By Jon Scarr
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has been sitting in the back of my mind for years. I still remember that 2017 announcement, then the long silence, then hearing it restarted at Retro Studios in 2019. So when I finally had it running on Nintendo Switch 2, I did that thing where you stop for a second before moving. Just to make sure it’s real.
Once I had control, the familiar Prime flow came back fast. You move, you scan, you slow down, then you push forward again. It felt familiar, but it didn’t feel stuck in the past either. The first rooms made me pay attention in that classic Metroid way, where you’re checking corners and staring at a door like it might matter later.
What surprised me most is how calm the opening feels, even when it throws danger at you. The game doesn’t sprint to prove itself. It just settles in, and it lets you settle in too. A few minutes in, I realised I was already playing slower on purpose. That’s usually a good sign.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Details
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch 2
Developer: Retro Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Action-adventure
Available game modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: Teen
Viewros and the Cost of Isolation
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond opens with Samus Aran thrown straight into danger. Samus joins Galactic Federation forces during a dangerous operation on Tanamaar, only for the situation to collapse almost immediately. A mysterious artifact activates during a confrontation with Sylux, scattering combatants across space. When Samus regains consciousness, she is alone on Viewros, cut off from everything familiar.
That isolation hits right away, and Viewros sells it because every zone feels like its own little problem to solve. Fury Green is all overgrown and warm, like nature is trying to swallow the place. Volt Forge flips that with loud machinery and constant energy. Then Ice Belt shows up and suddenly you’re moving slower, watching your footing through tighter halls. And the more you poke around, the more you can tell the Lamorn are all over this planet’s history.
The story keeps things quiet most of the time, and I liked that it doesn’t rush to explain itself. You’re piecing things together through logs, devices, and small environmental hints instead of long story dumps. Sylux stays in the background without constantly popping in, and the Lamorn history shows up in bits when you slow down and actually look around. I had an early moment in Fury Green where the lighting shifted in a small clearing and I just stopped moving. Nothing happened. I still stood there for a second anyway. That little “something feels off here” moment is where Prime usually shines, and this game nails it.
Combat That Clicks Fast
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond gets comfortable quickly. Aiming feels sharp from the start, and the Joy-Con 2 mouse-style controls made it easy to line up the kind of shots I usually mess up when I’m rushing. Movement stays fluid, and the early fights give you room to get settled before the game starts asking more from you. Before long, the scan-observe-react loop kicks in and you’re back in that familiar headspace.
Boss battles push that design further. Each major fight emphasizes timing and awareness while remaining readable. Patterns are clear enough to learn but varied enough to stay interesting. These encounters feel integrated into Viewros rather than isolated challenges, helping the overall pacing stay balanced.
Psychic Abilities and World Design
Exploration deepens as new psychic abilities enter the mix. These powers change how you approach familiar spaces, letting you manipulate objects, redirect energy, or interact with mechanisms from a distance. Instead of introducing entirely new systems, these abilities feel like natural extensions of Samus’ existing toolkit.
Backtracking becomes more rewarding as a result. Areas you passed through earlier often reveal new routes once you have the right tools. The game rarely points these out directly, so the payoff comes from noticing the right detail at the right time. I had a couple of moments where I doubled back almost out of habit, spotted something I ignored earlier, and then felt a little dumb for not seeing it sooner. In a good way. That’s Prime.
Sol Valley and the Role of Vi-O-La
Sol Valley shifts how the game feels right away. It’s a wide open space that links a few major areas, and Vi-O-La, the Lamorn-built bike, makes getting across it way easier than walking the whole thing. Riding feels good, steering makes sense without thinking about it, and being able to shoot while moving keeps those long stretches from turning into autopilot.
The valley can feel pretty quiet, but it still finds ways to pull you off course. I kept spotting upgrades or strange structures and telling myself I’d come back later, then turning anyway. The bike helps a lot with that. When I had to head back to an earlier area, it felt like a quick ride instead of a slog. That makes a big difference in a game that asks you to bounce between regions as often as this one does.
Metroid Prime 4 Beyond Looks Sharp on Nintendo Switch 2
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond makes strong use of the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. Lighting does a lot of work here, especially when you move from tight corridors into wider rooms and everything shifts around you. Some areas glow warmly, while others feel colder and harder. I kept catching myself scanning extra objects just because the lighting made a space feel important. It’s a simple trick, but it works.
Audio design supports the visuals well. Environmental sounds change subtly across regions, and the soundtrack stays restrained, reinforcing mood without overpowering exploration. Small touches, like the way sound shifts while scanning objects, add to the sense of place.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Is a Confident Step Forward for the Series
By the time the credits rolled, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond felt like a game I was glad I took my time with. The world holds together, the pacing mostly works, and the game doesn’t fall apart when it slows down. I had a few moments where I stopped in a room just to look around or double-check a detail because something felt off, like it was hinting at more. That quiet curiosity is what Prime does best, and it carried me through to the end.
Shooting feels sharp, movement stays reliable, and the boss fights hit that sweet spot where you feel pushed without getting annoyed. I even spent time swapping control options around just to see how they felt, which says a lot about how solid everything is under the hood.
What matters most is that this doesn’t feel like a game looking backward. It respects what came before, but it’s comfortable trying new ideas. By the end, it feels like a complete chapter on its own, and a solid base for whatever Prime does next.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Review Summary
Liked
- Viewros encourages careful exploration, with scanning that consistently rewards attention.
- Combat stays fluid, and elemental shots matter throughout the adventure.
- Joy-Con 2 mouse-style aiming offers excellent precision.
- Vi-O-La improves traversal and reduces frustration during backtracking.
- Boss fights are fair, readable, and tied closely to the world.
Didn't Like
- - Sol Valley can feel quiet during longer stretches.
- - Psychic abilities are occasionally easy to forget until prompted.
- - Slower moments may disrupt pacing if you prefer constant action.
Overall Assessment of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Gameplay: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (4.5 / 5)
Graphics: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 / 5)
Sound: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (4.5 / 5)
Replayability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4 / 5)