Based on roughly 45 minutes of new hands-on gameplay from the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, it seems safe to say that the beloved Metroid Prime of old is well and truly back. This time, with an ethereal, magical bent that is going to add an extra puzzle layer to virtually every element of the tried-and-true Prime formula.
In the school of first-person shooters, Metroid Prime stands apart from peers like Halo and Half-Life. Intergalactic pirate hunter Samus Aran is built like a Swiss army knife, gaining increased combat capabilities via puzzle solving and platforming instead of blasting foes and taking their firearms. Shootouts forcing Samus to circle strafe with a low-gravity buoyancy, peppering one enemy at a time as handfuls encroach. These games feature worlds that expand as your skillset does, earning abilities like double jumps and barrier-breaking ballistics. All that is to say, the distinct feel of Prime is intact. If you played 2023’s Metroid Prime: Remaster, you’re safe to pick up the controller and intuit from there.
The preview session began with the demo that has been doing the rounds at trade shows and conventions in recent months. As it was my first time seeing and playing this myself, I couldn’t help but be fully drawn in. Supposedly set during the beginning of the game, this demo shows off several cinematic set pieces featuring the Galactic Federation troopers, their giant mechs, and planetside destruction courtesy of an invading military force from outer space.
Samus’ single-shooter charge cannon creates tense moments when surrounded
The first demo’s end fight with Aberax is a fun boss battle that shows off the emphasis on target-lock battles—centring on a single foe, strafing, and double-jumping around while targeting squishy weak spots. It’s what I expected, and it still hits good.
The boss fight concludes with the ‘Anomaly’, a big explosion that transports Samus and her allies away. It’s a strange phenomenon that consumes them, and Samus then awakens at a place called the Chronos Tower, surrounded by desert and bereft of abilities. The classic Metroid reset.
But here’s where Prime 4 goes Beyond, and I wasn’t prepared for this. Samus is greeted by an ethereal alien known as a Lamorn. For some reason, they see Samus’ arrival as heralding that of the Chosen One – her. She’s then whacked with a – get this – psychic crystal, right on her helmet’s forehead. Samus Aran now becomes Sailor Samus, capable of harnessing the otherworldly. Along with a purple tinge, the introduction of psychic Samus lends interesting wrinkles to otherwise familiar abilities.
The second demo sees Samus taken from the Chronos Tower to the verdant jungles of Fury Green. I’ve naught much at my disposal other than the trusty charge beam and morph ball as I blast flying critters littering my pretty corridors between larger puzzle and combat rooms.
It’s only after shooting a few doors to open up the next jungle passage that we unlock a psychic glove. This allows psychic motes to be manipulated while in visor mode. During the demo, we use this ability to solve puzzles that open up the next rooms. After magically guiding some glowing balls across rooms, I reach an area with a friendly face.
Fury Green has some sublime backdrops and key areas
A surprise cinematic cutscene in the Fury Green introduces us to a new human character named Myles Mackenzie, a Federation trooper from the initial demo. As a fully voiced and acted character, Mackenzie will also behave as an ally in combat. For what are otherwise pretty solitary, atmospheric shooters, Mackenzie’s chattering away reveals him as a bit of comic relief – something I similarly don’t recall being a feature of the series, but welcome nonetheless. Mackenzie also finds a big mech in the forest named Betsy. Can we pilot mechs in Prime 4? That might be cool.
Because this is Metroid Prime, shortly after meeting Mackenzie and surviving a challenging onslaught of various enemies with all but your beam cannon, the classic missile launcher is unlocked. After using missiles to break open some amber-sealed pathways, I find myself presented with a psychic charge beam upgrade. Now projectiles can be driven in midair by the player, around corners and towards whatever destination. Time slows down to a crawl, allowing you to line up your target for collision. Think Batman’s remote batarang from the Arkham games.
The demo ends with a significantly more challenging boss than Aberax. This tentacled creature whips its enormous tendrils at you. If you shoot them off, they regrow immediately. With quick reflection on my newfound abilities, I try to navigate a psychic beam in slow motion. Whipping a manually controlled beam across all exposed vines would do the trick, allowing me to strafe around the boss area, dumping missiles at the boss’s now-unguarded glowing bits before he recovers. With the boss defeated after a few rounds of this at increasing speed and peril, I’m settled, sweaty and satisfied with the puzzle-y boss fights on show.
Peep Samus’ psychic glove
To have an exploration and puzzle-based first-person shooter in Metroid Prime’s specific, inimitable style is such a cool and uncommon thing to see in 2025. I think Prime fans have a familiar yet exciting new entry coming next month, making the long wait worthwhile.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond releases on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on December 4.
