Alright, fellow bounty hunters, let’s talk. It has been exactly one month and one week since Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally, finally, dropped into our laps on December 4, 2025.
For a while there, this game was basically the “vaporware” king of the Nintendo library. It was announced so long ago that I think my pre-order receipt was printed on actual papyrus. But it’s real. We have played it. We have scanned everything that isn’t bolted down. And now, with the initial hype settling, it’s time for the honest, one-month verdict.
Did Samus Aran’s return live up to the absolutely ridiculous expectations we built up over nearly a decade? Short answer: Yeah, it kinda did.
The Visuals: A True Showcase for the Switch 2
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: this game is gorgeous.
The fact that Metroid Prime 4 launched just six months after the Nintendo Switch 2 arrived (back in June 2025) was a calculated move by Nintendo, and it paid off. This title is easily the biggest technical showcase for the new hardware so far.
The jump from Prime Remastered to Beyond feels generational. The new dynamic lighting system is a standout; the way the bioluminescent flora on planet Sylux (yes, we finally went there!) casts real-time shadows across Samus’s visor is just a chef’s kiss.
On the new Switch 2’s OLED screen, the game runs at a rock-solid 60 frames per second, even when the action gets chaotic. But, for the resolution purists, docking it for the 4K-upscaled mode on a big screen reveals environmental textures that we have never seen on a Nintendo console before. It’s dark, it’s atmospheric, and it finally looks as good as the concept art from 2017 promised.
The Gameplay: Evolving the Formula
Retro Studios didn’t try to reinvent the wheel here. Instead, they gave it some shiny new rims.
The core loop is still pure Metroid Prime: You land on an alien world with a peashooter, get your butt kicked by a space pirate, and spend the next 20 hours finding upgrades until you are a walking tank of destruction. That loop is as addictive as ever.
What’s new is the scale. Beyond embraces a more open-ended structure. The world of Sylux is less a series of corridors and more a collection of massive, interconnected biomes. The backtracking—love it or hate it—is still here, but the new traversal abilities make it a joy. The “Gravity Boost,” which effectively lets you double-jump and glide in mid-air, changes the entire flow of exploration in the late game.
Then there’s the combat. The new “Charge Beam Combo” system, which lets you mix different beams on the fly for unique effects, adds a layer of strategy that was missing in previous titles. It’s no longer just about matching the color of your gun to the color of the enemy; it’s about setting up combos to maximize damage.
The Story: The Sylux Mystery (Mostly) Solved
I won’t spoil the ending here, but I will say this: the story actually matters.
After teasing the bounty hunter Sylux since the end of Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii (that’s not a typo; it was the Wii), this game finally puts him front and center. The narrative is darker and more personal for Samus.
The lore scanning is back in full force, and the environmental storytelling is top-notch. Piecing together what happened to the previous civilization on Sylux while simultaneously uncovering a Federation conspiracy kept me hooked way more than the plot of Dread. It feels like a proper sci-fi thriller, not just an excuse to shoot bugs.
The Verdict: The New Gold Standard
So, was it perfect? Not quite. The early game pacing is a little slow, and the backtracking, while improved, can still feel overwhelming when you are staring at a 3D map that looks like a bowl of spaghetti.
But let’s be real. After waiting this long, I was ready to forgive a lot more than that. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a triumph. It’s a game that respects its legacy while pushing the franchise forward on new hardware.
If you own a Switch 2, this isn’t a recommendation; it’s a requirement. It’s easily one of the best games released in the chaotic year of 2025, and it’s a fantastic way to kick off 2026.