Review - Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
"So... Win?"
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
December 4, 2025 - Nintendo, Retro Studios
Metroidvania, FPS - Bill Vandervoort, Jhony Ljungstedt, Eric Sebesta, Jesse Lee Keeter, Tracy Nicoletti, Megan Fausti, Kensuke Tanabe
Nintendo Switch 1 & 2
While answering a distress call from the Galactic Federation, Samus encounters the rebellious Sylux. After a surprising chain of events, Samus and a group of surviving troopers are transported to a mysterious planet called Viewros, where they must find a way to escape. Samus also investigates the mysteries of a lost alien race as well.
Characters, World, and Presentation
Metroid Prime’s previous trilogy was based around the mysteries of Phazon, the blue substance that seemed to make things go crazy. During these adventures, Samus would explore new worlds, battle the Space Pirates, face familiar foes such as her arch-nemesis Ridley, and be hunted by Dark Samus, the transformation from the series title Metroid Prime, who fused with her Phazon Suit from their first battle. When the trilogy ended, it began a long gap that would take 18 years until a new entry in the FPS Metroidvania shooter. Along the way, we got a polarizing third-person title in Metroid: Other M (which I have yet to play), a critically acclaimed remake in Metroid: Samus Returns, and the awesome-and should have won 2021 GOTY, Metroid Dread. So how did Samus’s return to the FPS genre go? Well, we got what I would call a pretty damn good entry into my favorite video game franchise.
Samus finds herself in Viewros, a planet once ruled by the Lamorn, who use crystal to give themselves psychic abilities. As you explore the planet, you’ll not only learn about the Lamorns, but also get their powers and expand your tools. The planet is gorgeous, using art direction rather than realism to produce stunning visuals that took me aback. I played this on the Switch 2, but from what I’ve seen on YouTube, it still looks good on the original Switch. This is something Retro Studios, which hasn’t made a brand-new game in such a long time, has always been good at. They really pull every ounce of graphical juice they can get out of Nintendo’s consoles.
Joining Samus in her journey are four Galactic Federation troopers and a robot. This group has become a significant topic of discussion among many critics and fans and has proven to be close to, though I would argue not quite reaching, the polarizing views of Metroid: Other M. I’m gonna level with you… I actually liked these guys and didn’t find them annoying. I think the characters and their interactions with Samus have been jarring for longtime series fans. This is a series built on atmosphere and quiet, but these guys have some dialogue that’s obviously put there to give moments of levity. Some will call these moments “corny”, but I saw it as Retro trying to add more personality to the game, and quite frankly, by the end, I found myself caring about the troopers in a blockbusting popcorn flick type of way.
The main presentation of the game is in an open zone. The hub is the desert, which a bunch of people have claimed to be bad, but I never hated it. Sure, I would have liked more in it, but I saw it as what it was, a way to go from point A to point B, while also collecting green crystals and upgrading my beam shots. Around the desert are a few areas that function like mini-sandbox areas, similar to Avowed. While I prefer the more connected world of the original Prime games, I did feel like this was a way to avoid overwhelming players, especially given that everything these days is a giant open world. The frozen Ice Belt area has a Metroid Fusion tension to it that fans of that game are going to really like. Fury Green feels like something taken out of the original Prime game. Volt Forge and the mines gave me vibes of Metroid Prime 3, and the volcanic zone is an obvious nod to the series' many volcanic areas.
As for Samus herself, she stays quite (something I surprisingly found a tad bit annoying at times, as I’ll explain later), but I will say this is the best she’s ever looked. The Vi-O-La Suit straight up looks badass, as Samus should always look. I’m going to miss it in future entries. It just looks right as a modern update to the icon.
Gameplay, Design, and Sound
The gameplay loop is exactly what you expect from the Prime series. It’s a Metroidvania in FPS form, you scan enemies and items to get lore, you slowly uncover secrets, you find new weapons based around elements that unlock new places, and you have battles with big-time monsters. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. As a super fan of the series, who has Metroid Prime as his favorite… I loved being back in this formula. Even better, one new idea the game adds to modernize the series is ways to give you hints about where power-ups and pickups are. Considering that Metroidvanias tend to get mixed views on backtracking and exploration, I feel Retro Studios' decision to modernize the series for new fans was a good one, and not one that would scare them off. It does take a certain upgrade to unlock this, but they give it to you at the right time.
The other major aspect of the game is the Vi-O-La bike. This is something you’ll ride in the desert hub area most of the time, but man, does this baby handle well. This bike nails the feel without feeling inaccessible. If Retro Studios wants to make a racing game, I am entirely okay with that, as long as it plays as this bike handles. It just makes sense, Samus on a motorcycle, and it’s actually shocking we didn’t get this sooner. There’s even a couple of side bosses you can fight on the bike, and it doesn’t feel too bad. I hope this isn’t a one and done and we get the hunter back on a bike in the future entries.
Boss fights are a big part of the Metroid series, and this one has some great fights. Most of the fights will require using your weapons in ways to get rid of armor or be able to expose weak areas, as well as nailing the spectacle presentation that I love in a video game boss. My favorite boss in the game is in the volcanic zone of the map, as it felt like a classic Metroid villain. The final boss battle also does a good job of feeling pretty epic.
Last but not least, we got the soundtrack, which is just absolutely amazing. Metroid games tend to have well done atmospheric music, but with more action and side characters in this one, they focus on a rock score that feels badass. You’ll still get some classic Metroid music, but you can’t tell me you won’t be nodding your head along as the Volt Forge theme plays. It’s not quite Doom rock music, but it’s a flavor of music and score that fits the game perfectly.
Negatives
My main negative about this game is the antagonist. Sylux has been teased for a while as a future big bad for the series, and this is the first game where he is supposed to be a big presence. The problem is that he’s barely in it. He appears at the start and end of the game, and android robots that mimic him serve as bosses a couple of times. I don’t know why they made this decision, but if the ending is anything to go by, they may be hoping to turn this into a new trilogy and have Sylux take a bigger role in those.
Another thing I found negative is the enemies themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I just praised the boss fights and the Grievers are solid villains, but outside of the start of the game, you won’t see any classic Metroid villain. There are no space pirates, Metroids, or Ridley to be found. This is more subjective, but I was disappointed in that. Ridley has some great moments in the first and third Prime entries, so not seeing him in a similar role to Prime 2 was a letdown. At least Metroid Dread had Kraid and Ridley’s absence make sense, considering that game comes last in the timeline.
There’s also the NPC characters, which again I personally liked, but I can see why some found them annoying. If you’re a long-time fan, some people aren’t going to be crazy about these characters, as it’s a break from the atmospheric feeling these games tend to have. Furthermore, and a bit of a spoiler here, the final act of the game has those characters heavily involved to the point that it feels like you’re playing a subseries in a Halo game. Plus, when they talk to you, Samus doesn’t talk back and nods. They got Erin Yvette to do grunts and noises for Samus, but they couldn’t have her do small responses like “yes”. I think it’s due to the Metroid: Other M controversy around her talking, but it just felt weird for everyone to talk, and Samus didn’t. I would have been fine if she had given small answers.
Last, similar to Starfield, I got the feeling while playing that it felt more like a great 2010s game than a 2020s one. What I mean is that the shooting mechanics and save spots here feel dated. I know aim assist is a big part of the series, but there are a lot of boss moments that require using a free shot, and the cursor feels weird when playing with a Pro Controller. Point-and-click with the Joy-Cons is fine, but remember that many people will play this in handheld mode as well. The save stations drove me crazy. There are checkpoints during big moments and autosaves, but the gaps to reach them are pretty long, and I do feel the series needs to rethink how it saves the game in the future.
Ultimately, I feel like this game has two stories. If you’re a massive Metroid or Metroidvania fan like me, I think this game is an absolute must play title and deserves the Essential Gold medal, as I feel it’s something fans of the genre have to play. However, I will also give it a Silver Recommended medal to gamers who are newcomers or just like the series, rather than those who love it. What we have here is a solid Metroid game with some really cool moments, awesome boss fights, and a killer soundtrack, but it’s mixed with subjectively polarizing side characters and what feels like 2010s ideas. It’s definitely a game I loved every moment playing, but it just misses the mark of reaching the heights of the series the way the original Metroid Prime, Super Metroid, and Metroid Dread did. However, even if it doesn’t hit those highs, you still have another great entry to my favorite video game series, and we get another adventure with one of gaming’s most iconic women. Also, you have to listen to the Volt Forge theme, seriously, it’s addicting.
Hmm, I'm seeing a lot of mixed opinions on Metroid Prime 4. Some think it's good, some bad. At least the opinions seem consistent on the areas like the structure or NPCs, meaning it's down to a matter of preference on whether you like these things or not.
I'm glad you enjoyed it though.
Nice to read a positive review of the game. I'm only about two hours in and I like some of what I've played, but the game also just feels empty to me. The earlier Metroid Primes felt a lot denser in their world design. Still looking forward to playing the rest, though!
Thanks for the post!