Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores, but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, all whilst including some lengthy gameplay, to give you, the reader, the chance to form your own impressions and views while reading and watching.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering Metroid Prime 4: Beyond by developer Retro Studios:
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond: (The Explanation)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has been a long time coming. Since the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for the Nintendo Wii back in 2007, there hasn’t been another mainline entry for 18 years. Sure, we have had other Metroid games like Metroid Prime Hunters, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, and then the likes of Metroid Dread and Metroid Prime Remastered, but what fans have really wanted is a new instalment to the Metroid Prime series.
In 2017, Metroid Prime 4 was announced to be in development for the Nintendo Switch. Little else was shared on the game until around 2019, when Nintendo issued an update stating that Retro Studios had restarted development after the big N was dissatisfied with the state of the game in the hands of another developer. Roll on to 2024, and we finally got a gameplay reveal for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and a release window for 2025. Now, after nearly two decades, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally out for both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond follows the intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran as she comes to the aid of the Galactic Federation to deal with space pirates that are attacking one of their research facilities. While Samus does as she does best, she encounters Sylux, her arch nemesis, leading the space pirates. Sylux goes to shoot Samus, only for her to leap out of the way to dodge his shot, causing it to strike a strange artifact instead. By doing so, the device reacts and teleports everyone within its radius off to a distant planet in the far reaches of space. When Samus regains consciousness, she finds herself alone on a strange new planet and learns that it is the planet Viewros by scanning stone statues and artifacts that have been left behind by a long-lost civilization known as the Lamorn. As Samus explores Viewros, she eventually finds stranded members of the Galactic Federation who had also been teleported to Viewros during the attack by Sylux. She then makes it her mission to find the other stranded members and try to get them back home.
Much like previous entries in the series, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond puts the player in the role of Samus Aran and tasks them with exploring exotic biomes full of strange and mysterious fauna and flora. As Samus, you must scan her surroundings and make use of her trusty arm cannon to keep any aggressive indigenous creatures at bay who may wish her harm. Through diligent exploration, Samus can acquire powerful upgrades for her suit and unlock special abilities. These will allow her to traverse through areas that she previously couldn’t reach, meaning that you will be backtracking to each region time and again to find new abilities that are required to venture further in other areas.
A lot of Samus’ typical abilities, like the Boost Ball, Missiless, Bomb, and Space Jump, all make a return, but this time, some of them have a new “psychic” spin to them. The Space Jump, for example, is now named the Psychic Boots and allows Samus to perform a double jump and stand on top of psychic platforms. The Charge Shot can now be controlled and will move in slow motion, giving you ample time to navigate the shot towards your desired targets. Samus can also learn the telekinesis ability to move psychic energy called motes and even grapple onto and swing from certain objects, or pull specific locks off of doors and containers. All of these skills and more, you will learn as you progress through the game naturally, so don’t worry if you find yourself unable to access a particular area because you lack an ability; you most definitely will have to return to that location at some point later on in the game anyway.
Most of the foundation of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is built on the tried and true mechanics of previous instalments. That said, it does introduce new ones. One such example is that the biomes are no longer interconnected and are, in fact, separated by a vast desert that acts like a hub of sorts. The Sol Valley desert has its own dangers and places of interest to keep an eye out for, but they are few and far between, and it can feel like a large empty space void of life (kind of like an actual desert). To make traversing this desolate region a little bit easier, Samus can acquire transportation in the form of Vi-O-La, a motorcycle- like vehicle, from the Volt Forge biome quite early on in the game.
Vi-O-La is reasonably quick and can be summoned by pressing the + button, but only in areas where it can be freely used (some biomes restrict the use of the motorcycle, so you will have to explore them on foot). I quite like the Motorcycle mechanic myself, but even I find it a little tedious later on in the game when I have to backtrack for the umpteenth time to the other side of the map to find a new upgrade. Fast Travel would have been nice to have so that I could easily return to previously explored areas, even if it was only to the entrance of a biome, and you had to use a warp point to get from one biome entrance to another.
As your primary means of transportation across the Sol Valley, Vi-O-La is quite limited in terms of what you can do with it. Sure, you can boost to go faster and attack with a slide or with its targeting weapon system, but there are two of its features that are locked behind amiibo. The new Samus Aran amiibo unlocks a radio function that allows you to change the music you hear when riding Vi-O-La (as well as refill your energy and grant you an energy shield). The Vi-O-La amiibo on the other hand, unlocks cosmetics for the vehicle, but you will need to reach certain ride distance milestones to earn them. It is a shame that these are features that are locked behind the amiibo as most amiibo rewards have usually been available in the game anyway, and were just a faster method of accessing them. On the topic of amiibo though, the Sylux amiibo unlocks a longer version of the ending cutscene, but you will need to beat the game to view it. As for the other Metroid series amiibo, they just make sounds that you can already hear in-game. I would have much preferred some cosmetics like variants of Samus’s suit, for example, but alas, it was not to be.
Even though Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is not officially labelled a first-person shooter and focuses primarily on exploration and 3D platforming, it does have its fair share of firefights and combat. Samus is armed with a cannon for a reason, and that is to defend herself from enemy threats. At her disposal, Samus is primarily armed with a simple energy cannon that she can fire in rapid succession or charge up for a more powerful shot. She can acquire weapon upgrades in the form of missiles and elemental shots that can do extra damage to enemies, but are also used to remove obstacles like debris or elemental locks, to open up new paths. Elemental Shots and Missiles are two separate resources that require their own specific ammo. They can also be expanded upon to increase their capacity and made stronger by finding the necessary upgrades, usually by venturing down hidden paths or newly accessible areas, thanks to a recently required power-up. As for the types of elemental shots that you can find. There is Fire, Ice, and Shock, which can be selected by pressing the respective button on the d-pad or left Joy-Con d-buttons.
Now, when it comes to choosing which version of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond you should go for, there are some features available for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game that are not available in the Switch version. For example, the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game has mouse controls that you can use at any time in the game by simply placing the right Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con into the Mouse position. You can use it to freely move the on-screen crosshair and fire in any direction you choose. This is handy for when fighting multiple enemies, and you want to quickly fire at multiple targets in quick succession, or you want to target a Boss’ weakpoint that can’t be targeted via lock-on. The lock-on feature is a common mechanic and is available in both versions of the game, and it does make it easy to keep a target enemy in your scope. However, rather quick enemies can easily dodge your shots effortlessly, even whilst locked on, so using mouse controls to anticipate evasive enemies can be a pro gamer move.
Another big feature that the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition has over the normal Switch version is that you can choose between Quality 4K/60 fps or Performance mode of 1080p/120 fps on supporting monitors. The Nintendo Switch version is locked at a dynamic 1080p in docked and stable 60 fps, favouring stability over detailed visuals. That said, the game looks absolutely stunning visually, regardless of which version you play, and it is very easily one of the most beautiful-looking and best-running games on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The fact that it is native 4K with 60 frames per second on the Nintendo Switch 2 really shows what the console is capable of, and that other game developers should take note when bringing their own games over to the system.
As I wrap up this Explain & Play review, I want to say that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was a game that I was greatly looking forward to, and for the most part, it lived up to my expectations. Sure, there were weak moments where scanning absolutely everything and multiple times became a bit of a nuisance, and the obligatory traversal of the Sol Valley Desert felt more like a chore than a welcome change of pace, but it was still enjoyable to me even then. The inclusion of the Galactic Federation NPC’s and having to find and rescue them was something very different for a Metroid Prime game, but I quite like that there were there and helped make the game feel a little less solitary. I know that some folks were put off by the Chatty Kathy Miles McKenzie , whom I have affectionately nicknamed Miles “McLovin'” McKenzie due to how much he looks like the character from Superbad. I actually found him to be rather helpful, as there were many times when I lost sight of what I was meant to be doing, and hearing his voice on the radio was more than welcome as he pointed me in the right direction.
All-in-all, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 is one of the best-looking games, if not the best, on the systems. While the constant scanning and long-winded backtracking is just par for the course with the Metroid Series, the world of Viewros and its diverse biomes is one that I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring, and I sincerely hope that Retro will continue to add to the game with a potential DLC expansion to give me more reasons to dive back into this world (a new game+ mode would also be welcome).
Game Specifications:
Developer: Retro Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Action, Adventure, Shooting
No. of Players: 1 player
Release Date: December 4, 2025 (Worldwide)
Price: $69.99
File Size: 26.3 GB (NSW) | 27.7 GB (NS2)
Nintendo.com Listing
