To believe that two of the biggest “that will never see the light of day” games of all time, Hollow Knight: Silksong and Metroid Prime 4, are now out. To believe that, despite all odds, despite multiple delays, immense periods of radio silence, and people just getting fed up of waiting, both titles would not only come out, but also end up being bangers. So this is the first big takeaway from this review: I get that a lot of people are dunking on Metroid Prime 4 for being some kind of a disappointment, a game with questionable design choices, something that wasn’t worth the wait or the hype, the worst in the series. To them, I’ll say: yes, Metroid Prime 4 has some weird issues. But to call it a bad game? Worst in the series? Hello, Federation Force, anyone? It’s more nuanced than that.

We’re back to the only first-person shooting game franchise with a lock-on feature.

First of all, let me say how happy I am to see Retro Studios back at it, not chained to making Mario Kart or Donkey Kong games anymore. Even if none of these previous titles have been duds, they aren’t exactly something that only Retro would have been able to develop. Metroid Prime, however, is absolutely their baby. Bandai Namco was initially contracted to develop Metroid Prime 4, and apparently their creation was so below the standards Nintendo was expecting that they decided that starting everything from scratch and handing it over to the franchise’s original creators was the ideal solution. Which begs me the question: what was the original vision by Bandai Namco? Did any of these leftovers make the cut? Because there are elements in here that don’t exactly feel like a decision from Retro themselves. They feel like clashes in vision.

These clashes in vision, ironically enough, are the elements that most outlets are saying are the worst aspects Metroid Prime 4 has to offer. And yes, I have to agree with them. It’s all about the odd decision to shove in a freaking open world into a metroidvania. Whenever Metroid Prime 4 is, well, Metroid Prime, my goodness, it’s sheer perfection. Retro Studios had previously shown us how a modern Prime game would look, feel and play like with their pristine remake/ster of the original Metroid Prime, released a while back. Controls are sublime, there are multiple controller options (twin-stick, Gamecube-style, Wii-style, mouse controls), framerate is rock solid, visuals are great. For Metroid Prime 4, they have taken advantage of the Switch 2’s improved hardware to showcase what we can expect from a studio pushing the system to its limits.

All of this visual beauty in 4K, at sixty frames per second.

The result is what’s possibly the best-looking game ever released on a Nintendo system, and the most graphically impressive Nintendo game ever made. Not only does Prime 4 look absolutely stunning, with high-quality textures, lighting effects, and an astonishing art style, but it also runs at a rock-solid sixty frames per second whilst being rendered in 4K onscreen. If you want to play it on portable mode, you have the option to run it at 720p at a blistering 120 frames per second. Absolute overkill for what’s not exactly the fastest-paced first-person game ever made, but hey, I get it. It’s a hardware flex. So flex it away, Retro, you deserve it.

So it’s all great when it feels like Metroid Prime. A handful of new powers here and there, which don’t break the mold or reinvent the wheel, but are decent enough. The problem lies in the other bit of Metroid Prime 4‘s gameplay loop, the incomprehensible decision to include an open world into it.

It wouldn’t be a Metroid game without some awesome boss fights.

We all know how the level design in a Metroid game, be it Prime or not, should look like. A sprawling labyrinth full of secrets to unveil, meant for you to explore over and over again, the moment you acquire new weapons. Hell, Metroid‘s gameplay loop is so iconic that its name is literally part of its genre, metroidvania. But Metroid Prime 4 decided to go off the traditional route and shove in a massive, sprawling open hub area for you to (supposedly) explore in between trips to the actual metroidvania-esque main levels. A ginormous desert sprawling dozens of square kilometers. And a motorcycle for you to ride on.

My main question regarding this inclusion: why? Who asked for this? Metroidvanias are known for their enclosed but explorable levels, not a huge open world with side stuff to complete. To make matters worse, the issue with Metroid Prime 4‘s open world is that it is completely barren and boring. All “main areas” are located at the edges of the map, with the rest of it being a bunch of sand, a handful of shrines (yes, that’s what they’re called) and some extra goodies. You are only able to properly traverse the land with your trustworthy bike, Vi-O-La. In essence, it’s not a fun new gimmick, but a necessary solution to a problem that should have never existed in the first place.

Of course, they had to add a nod to that one scene from Akira. Overrated movie, by the way.

I do need to reiterate, however, that the open world, whilst very annoying and pointless, is NOT a dealbreaker. I personally did not bother exploring it that often. What I’d do is simply go from one area to the next and just, maybe, shoot some birds with Vi-O-La’s admittedly awesome homing weapons along the way. These sections did not feel Metroid-esque; they mostly felt like a desperate mandate by Nintendo to have a Breath of the Wild-esque open world just because that game was able to sell bagillions… but I wouldn’t call this waste of time a reason for you not to consider picking the game up. As previously mentioned, when it stops acting weird and it decides to be Metroid Prime, it’s oh so good.

Not even the controversial voice acting bothered me that much. Is that one sidekick, Mackenzie, annoying? Yes. He sure is. He is basically this game’s Navi, but thankfully, he doesn’t show up that often. Every now and then, he’ll hint you where to go next. He might actually be useful every now and then. As for the rest of the NPC voice cast, they’re not essential, but they’re harmless. What’s actually downright amazing in its game is the soundtrack; that’s what you should be paying attention to instead of the unnecessary dialogue sections.

It’s great when it just tries to be another Metroid Prime game.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a curious case of a tale of two games. At times, it’s a phenomenal first-person metroidvania with some of the best visuals, immersion and level design ever seen in a Nintendo game, a great reminder as to why Metroid Prime used to rule the world back then. At the same time, it features one of the most pointless and barren open worlds ever put into a big budget title. What you really need to understand is that the former massively, gargantually outweighs the latter. Don’t let the boring open world be a dealbreaker. I would have preferred for it to be more straightforward like its predecessors (which, admittedly, are better than it), but it did not disappoint. As one of the Switch 2’s first hit titles, this is one heck of a showcase of what this portable is capable of.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is available now on Switch and Switch 2.

Reviewed on Switch 2.