Metroid Prime 4: Beyond being cross-gen was inevitable. After a near two-decade wait for a sequel and a handful of delays, including a return from series developer Retro Studios, the game needed to land with a bang. And boy did it when it re-emerged during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct.
We’ve seen it twice since, and each time it’s impressed more and more. Yet the latest time, during the Switch 2 Direct, all the gloves were off despite little gameplay. A Switch 2 Edition, 4K, 120fps in performance mode, and smooth 60fps in handheld? And then we got to play it.
More than any other game we tried on Switch 2, Metroid Prime 4 makes the case for Nintendo’s more powerful successor. All of our 15 minutes of demo time were spend savouring every single light particle, rain droplet, laser beam, and alien goo. It’s safe to say that this is a stunning-looking game on Switch 2, and it was already looking fairly nice on the original hardware.
The demo took us through the opening moments of Samus’ adventure, where she and a crew of Galactic Federation soldiers are called to the planet Tenmaar after a distress call from one of the Federation’s facilities. Watching Samus’ spaceship throttle through the galaxy and descend on this new planet, it sets the tone for a hectic and dangerous opening section.
Everything is so shiny; the spaceship, Samus’ visor, and the glow of Samus’ cannon as she blasts down the Space Pirates. It’s hard not to gawk at the level of detail as you walk through the rocky pathway and see flames lick through the remains of Federation ships. If this is the standard for the Switch 2 Editions, then my goodness, Nintendo has set a high bar. This might be the best-looking game Nintendo has ever put out.
Even though we wanted to admire the sights and sounds of this new planet, the game wastes no time throwing you into the action. Almost every single room was filled with Space Pirates in the demos and we had to work with the Federation Force to take them all out. This is essentially a tutorial stage after all, getting you to grips with donning the orange suit once again. Luckily, if you’ve played any other game in the series, you’ll know immediately that this feels right in an almost back to basics sense.
Samus has access to her arm cannon, missiles, and charge shot, and she can use bombs when in Morph Ball mode. It’s a seamless transition if you’ve played Metroid Prime Remastered, and it controls exactly the same. The gyro aiming is excellent too, and felt extremely accurate as we swapped seamlessly between using that, the control stick, and Mouse Mode.
That last point is another area where Metroid Prime 4 shines — if you like using Mouse controls, at least. Placing the right Joy-Con down, we could control Samus’ movement as normal in our left hand, while essentially controlling her right arm and her “vision” with our right arm. Just like the gyro aiming, Mouse Mode is incredibly accurate and responsive, with no delays in turning and facing enemies quickly. You can still use lock-on by holding down the ZR here too, which helps you zip between foes even quicker.
It’s an adjustment if you’ve never played an FPS with a mouse before, but it makes so much sense in Prime 4. Plus, the fact that you can change your mind simply by lifting the right Joy-Con off of the desk (or your lap) is a little bit mind-blowing. This is going to be the preferred gameplay method for many, and it’s a fantastic showcase for the new feature.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Prime game without a big boss, and Aberax forces you to put everything you’ve refamiliarised yourself with into action. It’s built like a classic puzzle boss, encouraging you to aim for weak spots while using Samus’ deft sidestepping abilities, space jump, and morph ball to avoid getting hit. But there’s a catch — the weak spots, actually infectious areas as a result of a Metroid bite, occasionally shield themselves from damage.
Locking on during this boss fight might not always be the best option, and this is where Mouse Mode really clicked for us. The precision of being able to hover over the weak spot until it’s vulnerable ups the tension and the ante, and as your jumping and moving around, even one stray movement from your right hand might be a missed shot or opportunity to blast the Metroid pustule away. It’s stressful in the best possible way.
As the fight progresses, the creature’s pustules multiply, and it starts throwing out more attacks that require you to watch its arm movements or its positioning. One laser wall arm swipe might require a quick double jump, but the next might need you to roll into that lil’ Morph Ball.
Aberax’s defeat marked the end of the demo, and even with the learning curve of using the mouse, we haven’t been able to stop thinking about the possibilities of spectacle in the Switch 2 Edition. Samus is getting the big-budget, beautiful-looking game she deserves; we’ll be scanning our way through Tenmaar as soon as we can.
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