<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Metroid Prime 4: Beyond</span></em><span> is my favourite game on the Switch 2 yet. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It meets (and arguably exceeds) the exceptionally high bar set by its predecessors and is willing to gamble the franchise's small but loyal fanbase on a few big changes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There's a lot of Samus' new motorbike and a lot of chatty companions.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it's also not an overhaul guaranteed to draw legions of new players. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Backtracking remains a big part of </span><em><span>Prime 4</span></em><span>, and it can be more frustrating than fun if you pick the wrong area to revisit with a new ability. Fast travel isn't an option on Viewros (despite teleportation playing a large part in the story), so you'll have to haul yourself across a massive desert every time you choose the wrong direction. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Personally, I love that. But in 2025, that could put off a lot of players. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That would be a shame because Retro has crafted another masterpiece. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/technology/metroid-prime-4-beyond-review-the-best-game-on-the-switch-2-yet/9bd33b11-6aab-4846-a2a9-add0789ec36c" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>(Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's environments are gorgeous.)</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A </span><em><span>Prime </span></em><span>game has never looked, sounded or controlled this perfectly. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>My main complaint is that the 'psychic abilities' Samus gets are an absolute fizzer.  </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>If only Prime 4 was Nintendo's Switch 2 launch game. </span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Metroid Prime 4: Beyond</span></em><span> is Nintendo's greatest showcase of the Switch 2's power. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>I played in quality mode, which pushed a 4K image to my TV at a rock solid 60 frames per second.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>I dabbled with mouse mode at preview events and walked away impressed, but played through the real deal with a Pro Controller and motion controls turned on. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With the exception of some low quality enemies, Prime 4's presentation is near perfect.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gorgeous lighting and particle effects litter the skyline during an incredible (albeit linear) opening battle. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Samus' armour glimmers with the highlights and shadows of her surroundings and - on the rare occasion an actual human face is on screen - Retro has done a solid job animating the most realistic faces to ever appear in a Nintendo-published game. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For a game about isolation and exploration, Federation Force soldiers play a much bigger role in Prime 4's story than you might expect. Thankfully, I never felt like they had overstayed their welcome. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Miles was just the beginning. </span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Miles McKenize - a bumbling but talented engineer - worried fans during the game's previews during an overly chatty escort mission. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yes, he's still a nervous blabbermouth in the final game but he doesn't stick around for long. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Miles sets up a base camp that Samus will repeatedly have to revisit throughout the game. Every now and then, his voice may pop up over an intercom to make a suggestion on where to go or what to do. His advice is rare but it's often an explicit direction. This is a nice addition for new gamers but it will annoy fans who play Metroid games because they like being isolated and working things out for themselves.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For the most part, Samus explores planet Viewros alone. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, you will meet stranded soldiers in every biome. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Overall, I liked what they brought to the story. Retro has taken a risk and for the most part, they deftly walk the tightrope between what Metroid Prime has been in the past, and what it needs to be in 2025. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prime 4 still heavily relies on its environments (and scanning everything in sight) to provide hints about the world and cultures Samus explores. Without spoiling anything, this remains my favourite part of Metroid Prime 4's design. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>You don't just get a motorcycle, you have to infiltrate the abandoned manufacturing plant that once built them for an extinct race, bring its generators back online, then work your way back up and down multiple towers - which are now fully active, laser laced production lines - to activate Vi-O-La (Samus' motorcycle). </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Is that Hyrule Field? </span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Vi-O-La plays a surprisingly large part in Metroid Prime 4.  </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The game's biomes are connected by a large (and fairly empty) desert dubbed the "Sand Sea," which essentially functions like Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time.  </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Riding around is fun enough, especially once you get a handle on using the left trigger to perform tighter turns, but there's not a massive amount you need to do in the desert right away. There are green crystals to smash and collect, blobs to run through to regenerate your boost metres and a few secrets that glimmer on the horizon but those secrets are few and far between. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>These all become much more important later in the game. Once they did, I started to really enjoy my time on the bike. I just wish it was more appealing from the get go. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Occasionally, an enemy or two appears which you need to take down and, once you get a hang of it, the combat feels pretty great considering fights are limited to a button to shoot and another to boost.  </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No spoilers, but it plays a big role in one of the game's boss fights and it's one hell of a spectacle. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Boss = Puzzles  </span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Metroid bosses have a lot in common with those in the </span><em><span>Legend of Zelda</span></em><span>, and </span><em><span>Prime 4 </span></em><span>doesn't disappoint. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>These giant, hulking beasts are often just as much of a puzzle as the rooms which brought you to them, and demand you use an item or upgrade you've recently acquired to full effect.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If you aren't paying attention, they can be pretty punishing too. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Each of the bosses has a large array of moves and some have several phases. A lot of love has gone into these encounters, I just wish I could say the same for your run-of-the-mill enemies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>I love that Retro emphasises the story behind the game's standard alien enemy but, while there is some variation in the different biomes, everything else you shoot is basically a bug, a slug, a plant or a robot.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are some fun mini-bosses scattered throughout the world but they're rare and often ugly.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There's never that many enemies on screen at once, so I don't know why Prime 4's enemies don't look as nice as its stunning environments. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Samus looks gorgeous though, as do the faces of your companions when they're not hiding behind their helmets (which is most of the time). </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Psychic Snoozefest</span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Remember when that trailer said Samus' psychic abilities would give her the power to "open doors," "operate mechanisms" and "control the trajectory of her beams with the power of her mind" and you thought, "there must be more to that?"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There isn't. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With the exception of a few boss encounters that demand you use the psychic beam to expose a weak point (which I enjoyed), Samus' new psychic beam is too slow and annoying to use in regular fights. It was never a better option than using a missile or just a good ol' fashion charged shot. When I did use it, 99 per cent of the time it was an accident because I'd just scanned an enemy and wanted to fire a charge shot at it instead, because you fire a psychic beam by charging a shot with your visor equipped (which was quite annoying). </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That leaves you with opening doors and moving mechanisms. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>I don't know why we needed a slower option for this when blasting a door open with Samus' arm cannon or moving this with the grappling hook have worked just fine in the past. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Unfortunately, they're the only real "new" abilities Samus gets in Prime 4 (besides her motorbike) that we haven't already seen in previous games.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For Samus' next adventure, Retro should bury her psychic powers.   </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Metroid Prime 5?</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>I rolled on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in precisely 14 hours.   </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>I had only scanned 90 per cent of the world and collected 89% of all items when I decided to take on the final boss, knowing that completing the game would unlock a hard mode that I'm keen to play through and "100 per cent."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ending I saw doesn't put a full stop on Samus' story. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In many ways, </span><em><span>Prime 4</span></em><span> feels like a soft reboot. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yes, it's set after the </span><em><span>Prime Trilogy</span></em><span> but, with the exception of the game's villain, Sylux, there's nothing tying this story to what came before. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's great for newcomers, and the game is clearly trying to build a more interesting backstory for Sylux in the process. Do we get enough answers to satisfy fans in Prime 4? Probably not. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Here's hoping we don't have to wait another 18 years for a few more hints in Metroid Prime 5.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="http://9news.com.au"><em><span>9news.com.au</span></em></a><em><span> was provided with an early copy of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond  for the purpose of this review on the Nintendo Switch 2.</span></em></div></div>