Metroid Prime 4 Is the Series’ Biggest Disappointment — A Decade of Waiting for an Identity Crisis
After more than a decade of development hell, restarts, and sky-high expectations, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has finally arrived on Nintendo Switch 2. The result is heartbreaking for longtime fans. Sitting at a 78 on Metacritic — the lowest score for any mainline Metroid Prime entry — Beyond is a technically impressive but deeply confused game that never quite figures out what it wants to be.
An Open World Nobody Asked For
The most baffling design decision in Metroid Prime 4 is its semi-open world structure. Between the classic Metroid-style dungeons and exploration areas lies a vast desert hub that critics have universally panned. It’s barren, uninteresting, and appears to serve no purpose beyond artificially stretching the game’s runtime. For a franchise built on tight, interconnected level design and a palpable sense of isolation, the decision to bolt on empty open-world filler feels like a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes Metroid special. The game is at constant war with itself — the dungeon segments feel like classic Prime at its best, while the overworld feels like it belongs in a completely different game.
Where Did the Isolation Go?
Perhaps the most damaging criticism leveled at Beyond is its approach to storytelling. Metroid has always been a series defined by loneliness — Samus alone against hostile alien environments, with narrative delivered through environmental details rather than exposition. Metroid Prime 4 introduces a relentlessly chatty NPC companion who narrates your journey, explains puzzles, and generally undermines the atmospheric tension that the series is known for. Combined with constant handholding and rigid linearity in the main quest, the game feels like it was designed for an audience that has never played a Metroid game before — at the expense of the fans who have been waiting over a decade for this moment.
Still Beautiful, Still Frustrating
On a purely technical level, Metroid Prime 4 is a showcase for the Switch 2’s capabilities. The environments are gorgeous, the creature designs are inventive, and the weapon and visor systems still feel satisfying to use. When the game lets you explore at your own pace — when it trusts the player — flashes of Prime’s brilliance shine through. The problem is that those moments are increasingly rare as the game progresses, buried under layers of unnecessary padding and unwanted guidance. A good Metroid game exists somewhere inside Beyond. It’s just surrounded by too much that isn’t Metroid.
Conclusion
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is the most technically polished entry in the series, but it may also be the most disappointing. A decade of development has produced a game that’s afraid to let players experience the isolation and discovery that made Prime legendary. For fans who waited this long, a 78 on Metacritic stings — but the real tragedy is the game we can see buried underneath.
