After a long wait since it was first announced back in 2017, there was no way Metroid Prime 4 could ever meet expectations after such a long and grueling wait. Not since Metroid: Other M has a Metroid game sparked such strong division among fans. Between some questionable implementation of amiibo support, cringe dialogue, debate over the graphics, and a sprawling desert hub, there’s a lot to suggest that Prime 4 could be terrible… but is it?
Of course, it isn’t terrible. It’s actually kinda cool for the most part if you liked the last three Prime games, because that’s what you are getting. It’s more Metroid Prime, for better and for worse. This is the brief version, but if you’re curious about what worked and what didn’t, check out our Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review!
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Developer: Nintendo, Retro Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: December 4, 2025
Price: $59.99 / $69.99 (Nintendo Switch 2 Edition)
Sylux is leading an attack on a research station to steal a mysterious artifact. In his assault, it’s revealed he’s using cloned metroids to control space pirates, and just as his victory is within grasp, everyone’s favorite bounty hunter swoops in. Samus is too late, as the space pirates find the object of power and activate it, teleporting themselves, several federation troopers, and even a few chunks of the station to the planet Viewros.
Separated from her ship and marooned on an alien planet along with her enemies and a few soldiers, Samus not only has to survive and save who she can, but still thwart that fiendish Sylux’s grudge campaign. Beyond has a simple story that fosters classic Metroidian search-and-find gameplay. As always, Samus must explore, sometimes backtrack, solve puzzles, and engage in shootouts with murderous robots and large alien fauna.
Yet, this fourth time around, it feels like Retro Studios might be running dry of ideas. Everything feels iterative of past ideas. Instead of ancient Chozo ruins, Samus plunders Lamorn structures, an equally enigmatic, advanced alien race that also bestows suspiciously similar suit upgrades. The most surprising aspect about these aliens is their uncanny obsession with yonic-looking architecture that may raise some eyebrows.
The yonic designs may seem out of place, but they make sense when you consider the deep cut influences set by H.R. Giger’s psychosexual designs seen in Alien. Beyond is easily the most direct in referencing Giger compared to earlier Metroid titles. Many hallways, doors, and structures have an appropriately Alien-like design, yet they never feel like a rip-off, which is impressive since lesser games would never have such restraint.
Beyond was always meant to be an original Switch game, and for the most part, you’d never be able to tell. Retro’s technical panache is as impressive as seen in their Metroid Prime Remaster, with Beyond looking just as good… for the most part. The only part that doesn’t stand out visually is the vast desert hub, intentionally barren but overly flat, with small dunes that fail to impress.
I get what they were going for with the hub area, but it’s as hollow as the sky in Skyward Sword. Attempts to justify this wasteland included adding a few Zelda-like shrines for upgrades, which are well-designed modules but would have worked better if they had been integrated into the five main areas instead. It’s a shame the hub area fails to live up to its full potential, but it still creates a great atmosphere and occasionally captures a sense of loneliness.
The desert isn’t even all that big. Samus can get from one end to the other in less than a minute on her motorcycle. Aside from finding a few collectibles and the occasional enemy encounter, crossing the desert is mostly uneventful. It’s too bad because Samus’ bike is admittedly very cool and fun to use, yet also isn’t used to its fullest. The best moments with it are the Tron Legacy-like races at the forge.
Comparisons to Zelda are inevitable since Metroid and Zelda are basically cousins. Zelda is an overhead action-adventure series with a sword. Metroid is a 2D platformer action-adventure with a gun. Both series have the protagonist gaining incremental upgrades through exploring open-ended environments. Link and Samus use tools to solve puzzles, and they get hookshots.
Beyond goes even further in embracing its Zelda-like qualities than any previous Metroid game, while still maintaining its distinct Metroid Prime flavor. In fact, it plays it too safe. Most of the abilities Samus acquires are recycled from past titles, but with the word “psychic” stapled on. Some exceptions exist, like the psychic charge shot that slows time and lets players manually guide it, a clever mechanic used during bosses and puzzles.
The few times Beyond dares to introduce new ideas is when it feels fresh and exciting. Regretfully, these moments are backloaded in the game, making the first few hours very dull and feeling like a generic Metroid Prime experience. It takes a little bit of time, but when you find yourself reaching the creepy frozen Lamorn laboratory that feels like the abandoned Norwegian base from John Carpenter’s The Thing, the intrigue finally grabs me.
Some of the best moments in Beyond are getting stuck in an area and figuring out how to work some esoteric alien device, or rolling through the many 2D sections as a morphball. If you love the first three Metroid Prime games, you’ll love the fourth one since it’s basically more of the same with a few minor surprises.
A lot has been discussed about the voice acting and side characters when they appeared in trailers. There was concern that the dialogue would be cringey, quippy, “Marvel” banter, but the reality is that the side characters don’t really have much to say after they have their scene. The few instances of lighthearted dialogue have been grossly exaggerated and don’t detract from the many hours of desolate loneliness that make up most of the game.
Even the geeky guy, Myles Mackenzie, has had his presence badly misrepresented on social media. For anyone concerned that he “ruined” the game, worry not, he’s no worse than Otacon in Metal Gear Solid. He’s actually kind of pathetically funny and has amusing incidental dialogue where he embarrassingly admits he can only do one push-up.
The claim that the desert lacks music is inaccurate, as a wistful ambient tune plays softly in the background. It’s annoying that the music player feature is locked behind a pricey amiibo, and no, even completing the game 100% won’t unlock it.
Unfortunately, the ridiculously long wait for Metroid Prime 4 didn’t fully pay off, as it turned out to be just an okay game. At least you can see where all the work went into it, since it is a beautiful-looking game and runs at a rock-solid frame rate on the first Switch and an utterly insane 120fps on Switch 2. The main downside of playing the original Switch version is that the doors take noticeably longer to open because the hardware just isn’t quite fast enough.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was reviewed on Nintendo 2 using a code provided by Nintendo. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is now available for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
