Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Review (Switch & Switch 2)

From the days of 2D sidescrolling to the non-linear exploration that defined the Metroidvania genre, the Metroid series has come a long way. Several decades of classic games we still go back to today, for their atmospheric, sci-fi adventures, memorable Space Pirates, and vicious Metroid creatures. 

Même quand Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà took eight years in development, and another nearly two decades after Metroid Prime 3 : Corruption, its arrival still spurs seeds of excitement, albeit mostly among longtime fans. 

So, should newcomers give it a chance? Should longtime fans still hold the new entry in high regard based purely on its predecessors’ glory days? Let’s find out in our Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà examiner.

Frappez le sol en courant

You should immediately feel goosebumps cascade down your arms when you play through the early scenes of Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà. That early fight scene, although a bit brutal, teaches you the ropes of the control system, so newbies quickly acclimate. It also unravels via electrifying speeds as Samus Aran finds herself caught in the middle of protecting an ancient artifact from the primary antagonist and nemesis bounty hunter Sylux. 

A complication sees you and a few other Federation soldiers teleported into the lost civilization of the extinct Lamorn race. In the alien planet, Viewros, is where your exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat from Metroid jeux past take place. Pretty much all of the gameplay features and elements you’re used to make a glorious return in the fourth sequel of Metroid Prime, much to my pleasure –if it ain’t broke…

The pulsating start to Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà’s story, however, loses momentum by the middle to late stages. Even though it does all it can to remain relevant. You meet up with side characters when discovering new areas, who join you on your mission to revive Viewros and its lost history and civilization. Mostly, the Federation soldiers teleported here with you, but very few truly leave a lasting mark and impression on you. If anything, their significance feels more attuned to guiding you when you lose your step. 

Guide utile

It really depends on whether you like the heavy rather than soft nudge toward where you’re supposed to go. Or would prefer to figure it out all on your own. On the former, the companions’ interruptions to tell you where to go won’t be much of a bother. To me, they often disrupted my tenacity to find my own way, even when it takes a while. But see, that’s the essence we’d come to love from Metroid Prime. That Metroidvania outlook on non-linear exploration, where you can’t access certain areas until you’ve explored some more and discovered the keys and powerups needed to unlock them. 

But that’s not all the companions are good for or otherwise. They help illuminate the story with their unique personalities and light backstories. Plus, they may provide context to Viewros’ history and exploration. “Otherwise,” though, because their banter isn’t always creative or clever. It can grate on your patience, with repetition and obnoxious one-liners, so much so that you find yourself craving for time spent alone, as Metroid Prime has often allowed you to. That isolation of Samus Aran exploring the eerie and atmospheric levels of curious sci-fi structures enshrouded in deep mystery. Fortunately, you do have plenty of moments like these when you’re solely and slowly debunkering Viewros’ intricacies with a fine-toothed comb.

Sci-fi Catacombs

The levels are exquisite by Metroid Prime standards, at least within the tight corridors deeper into the Great Mines, Ice Belt, Fury Green, and beyond. Varied enough from vibrant jungles to frozen wastelands. But also stunning, dashed in rich and dynamic lighting and atmosphere. It draws deep curiosity from within you to pull out your scanner and carefully analyze every little thing. Every machine, creature, ruin, and intricately designed environmental detail potentially holds a clue or solution to your next puzzle-solve or sense of where to go next. It’s well-paced, giving you enough time to scan your surroundings without feeling like a drag. And the music feels well thought-out, with perfect balances of ambient sounds, beautiful chorals, and electric tracks. 

Those satisfying moments of successfully solving puzzles are present, although not consistently. They do keep you wanting to keep exploring. Plus, Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà introduces psychic elemental powers that blend with your tools and abilities, giving them slight variations in their visual effects. Though many of the abilities remain the same as always, the power suit, morph ball, missiles, and scan visor should be well familiar. Despite their unchanging features, they do feel smoother and snappier. Samus Aran’s movement is fluid, and the lock-on shooting remains a joy. But the psychic energy twist does add a modern touch, where flunging powerful purple beams at objects to solve puzzles and enemies feels fun and satisfying. 

Mise sous tension

pont Metroid games start with Samus Aran stripped of her weapons and abilities. Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà uses the same base and tasks you with slowly rebuilding her power. Through exploration, you discover new weapons, abilities, and powerups that get you to the height Samus Aran needs to be to beat Sylux. This cues in the Metroidvania aspect, where some areas may be inaccessible until you’ve obtained certain abilities and powerups. It remains fun to hunt down collectibles across Viewros. Unfortunately, the curiosity and engagement in the levels don’t always carry forward into the newly introduced open-world, desert sort of hub area. 

For reasons that are beyond me, Nintendo has simply decided that open-world exploration should become a mainstay in every game, regardless of genre. Even when it makes no sense to add an open world, it’s just padded into games for the sake of it. The open world in Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà is disappointing on so many levels. It’s essentially a mostly barren desert that serves as the fabric connecting the main areas you need to explore. Since you’re often going back and forth between areas, you’ll find yourself spending a lot of time traversing this desert. It’d have been better if there were something of value to do in between your traversals. But the desert is mostly empty, and doesn’t even look good. 

Vallée Sol

The most you’ll do while traversing the desert open land called Sol Valley is ram into green crystals aboard your TRON-like bike. The bike doesn’t feel great to control, so no, it’s not worth spending time on. Meanwhile, the green crystals do serve a purpose of earning you upgrades. They’re the main thing to do in this relatively expansive Sol Valley desert open world with sand dunes beyond the eye can see, which should say a lot about how this place will quickly grate on your soul. There are minor things like the Zelda-like shrines, with puzzles and upgrades. But ultimately less significant to the story and gameplay. Let’s put it this way: If Sol Valley was ripped out of Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà, you won’t lose a wink of sleep over it. 

Some boss fights are a pain. Others you’ll marvel at purely because of their impeccable design. Your scanner makes things a lot easier, helping you identify weak spots. But even then, you do need mastery over the controls and mechanics to properly ace the combat, with a few fair and “teaching moment” deaths here and there.

Verdict

Many of the story and gameplay elements in Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà work in its favor. But you cannot ignore the diabolical decision that went into adding Sol Valley. Heck, if an open world section was this necessary for the series, then can it at least have fun things to do? Can it feel alive and look good? Companions are also a notable touch and addition to the story, but very few are memorable. If anything, they are more annoying than they are actually serviceable to the story and your journey.

That leaves us with the core aspect we love about Metroid Prime: the thoughtful exploration, which thankfully, has been executed blissfully and perfectly. Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà is very much respectful and faithful to its predecessors in the level designs, giving us the same teasing, tense, and mysterious puzzle-adventure. The levels look stunning in their life-like visuals and intricate designs, and beg to be scanned more keenly and deeply. They encourage digging deeper and farther to understand the history of Viewros and your place in it.

Longtime fans will therefore find Metroid Prime 4 : Au-delà very much pleasant, despite its flaws. Newcomers might not even be accosted too much by the flaws. I suppose that means that this entry has succeeded in its long-awaited launch. It hasn’t quite hit the bullseye on all fronts. But it certainly has managed to bring home many of the aspects of gameplay that mattered the most. Certainly not the story that tries too hard to be interesting. But definitely the atmospheric exploration in isolation, trying to unearth every last clue and secret that will be your way back home.