Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hands-on: precise mouse control meets classic combat
Playing Metroid has never looked sharper or felt smoother
👾 We got 15 minutes of hands-on time with Metroid Prime 4
📺 The best-looking Metroid game yet, running at 4K 120fps
🖱️ Requires more manual aiming with a mouse or gamepad controls than previous titles
🎯 The first boss required precise aiming to reveal its weak point
👾 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has plenty more to reveal with psychic abilities and an open-world (hub)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is easily my most anticipated Nintendo game of this year. Like every fan of this series, I played the original trilogy and have been waiting almost 18 years for a new Metroid Prime game in the first-person perspective. I got to play a 15-minute Metroid Prime 4: Beyond demo of the introductory levels at Nintendo’s Holiday Showcase, and I can definitely tell you the wait has been worth it.
This is the best-looking Metroid game I’ve ever seen, and it plays like a truly responsive and frenetic shooter now that the Switch 2 delivers 1440p 120Hz gameplay with mouse controls. My demo threw me into the middle of a pitched battle between the Galactic Federation and Space Pirates. I was able to test out the new mouse mode, scan, solve some extremely light puzzles, and defeat the first boss.
📺 Omg the graphics: Metroid Prime 4 is now a graphical AAA powerhouse that rivals Cyberpunk 2077 or GTA 6. This game looks gorgeous, and in the opening cutscene, you can see dozens of tiny details like the scratches on the Galactic Federation Marines’ helmets, the glow coming off laser artillery fire, and the subtle sheen on Samus’ power armor. Behind Samus’ visor, everything looks sharper and smoother at 1440p 120Hz while the Switch 2 is docked. The game runs at 1080p 120Hz in handheld mode.
🖱️ Mouse mode. The Switch 2 also adds mouse control to Metroid, and it feels even more intuitive than when Wii or twin-stick controls were added to the original game. Mouse control extends an almost 1:1 movement from your hand movement to aiming on screen. Of course, the game still allows you to lock on while mousing around, which makes circle-strafing a breeze. You can also instantly switch between gamepad controls or mouse mode as soon as you lift or put down the Joy-Con 2 controller.
🎯 Precision aiming. Mouse mode also comes into play with targeting weak points on enemies. The final boss of my demo had four glowing spots that I needed to shoot before it revealed its actual weak spot, which allowed me to deal damage.
👾 Classic combat. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s combat is going to feel right at home if you’ve played any previous Metroid Prime games, and it’s easy to pick up for any newcomers as well. The boss battle may have introduced a new element of precise weak points, but you’ll be dodging its attacks with the usual mix of circle strafing, double jumps, and transforming into a morph ball to slip underneath. Even scanning makes a return, and the descriptions of objects and enemies read even more naturally with in-universe jargon instead of fully explaining you need to aim here or press the left bumper for Missile attacks to interact.
🌎 More at play. Again, we only got a tiny glimpse of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond with our 15-minute demo, and we also only saw one of the introductory levels of the game. Beyond has already revealed its larger scope with a motorcycle traversing a seemingly open-world hub. Additionally, Nintendo has shown how Samus will acquire psychic abilities on top of a new scarlet-colored power armor that’s sure to have more upgrades.
Up next: Nintendo Switch Online is getting two new Game Boy Advance games – including a dreamy addition
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.