‘Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’ review: Nintendo’s biggest badass returns

For much of the 18 years since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption came out in 2007, a follow-up seemed impossible. Ten years went by before Metroid Prime 4 was even announced and two years later, the entire project was scrapped then restarted with Nintendo bosses unhappy with the progress made.

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It didn’t help that badass bounty hunter Samus Aran has always been the black sheep of Nintendo icons. Mario rescues princesses from cartoon villains, Link exists in a timeless fairytale but Metroid Prime’s hero blasts snarling aliens with an arm cannon and rocket launchers. It’s easy to see why a new 3D adventure has been kept on the backburner by the family friendly company, with a string of remasters and 2D side-scrollers to keep the diehards happy.

That Metroid Prime 4: Beyond even exists is cause or celebration then. Because of how long it’s been between games, the long-awaited sequel acts as a soft reboot. You don’t need to know about Samus’ previous run-ins with space pirates or mind-controlling mutants – and the game opens on the frontline of another intergalactic skirmish. Samus blasts through waves of enemies and is championed as a living legend by her allies. However, a sneak attack from rival sharpshooter Sylux sends Samus to the seemingly-deserted planet of Viewros. In typical Metroid Prime fashion, most of her high-tech gadgets are on the blink.

It’s business as usual as you explore dank tunnel systems, dispatch grumpy beasts and slowly upgrade your gear. This time around though, Samus has new psychic abilities – a gift from the doomed race of Lamorn who want you to share their story with the universe, but only if you can collect the necessary teleporter keys that will allow you to leave the planet. This means you can control missiles with your mind and stick to some surfaces, giving puzzles and boss battles an extra dimension.

Not every new addition is a welcome one. Samus’ Vi-O-La motorbike allows her to travel across the dusty wasteland of Viewros but apart from firing lasers at winged horrors and exploring the odd abandoned temple, there’s really not a lot going on in the space desert. It’s meant to feel like you’ve got the freedom to tackle the elemental-inspired dungeons (fire, ice, electricity) in whichever way you want, however there’s actually a very strict order that needs to be followed.

Luckily, if you get lost in the sprawling nothingness, Metroid Prime 4 features a number of stranded survivors who are all eager to help out. Despite early reports, the goofy tech wizard Myles MacKenzie shares occasional hints via radio but spends the majority of the game tinkering away on a computer. It’s a similar story for macho military man General Tabaki, who assists in a couple of gunfights before heading off to do his own thing. Neither really shatter the intense isolation the series is famed for, but they don’t add a great deal to the game either.

As for the puzzles, most are variations on ‘find object to unlock door’ with a few ‘take new item back to previously explored place’ tasks in between. It means that instead of an intrepid intergalactic adventurer, you often feel like someone completing mundane chores. Boss battles are more exciting. Samus needs to outlast waves of crushing attacks before exploiting the space horrors’ weaknesses and the ruined land of Viewros looks gorgeous, even on the Nintendo Switch 2’s handheld-sized screen. It’s a great entry point for newcomers but Beyond rarely matches the legend of what’s come before.

‘Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’ is out now for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2