Metroid Prime 4: Beyond | Switch 2 Review

Look, I love the Metroid series. I won’t go into nostalgic details of why. Just know the series is important to me, right up there with The Legend of Zelda. And that’s why I was looking very much forward to the latest game in the series eight years ago. Yes, the title was originally announced at E3 back in June 2017. It was apparently scrapped and started over, and we might never know the real story behind what actually happened behind closed doors with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Nevertheless, it’s finally here. I dove in with eager anticipation, salivating at the mouth with what was sure to be an amazing experience well worth the wait. After finally rolling credits, I’m left with a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, this is very much a Metroid Prime game through and through. The trappings are there, for certain, and the new novelties aren’t as grating as I expected. Plus, the boss fights and upgrades are genuinely fun. There’s just so many little annoyances that keep me from being able to love my favorite bounty hunter’s latest adventure.

Please don’t misunderstand me here. I don’t hate this game. Far from it. I just see so much potential in this series, and it deserves better.

Where are the Metroids?

For a game with “Metroid” in the title, Beyond sure is lacking in the life-stealing entities. The only time you actually see a Metroid is when the game’s antagonist, Sylux, is first shown. For reasons unknown, he has two Metroid minions floating above each shoulder. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Sylux, as he was introduced in 2007’s Metroid Prime Hunters on the Nintendo DS. All we know is that he has an utter hatred for Samus Aran, which was never explained in the DS title from eighteen years ago.

I’m sure absolutely no one has had burning questions about this character over the years, but it’s here. Eventually. In true Metroid fashion, elements of the game are hidden behind a 100% completion. In this case, the antagonist’s motivation is completely devoid of the main game. You literally have to collect every single item in the game to even understand why Sylux is so pissed off at you. In a game that seems to be attempting to start a new trilogy in the franchise, this feels like a misstep. I understand that Metroid games have been more about exploration and gameplay than story, but why does that have to continue?

What we’re left with is a paper-thin story about preserving an alien civilization and trying to get home after being marooned on their planet. Unfortunately, the Lamorn are nowhere near as interesting as the Chozo.

A New Arsenal

Story beats aside, the gameplay in Beyond has a lot of what Metroid fans crave: exploration, backtracking, and awesome boss encounters. Everything from strafing, locking on, and firing multiple weapon types somehow feels even more natural than in the previous entries. With that said, the upgrades, for the most part, are very much “by the numbers”. Outside of your standard missiles, bombs, spider ball, and grappling hook, you’ll also have various elemental weapons at your disposal. If you guessed fire, ice, and electricity, then you know what’s up. These not only work against certain foes more efficiently, but they also give Samus access to new areas.

Samus also has new psychic abilities at her disposal. These allow her to do various things like using telekinesis to manipulate objects, turn bombs into energy balls to power doors, and even slow down time and direct shots in slow-mo. These are pretty cool, but sadly underutilized. I fought one mini-boss that felt more like a Zelda encounter, and it was awesome. It required me to use the control beam in a very unique way. Sadly, that never happened again with another until the final boss of the game. It’s another case of a huge missed opportunity.

The other new novelty in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is Samus’ motorcycle, known as the Vi-0-La. I’ll admit that I cringed when I first saw this revealed in a trailer, but it wound up being pretty sweet. Sure, it’s a cheap way to introduce an open world to this franchise, but it wound up working for me in short bursts. The controls are tight, and it makes short work of traversing a map that offers zero fast travel. With that said, it’s also responsible for my biggest gripe in the game, but more on that later.

A Few More Positives

I’ll never understand the complaints about how this game looks. Does it look realistic? Absolutely not. And I’m very happy for that. It wouldn’t feel like a Metroid game if it did. I played the Switch 2 version, and I was very pleased with how the environments look. It also runs smooth as butter with zero slow down despite the number of projectiles on the screen. Would I have liked to have had fewer load times when entering new zones? Perhaps, but it’s nowhere near a deal breaker for me. Retro Studios put a ton into making this pleasing to the eyes, and I’m thankful for that.

The music is also fantastic. The classic Metroid themes could have been utilized a bit more than just at the very end, but I’m also glad they weren’t overused. The theme for each elemental dungeon sounded exactly how they should have. Metroid fans more than likely would have been able to tell that they were in a fire cavern with their eyes closed, for example.

Although I would have liked to see more “use this item here” moments in the boss battles, I found them very engaging fights. Each was unique in its own way and somehow felt like you weren’t just doing the same thing over and over (even though you pretty much were). They’re a lot of fun and never overly difficult once you understand the pattern the game wants you to learn. The final battle, in particular, is one of the more memorable fights in the entire series for me (although not topping Super Metroid‘s outstanding finale).

The Cardinal Sin

I’ve had a lot of positives and negatives about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but one aspect irritated me so much, I nearly quit the game before rolling credits. If you’ve played previous Metroid Prime games, you’re probably familiar with the “world tour” moments near the finales. Samus has to return to each area to get one one more item before accessing the final area of the game. In the case of Beyond, there are not one, but two moments like this. One isn’t terrible, but the other is so utterly unnecessary, it makes me angry.

First off, you have to collect six parts to a mech that are scattered around the open world map. This isn’t too bad, as you can stumble across these pretty easily in your travels. You’ll more than likely have a couple to mop up before the end, but they don’t take too long, even thought you just have to drive around until you find them (or are directed to their location by your companions).

The one that really bothers me has to do with a collectible currency. While in the open world, you have the ability to run over green rocks that produce crystals. If you collect enough, you turn them in to an area in your main hub in exchange for some handy upgrades. In any normal video game, they are a completely optional task to reward fastidious players. Instead, you learn towards the end of the game that this is required in order to access the final area. I spent over an hour in the opening world collecting these stupid crystals just to be able to roll credits. Who in their right mind thought that anyone would find this enjoyable? It’s only an hour, but the lack of respect for my time feels very unforgivable to me.

To make matters worse, you’re stuck with ambient music in the open world here. That’s right, Nintendo locked the music in the open world behind a $30 paywall in the form of an Amiibo. Way to go, guys.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond | Final Verdict

What’s really funny to me is that the thing I assumed would bother me the most simply didn’t. Metroid has always prided itself in its isolated tone. In Beyond, you have a cast of voiced characters in your ear, which feels very different. While I would have preferred more alone time with Samus, it didn’t feel egregious here. Sure, the characters were a bit silly, but not enough to ruin the experience. The biggest issue there is is that Samus never utters a word to anyone, and no one ever seems to have an issue with that.

I wanted to love Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. And at first, I did. It’s a tough spot to be in with the latest game in one of your favorite franchises that has so many good things going for it, but also has so many blemishes that hinder its greatness. It’s definitely worth playing, but it could have been so much more. I genuinely miss the days of the simplicity of Samus fighting space pirates and the rest of the story centering around Metroids themselves. Here, we just get silly Metroid-infused bosses to remind us that we are, indeed, playing a game in the Metroid franchise.

No matter the quality of the game, I will always want more Metroid. This one is far from my favorite in the franchise, but it’s worth a play-through. Let’s hope the next entry gets a more focused approach, because fans like me will always crave this formula.

To hear me talk more about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, be sure to listen to the December 11th, 2025 episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 55:12 time stamp.

This review is based on a purchased copy of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on Nintendo Switch 2. It is also available on the original Nintendo Switch.