It’s been eighteen years since the last Metroid Prime game—eighteen years in which Nintendo has improved not just their hardware, but also their mechanics, world design, and just about everything else. So the question on everyone’s minds is: would a new entry in the classic Metroid Prime franchise hold up in the modern era of Nintendo? Even though Metroid Prime 4: Beyond fails to hit some marks, I would still consider the answer to that question a yes.
What Took So Long?
It’s important to address the elephant in the room: this game took a long amount of time to create. The game was officially announced eight years ago. It’s been almost two decades since the third entry in the series was released.
Why did Metroid Prime 4: Beyond take so long to make?
Two years after its initial announcement in 2017, Beyond’s development was completely restarted, with Nintendo developer Shinya Takahashi stating that, “the current development progress has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series.” This sudden reboot gave the developers an even shorter time to pull together the game we have today, possibly making the development feel rushed, and additionally leading to some of Beyond’s major flaws.
About the Story
The game jumps straight into the action, pitting space bounty hunter protagonist Samus against the antagonist of the game, Sylux, in a huge intergalactic battle. It’s a beautiful, cinematic scene that sets both the mood and pace for the rest of the game.
Samus is then teleported to the planet Viewros, where most of Beyond takes place. There, she has to venture through stormy sci-fi factories, lava-filled caverns, and one of my early favorites: a gorgeous forest with colorful species. For the most part, the game’s locations are its highlight, with stunning areas that are amazing to look at.
Is it Worth Playing?
Despite the epic variety of maps that Beyond has to offer, there is also a flawed one that keeps it from being perfect: a huge desert where much of the game takes place. It’s a bare landscape with little to do, plenty of repetitiveness, and a lack of the eerie enclosed atmosphere that the games are known for. And at the end of the day, it’s just tedious to traverse.
But putting complaints aside, if you’re looking for a visually stunning, cinematic sci-fi adventure with in-depth mechanics and design, you’ve found the right game. So even if it wasn’t worth the eighteen-year wait, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has still proven itself to be at least what fans wanted: simply more of the epic world of Metroid.
