Metroid Prime 4’s glorious return goes beyond our wildest dreams

Seven years since its announcement, five years since it restarted development, and nearly 17 years since the last entry… Metroid Prime 4 has officially been unveiled by Nintendo, and it’s everything fans hoped for.

The first glimpse of gameplay finally arrived as part of the Nintendo Direct for June 2024, and the gorgeous footage shows Samus Aran leaping out of her gunship, and doing a superhero landing before setting out to explore and scan a new alien planet. It’s good to be back.

So far, the first look at the game — now titled Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — seems very similar to the original Prime titles but with a new lick of paint, and that is a compliment.

After the infamous restart of its development, Nintendo revealed that Retro Studios would return to development of the fourth installment in the Prime franchise, after being the developers of every previous entry.

Fans got a look at Retro Studios’ abilities on the Switch with the gorgeous remaster of the original Metroid Prime, and already 4 looks set to top even that in the graphics department.

Starting off on a grungy and dilapidated alien planet, later the trailer reveals a lush environment filled with green foliage and jungles, almost reminiscent of the bright and sci-fi-inspired worlds of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Plus, a long-standing tease looks set to finally be paid off, as the bounty hunter Sylux returns in the trailer after appearances in Metroid Prime Hunters, Metroid Prime 3, and in an ending reveal in Metroid Prime Federation Force.

Nintendo

Previously the furthest point in the Prime timeline, it now seems that fans will discover exactly what Sylux had planned for the Metroid he stole in the 3DS game.

While some fans have speculated that Metroid Prime 4’s development may have shifted to the Nintendo Switch’s successor, the announcement here, as well as Nintendo’s insistence that games revealed in the June 2024 Direct would be only for the current Nintendo Switch, seems to contradict any theories.

Fan reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, as underneath the announcement from Nintendo of America’s X account, there are hundreds of comments sharing their excitement and thrill at the game’s eventual reveal.

One comment says, “IT LOOKS INSANEEEEE THANK YOU SO MUCH @RetroStudios” before another comment adds, “This looks absolutely fantastic. I am so excited! Thank you, Nintendo for finally showing it off.”

Talking about the gameplay reveal, one comment says, “That’s all we wanted, Metroid prime 4 to be exactly what Metroid Prime plays like.” Meanwhile, a Nintendo fan shares their thoughts, saying, “Never played a Metroid game before but, I’m definitely down to play this.”

The Metroid Prime 4 Beyond release date is still a while away, but now with gameplay to analysis and some secrets to uncover, the game’s long-awaited launch finally feels within reach.