 120fps support and stunning HDR implementation had me outright thinking that this may be one of the most visually pleasing games I've ever played. Sure, the occasional low-poly asset may sometimes remind you that this is essentially a souped-up Switch 1 game, but the art direction more than makes up for it, and the animation work is truly stupendous.

In terms of gameplay, however, the level designs do leave me a little conflicted. Fans of the original Metroid Prime may feel disappointed by just how simplified these levels are. Beyond is very preoccupied with making sure that the player never loses their way. The levels here are the most linear and guided that I've ever seen in this franchise. It still absolutely invokes all of the things I love about Metroid Prime; the atmosphere, the carefully hidden upgrades, the exciting first-person combat, are all here. And hell, I know for a fact that there are people out there that will actually prefer this more streamlined take on Metroid. But nonetheless, there is a looming sense that this is a game that doesn't have much trust in your intelligence as a player.

The most glaring example of this is the existence of Myles MacKenzie, the first of several voiced NPCs that you encounter during your adventure. Myles is obnoxious at first, but after quickly learning that he is dead weight to Samus in the dangerous wilds of planet Viewros, he fades into a supporting role through the occasional radio message. These don't really interrupt the gameplay per se, and there were times where I even appreciated the way he smooths out some of the more frustrating aspects of Metroid's backtracking by always pointing you in the right direction. But other times, I really wish he would just shut up and let me discover things for myself. It again feels very similar to 2000s Zelda. Like in those games, the hand-holding is a sore spot, but not enough to ruin the experience.

And on the topic of voiced NPCs, this is perhaps the most controversial design choice, at least judging by online comments. However, I think the hate here is unjustified. Sure, Metroid is traditionally associated with loneliness and isolation, but that doesn't mean that it can't evolve into something else. In fact, I found most of the characters in Beyond to be quite endearing, and I appreciated the way they served as a window into the wider Metroid universe outside of Samus herself.

They are perhaps a little too shallow. You won't find any deep character arcs or serious character exploration here. But I found this crew of Galactic Federation soldiers to be added very respectfully to the spirit of Metroid, and do a good job of adding a little bit of color to the overall narrative. They help to drive some of the game's most exciting and cinematic moments, yet they step back frequently in order to give Samus plenty of alone time to enjoy.

Metroid Prime 4's issues may threaten to subject it to death by a thousand cuts. I apologize for yet ANOTHER Zelda comparison, but it really is quite similar to the feel of Skyward Sword. That game was similarly conflicted. It also experimented with the old Zelda formula and failed spectacularly in some aspects. But despite that, it still managed to retain the magic of past games. Similarly, and even moreso than Skyward Sword, Metroid Prime 4 overcomes its problems to become an experience that is greater than the sum of its faulty parts.

A lot of that comes down to the unparalleled atmosphere and sense of immersion. It's almost comical how many times Samus becomes stranded on a strange planet, but they have once again managed to make the trope work here. Viewros is a mysterious world with a fascinating past. I spent a lot of time gleefully putting on the hat of Samus the detective, scanning every artifact in order to learn about the history of the Lamorn, the psychic-powered natives of the planet that have tasked Samus with executing their plan to preserve their history long after their extinction.

The game expertly weaves these moments of silent isolation with exciting combat encounters that showcase the same excellent control schemes that shone in Metroid Prime Remastered. Best of all are the boss encounters, some of which are truly the most memorable of any Metroid game. The more linear design helps to mantain a sense of forward momentum, and with only a few hitches, the pacing is excellent. The returning upgrades and new abilities all feel great and complementary. The sound design is fantastic, from the music to the ambient sounds. And yes, even the voice acting, as cheesy as it can be sometimes, adds greatly to the experience.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is conflicted. While it has its low points, it certainly is an interesting game from start to finish. It challenges your assumptions of what a Metroid game can be, and presents new directions that the series can and should explore further in the future. Will the next Metroid embrace the open-world hints of Sol Valley? Or will it be even more cinematic and action-focused?

I don't think this will be many people's favorite Metroid game, but I anyhow see it as a critical stepping stone that hopefully leads us to something much greater in the future. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 18 years, though.