Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: hold my hand, take to the stars

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is my first Metroid game. It’s not a franchise I have a deep history with, and while I’m well aware of the canon by osmosis, diving into Beyond was baggage-free. It meant I lacked deeper context for some of the game’s reveals – the appearance of villain Sylux, for example – but that I was approaching the game as many other players will. Relatively fresh, with a curiosity about the enduring nature of Metroid Prime.

There has, after all, been nearly 20 years since the last major Metroid game released. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launches into an entirely different market, populated by folks who may never have played a Metroid game at all, like me.

So, what was the experience like, as a newcomer?

Playing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond as a newcomer

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond drops you directly into the action, pretty much literally. After a text scrawl detailing light context, you – as space-faring bounty hunter Samus Aran – must go after rogue hunter Sylux as he attempts to steal a powerful artefact.

The resulting clash leads to a major catastrophe, as Samus and her fellows in the Galactic Federation are teleported through space, and strewn across the mysterious planet known as Viewros.

This action-heavy introduction does a fair job at getting newer players up to speed, although there is a lack of detailed context for player actions. You’re simply handed full control of Samus, complete with a blast gun (which can be controlled by button, motion, or mouse controls) and you’re set upon groups of alien warriors and creatures.

It isn’t long before thoughts of catching the game’s fast-moving plot disappear, thanks to well-designed and meaty first-person combat. You’re in the driver’s seat, and the action is in-your-face immediately. To my mind, it recalled playing Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax at Zero Latency – you get a heads-up display that makes you lock-in, and the action is relatively linear, like an arcade shooter.

While this system was surprisingly unsurprising at first, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is quick to reveal its secrets, as you encounter the first of many bosses. What I most appreciated about the game as its run-and-gun action unfolded was how complex it became. Bosses aren’t bullet sponges, as I’d first assumed. Each has its own unique twist or puzzle to solve.

Sometimes, that involves simply shooting at exposed areas, lit up like a Christmas tree. Other times, it’s a matter of sitting back and analysing enemy behaviour. If you shoot a single vine, and an enemy’s belly is exposed, but shooting two vines doesn’t expose the belly, is there another trick? It took me quite some time to figure out Carvex required me to use psychic abilities to stop time, and shoot a special psychic bolt at all of its limbs at once.

But my early frustration soon dissolved, as I understood better what Metroid Prime 4: Beyond demanded – something that veteran players might realise much quicker.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a thoughtful puzzler

I had assumed Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was less complex, at first glance – perhaps inspired by thoughts of other FPS games. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill adventure-shooter. It’s actually a puzzler in disguise, with a core logic to be found in each level.

As you advance, you gain access to an array of unique abilities, all of which are explained away with sci-fi excess that might inspire an eye-roll. Samus is the Chosen One, you see. And that means when she lands on Viewros, she connects with the psychic ghosts of the planet’s former inhabitants, who grant her magical abilities. These larger consist of standard video game-y skills – the ability to jump on new surfaces, psychic push/pull mechanics, and the ability to interface with certain doors.

In conversation with the planet’s ghosts, there’s plenty of exposition that’s quick to glide out of your mind. When the phrase ‘psychic boots’ was mentioned, I did feel myself slipping out of the action for a light chuckle. Psychic boots. Silly. Ridiculous. Why not?

These abilities are partially how Metroid Prime 4: Beyond gates its exploration, like other Metroid games (I might not have played a Metroid before, but I’ve certainly played many Metroidvanias). While this causes some friction in where you can go, it allows for the game to haul you along a relatively logical, linear pathway, charting various biomes and across a home world desert.

In each biome, you’ll be tasked with one particular fetch quest or another, most of which are simple and rote, but complex beneath the surface. Collect five keys, rescue someone, defeat a boss. Where Metroid Prime 4: Beyond elevates itself is in its array of environmental puzzles, and how you actually get around.

Samus can travel in first-person mode, using her psychic abilities to push or pull objects, or just to shoot them. She can also transform into a ball and roll around, letting her get through small piles and undergrowth. If you find an impenetrable gate, perhaps there’s a small vent you might be able to roll through – or some sort of switch puzzle that requires you to use all of Samus’ abilities at once.

It’s the mix of puzzles that keeps Metroid Prime 4: Beyond so compelling, with each moody new level introducing a fresh brain teaser to overcome. You really need to apply yourself to fully explore new biomes, and to take down towering, mechanically unique bosses.

Even as an outsider, I can see strange choices in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Stomping through puzzles, my progress and enjoyment was halted by one core factor in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which seems a strange choice, even as someone unfamiliar with the franchise.

Samus Aran is clearly designed to be a solo adventurer. Everything about Metroid sets her up as a strong, stoic protagonist who kicks arse, takes names, and stays relatively silent in the journey. For her to say anything would be a betrayal of her archetype, and it would reduce the mystery behind the mask.

That’s well understood in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but developers have chosen a different path to invite players in. Instead of understanding that players will relate to Samus and her adventure without direct input, this game is packed-in with ‘friendly’ Galactic Federation forces who function as Samus’ consciousness, delivering exposition and – supposedly – heart.

This is something that’s fairly common in media, and can be well done. I’d relate it to Vampire Hunter D. In this particular narrative, the stoic and relatively emotionless D is accompanied by a sentient symbiote known as Left Hand, who makes wry jokes on his behalf, to add humour to the story.

The Witcher – at least, in the Netflix adaptation – adds in Jaskier for the same purpose, to act as an ‘in’ for human emotion and relatability.

Metroid Prime is a franchise that doesn’t feel in need of a human voice, or least, not implemented like this. It’s a distraction from cool puzzles and shooting alien creatures, and it warps the plot in a way that feels egregious.

Pre-launch, early previews featuring an engineer character named Myles MacKenzie caused plenty of fear about the tone of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and its involvement of human characters. Realistically, these humans don’t heavily feature in gameplay – Samus is mostly left alone – but their intrusions via radio, and the way they deliver exposition and instruction takes you out of the action, every time.

MacKenzie in particular has minimal screen time, but manages to be wildly annoying every time he pops in, instructing Samus on even the most basic game mechanics, while injecting brash, Whedon-like jokey dialogue into a game that attempts to mostly take itself seriously.

It’s an odd choice for the game, and one that doesn’t gel well.

At the very least, the moment you think to yourself ‘please go away,’ the game does actually pull its human characters back from the plot – but their existence at all is a major bugbear.

What’s next in my Metroid Prime journey

Even despite my annoyance at Myles and his Galactic Federation cohort, I could see the heart of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and what it aims for. There are some strange choices made along the way – I’m not so enamoured by its sci-fi jargon or its aforementioned human involvement – but with very strong environmental puzzles and run-and-gun gameplay, it remains a slick and involving adventure.

It’s certainly made me far more curious about Samus and her many worlds.

With decades of lore to catch up on, I’ve got a lot to keep me busy in the near future. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be just a stepping stone to bigger, better journeys.

_{A Nintendo Switch 2 code for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.}

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