Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Review

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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was originally announced in 2017, shortly after the Nintendo Switch launched. The initial reveal only included a logo and the news that Bandai Namco would be developing the game, but then news went quiet for two years. In 2019, Nintendo surprisingly announced that development was being restarted by Retro Studios, seemingly because they weren’t satisfied with Bandai Namco’s progress. It must have been a serious issue, as it’s hard to imagine Nintendo being completely happy with the final version from Retro Studios either.

Since its founding in 1998, Retro Studios has consistently created excellent games. They launched with the innovative and highly praised Metroid Prime, followed by two successful sequels. They then delivered the Donkey Kong Country Returns games, which many consider to be among the best 2D platformers of all time. Given Retro’s impressive history and the legacy of Metroid Prime, I had very high hopes for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but I was ultimately more disappointed with it than I’ve ever been with any video game.

In Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, players once again control Samus Aran, this time on the planet Viewros. Her mission is to find five keys that activate teleporters. As the game progresses, Samus gains psychic abilities that let her reach new areas and solve puzzles, a hallmark of the Metroidvania style of gameplay.

The game could have used psychic powers to create entirely new abilities for Samus, but instead, it mostly reuses old moves with a purple visual effect. For example, the familiar Boost Ball and Spider Ball are just renamed as the ‘Psychic Boost Ball’ and ‘Psychic Spider Ball.’ The new Control Beam feels like a copy of the Batarang from Batman: Arkham, just with a different look. While psychic powers occasionally allow Samus to move objects, the concept never really feels fully explored or innovative.

Despite some new ideas, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is most enjoyable when it focuses on what Metroid games do best. Samus’s weapons and abilities are still fun to use, and it’s satisfying to unlock new tools that help you explore. The puzzles and areas built around these abilities are well-designed and enjoyable. While the game isn’t groundbreaking, it falters when it tries to do things too differently.

Metroid Prime 4 Doesn’t Know What It Wants to Be

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond struggles to find its identity, falling between the traditional Metroid Prime experience and a fully open-world design. This lack of commitment is its main weakness. The game’s attempt at a semi-open world feels empty, largely consisting of a vast, uninteresting desert. This design choice seems intended to artificially lengthen the game by spacing out dungeons and forcing players to revisit completed areas to find crucial items.

Image via Nintendo

I went to the ice area, but quickly discovered I needed a Flare Shot to proceed. After obtaining it, I had to return to base to unlock the ability – Samus can’t install upgrades herself! Then, I tried the lava area, only to find I needed the Ice Shot. Another trip to get it, another trip back to base to install it, and then I discovered I needed yet another item to fully explore. This meant more backtracking, and to make matters worse, there’s no fast travel system, making the whole process incredibly frustrating.

So, I found out if you want to change the music while exploring the desert area on Vi-O-La in Metroid Prime 4, you need to shell out thirty bucks for the Samus amiibo. It’s kinda annoying that they’re locking extra music behind it, but I guess that’s how it is.

While some players dislike the game’s open world, thankfully Samus doesn’t have to travel everywhere on foot. She quickly gets a motorcycle, called Vi-O-La, which makes getting around much faster. Many fans were initially worried about its inclusion, but it actually makes the desert areas feel more realistic and is fun to ride, especially jumping off dunes. Vi-O-La is a welcome addition, and it would be great to see a similar vehicle in a future game with a more exciting environment. Plus, using the motorcycle gives Samus a cool new red armor suit – arguably her best-looking one yet.

Fans were also concerned about the supporting characters in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, worried they might be awkward or annoying. The story involves Samus rescuing companions who were also transported to the planet Viewros and getting them back to safety. While some of the dialogue can be a bit silly, these characters don’t detract from the overall game. Beyond features more cutscenes than previous Metroid Prime games, and surprisingly, these cinematic moments are among the most enjoyable and memorable parts of the experience.

While some parts of the game felt repetitive, like driving through the desert and revisiting areas, I especially liked the action sequences in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. These exciting moments really stood out and made the slower parts worth playing. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but they were a definite highlight.

While Metroid Prime 4: Beyond features fantastic and original boss designs – a welcome change from reusing old fights – some of the battles unfortunately drag on too long. The intimidating creatures are great to encounter, but many bosses require excessive hits to defeat, making the later parts of the fights feel tedious rather than exciting. I found myself wanting the battles to end about halfway through.

While Metroid Prime 4: Beyond boasts stunning graphics and beautifully designed environments, it unfortunately includes frustrating elements that hinder the experience. Lengthy boss battles, a monotonous desert area, and repetitive backtracking detract from what is otherwise solid level design. Despite being a game released on both older and newer consoles, Beyond looks remarkably good, and it’s exciting to imagine what Retro Studios can achieve with a Metroid Prime game built specifically for the Switch 2.

The Switch 2 Difference

The Switch 2 version of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond runs better and looks sharper, and now supports playing with a mouse. While I enjoyed using a standard Switch 2 Pro Controller, it’s great that players have different ways to control the game.

The dungeons in Beyond are generally enjoyable, even if they’re a bit more straightforward than fans of the series might expect. It’s frustrating, then, that the game often pushes players towards its weaker aspects and away from what it does well, hindering the overall experience.

Metroid Prime 4’s Green Crystal Hunt Derails Any Momentum It Might Have Had

It’s really noticeable in one of the game’s key objectives needed to finish Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Players have to collect five keys, but they also need to gather green energy crystals and bring them back to base. I tried to collect every crystal I found while exploring the desert, assuming it would be easy. However, when I finally delivered them, I realized I hadn’t even made it halfway to the required amount.

In Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, players can find shrines filled with green energy crystals to increase their power. However, the puzzles in these shrines are surprisingly simple, and even completing them all didn’t provide enough crystals to move forward in the game. I ended up spending about an hour driving around the desert and breaking rocks to collect enough, which wasn’t a very enjoyable experience – especially for a Metroid game.

It takes around 10 hours to finish the main story of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but completing everything – finding all the scans and items – will likely take another 10 hours, bringing the total playtime to around 20 hours.

Even with some issues, I believe an open-world Metroid Prime game could be great, but it needs to fully commit to the idea. Beyond had the potential to be a game-changer for the series, similar to how Breath of the Wild revitalized Zelda, but it ended up feeling like a confusing compromise. It’s only enjoyable when it revisits familiar concepts, and its new ideas don’t quite work. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond struggles to find its identity, resulting in an odd open world design alongside decent dungeons that still don’t live up to previous games.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is now available on both Nintendo Switch and the new Nintendo Switch 2. Our review is based on the Switch 2 version of the game.

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2025-12-11 18:36