Metroid Prime 4: Beyond arrives this December carrying the weight of a decade-long wait and a clear mandate: bring Samus Aran into the modern era without losing what made the series special. Early hands-on previews from multiple outlets paint a picture of a technically ambitious, visually striking game that largely preserves classic Metroid Prime navigation and puzzle design — even as it introduces new mechanical and narrative flourishes that have provoked split reaction among longtime fans.
A polished, more cinematic Metroid
Across previews the technical leap is the first thing readers notice. Built for both Switch and the more powerful Switch 2 hardware, the game’s lighting, color palette and environmental detail register as a step change for the franchise. One preview called the world "thrillingly" brought into the modern era, praising HDR pop, steady frame pacing and an art direction that leans toward higher fidelity without chasing photorealism.
- Demo sessions ran roughly 90 minutes and covered two distinct beats: a bombastic opening firefight at a Federation research station and an extended exploration segment on the jungle world Viewros (the lush area many writers called Fury Green).
- Encounters include large-scale arenas and boss fights that feel like upscaled versions of earlier Prime battles, but with additional spatial complexity that forces players to rethink tactics.
- The soundtrack and ambient cues remain integral, preserving the eerie, exploratory atmosphere Metroid is known for even as moments grow more cinematic.
- Psychic abilities (often tied to a glowing helmet gem) let Samus manipulate objects and energy motes to unlock doors, reposition bombs and solve spatial puzzles.
- The Control Beam fires a guided projectile you can steer mid-flight, useful for both combat and reaching switches hidden around corners.
- The Psychic Glove lets Samus grab ephemeral motes and place them in receptacles to open progress gates — another means of blending exploration with discovery.
- Trailers and previews also teased a new vehicle, the Vi-O-La bike, that appears to play into traversal in parts of the game.
- Critics sympathetic to tradition worry the series’ signature solitude could be diluted by frequent side characters and modern quips. One outlet said the inclusion of a voiced, chatty companion made parts of the game feel "out of place" with Metroid’s established tone.
- Others found the companion content manageable or even helpful. One preview called the Myles encounter "easy to ignore" in practice and argued that his presence served clear gameplay purposes — tutorialization early on and mechanics-driven support later. That writer concluded the character wasn’t a "death sentence" for the game’s mood.
Previewers also flagged continuity with series staples: save stations remain scattered through the map (no universal autosave), Samus still loses and regains abilities to gate progression, and the scan visor persists as an essential navigation and puzzle tool.
New tools: psychic powers, the Control Beam and the bike
Beyond keeps the traditional weapons and movement suite, but it adds several new mechanics that reshape both puzzles and combat.
Those additions earned praise: reviewers called the psychic tools "standout" features, noting satisfying puzzle solutions and inventive boss mechanics that use these powers to make arenas feel more dynamic. Still, some early sections leaned familiar — reviewers observed the opening's structure and many early beats echo earlier Prime titles — a design choice most critics accepted as “if it ain’t broke.”
Controls, precision and unexpected mouse support
One often-overlooked shift is how the game handles player input. Retro’s team exposed multiple control schemes in previews: Joy-Con/Pro controller setups and a controller-plus-mouse mode. Several outlets found the mouse pairing surprisingly effective.
"Mouse controls felt perfect in those moments," one preview summarised, praising the precision mouse input offers when guiding projectiles or targeting specific enemy parts without losing movement fluidity. The Pro controller still drew endorsements for ergonomics, but reviewers said the mouse option could meaningfully change how some players approach combat and puzzles.
Companions, voice acting and a tonal tug-of-war
Perhaps the most controversial change is the increased presence of voice work and companion characters—most notably an engineer named Myles Mackenzie. Where Metroid Prime historically leaned into isolation and silence, Beyond includes more chatter: soldiers calling out on the battlefield, cinematics with explicit dialogue, and a talkative NPC who can accompany Samus for short stretches.
Responses split:
Reviewers cautioned that the impact depends on how often companions recur. If side characters remain occasional aids used for puzzle interaction and brief combat support, they may add variety. If they become constant narrative fixtures, they risk shifting the franchise’s emotional center.
Story beats and returning antagonists
Previews were limited by embargoes around certain story details, but several pieces flagged returning and prominent antagonists. Sylux — once a Hunters antagonist — appears in a trailer and is teased as a major antagonist. Metroids and Space Pirate elements also figure in the opening beats, though how central they are to the full arc remains to be seen.
Retro’s involvement and the game’s long development history were also noted. Nintendo originally announced Metroid Prime 4 in 2017 and restarted development in 2019, handing the project to Retro Studios. Reviewers framed Beyond as Retro’s attempt to honor the original trilogy while nudging the series forward.
What feels familiar — and why that matters
Several reviewers emphasized that Beyond preserves the fundamental Metroid loop: find abilities, backtrack to unlock new routes, and learn by doing. That backbone remains the game’s greatest strength. A few throwbacks — like manual save stations — surprised some critics in a year where autosaves are ubiquitous, but most saw those choices as deliberate design decisions that preserve tension and exploration pacing.
Caveats included occasional control awkwardness in alternative Switch 2 control schemes and occasional visual stutters reported by a few playtesters, though none framed these as dealbreakers in the preview builds.
Early verdict: promising, with caveats
Taken together, previews coalesce around a central judgment: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond looks and feels like a modernized Prime that still contains the DNA of the classics. Its new psychic mechanics and control options give it fresh wrinkles, while improved visuals and audio push the franchise forward technically.
At the same time, the added voice work and companion beats have stirred debate about tone. Whether those elements enhance the story or erode the solitude that defines Metroid will likely be a principal point of contention when the full game arrives.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is slated for release in early December 2025. Given the scale of the title and the franchise’s history, early previews suggest a high ceiling: a game that can satisfy long-time fans hungry for a true Prime experience while also offering new entry points for players who discover Metroid for the first time. The final judgment will come once the full campaign is available — until then, anticipation remains high and opinions remain split on how much change is too much for Samus’s next outing.