NINTENDOAfter eight years of waiting, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has finally made another appearance, with a brand-new name, a look at the world that Samus will explore, and a release window.
Metroid Prime 4 has had an unpleasant history. Originally announced in 2017 with Bandai Namco at the helm, Nintendo later revealed that all the progress made was being scrapped and that development had been restarted in 2019, with Retro Studios developing it.
After eight long years of waiting, the Prime series is set to return to Nintendo systems. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond may well be the swansong of the Switch, but what a game to end things on.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Release window
NintendoMetroid Prime 4: Beyond will be released in 2025. While this seems like a big release window, it’s a lot better than the zero-information fans have had since its cancellation and revival.
What’s more, the March 27 direct has doubled down on that window and confirmed we can expect it before the year is out.
Trailers
While Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was originally announced in 2017 (as Metroid Prime 4), only a logo was revealed. The series entry has come a long way since, with it having to restart development entirely before Nintendo gave people a look at a more complete form of the game.
In 2024, the first gameplay trailer was finally shown during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct.
Now, after nine months without any information, a new trailer was shown during the recent Nintendo Direct on March 27.
While we didn’t get a new release date, the trailer did show some new mechanics related to psychic powers. Every Metroid Prime game past 1 has had a certain gimmick to it that ties into the core plot, and it seems Prime 4 will be no different.
What we know
The first trailer from the June 2024 Nintendo Direct gave us our first glimpse of gameplay footage. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will feature Sylux as the villain, as he’s seen leading the Space Pirates, along with some Metroids.
As for the game itself, it will combine first-person shooting with third-person exploration segments, with Samus exploring a massive new forest world, which was briefly glimpsed at the end of the trailer.
The second trailer showed more gameplay and a little bit more about the setting. In the video, we can see Samus walking around the planet Viewros, a jungle-type world where she was unexpectedly transported to.
In Viewros, Samus must scan stone figures and other relics to discover useful information to move forward in her quest to escape. However, vicious alien creatures are hiding, waiting to attack.
In a new twist, Samus obtains ancient and mysterious powers. These psychic abilities allow her to operate mechanisms, open doors, and control the trajectory of her beams.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond platforms
Currently, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is only confirmed for the Nintendo Switch. This means it’ll naturally come to the Switch 2, but there’s a bit more to the story than that.
While we know that the Nintendo Switch’s successor is launching in 2025, there is yet to be any confirmation about whether it’ll be through backward compatibility or if Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will receive some graphical upgrades specifically for the system and play differently on it from the original Switch.
