admin Nearly a decade after it was first teased, Metroid Prime 4: Onward is finally out on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Samus Aran’s latest first-person sci-fi adventure is a visual treat with a number of well-designed levels that provide hours of satisfying exploration and puzzle solving. Unfortunately, annoying NPCs, a big, boring desert, and a nothingburger villain make this a messy, mediocre entry in the Metroid franchise.
Metroid Prime4 begins with a full-scale galactic battle that wouldn’t be out of place in a Halo or Star Wars game. An army of space pirates, led by Metroid villain Sylux attacks a Galactic Federation facility and Samus arrives to save the day. But shortly after they appear, Samus, Sylux and some Federation forces are teleported to the distant alien planet Viewros, where Prime 4 takes place. Here Samus is isolated on a mysterious alien world and…
*Scifi-sounding beep* Hey, good that you read the second paragraph of this review. If you’re not sure what to do next, try scrolling to the next paragraph of text! This should help you move forward! You’re doing great!
Well, okay, Samus isn’t really isolated and alone on Viewros. Instead, a brave team of Galactic Federation soldiers is also on the planet. Very early on you encounter one of them, Myles, who is written as if he fell out of an MCU movie. The other troopers you encounter are also different types of annoying, with each falling into the overused sci-fi soldier category, from baby rookie to cool, silent sniper. There is even a robot that is polite and comical! The whole gang is here. And they all constantly ruin the atmosphere.
None of these chuckleheads will shut up! As you discover each one as you explore the game’s different levels and biomes, they will work with you for extended periods of time, giving you hints that seem to imply that they think Samus is a buffoon. Things like “Scan that computer” or “Place a bomb there.” Yet they all treat Samus like she’s Space Jesus and the coolest, baddest person ever.
The worst of these offenders is Myles, who will summon Samus as she explores the open desert that connects Pime 4′There are different levels and side areas and you are pestered to do this or that. A few times I was looking for secrets and Myles intervened and marked a place on my map for me to go. Thank goodness you’re here, Myles, otherwise I might have enjoyed a few minutes of gentle exploration and discovery!
When the Federation teammates aren’t squawking, and Samus is alone on a strange planet, trying to solve puzzles and make progress, Prime 4 is a much better game.
The level design is excellent, with each of the different biomes you explore returning the feeling of being both large and complicated without being confusing or a slog to work through. I’ve already talked about how much I like Volt Forgethe first real level you visit Prime 4but the other areas are also fantastic. The legally mandated ice level, Ice Belt, is an often claustrophobic and eerie journey through an abandoned laboratory that conducted strange alien tests. It trades the ice caves and snow of most ice levels for sterile laboratories and windswept alcoves that are all quite deserted and gloomy.
And of course there are several alien enemies to fight in all these levels, which isn’t a problem because there are battles happening Metroid Prime4 is fantastic, even if it’s more or less the same gunplay as in the past Prime titles. You’ll lock, jump around, and throw missiles, energy blasts, and elemental shots at a diverse selection of critters and robots. Certain enemies have different weaknesses, such as ice blasts, allowing you to clear the hordes more effectively. It’s not new, but it still feels good, and when it’s running at 120 FPS it looks incredible.
That’s probably the biggest compliment I can give Metroid Prime 4: Onward. This is a visually stunning, aesthetically coherent first-person action shooter that runs like a dream. I’ve never encountered an FPS drop that was noticeable or encountered an area that looked ugly. Every inch of it Prime 4 delivers sharp, stylized sci-fi images that pop on a large 4K TV. This isn’t what I expected from a first-party Nintendo game, but I’m not complaining. I loved it so much and it makes me hopeful for future Nintendo games on the Switch 2.
*Scifi-sounding beep* Hey writer, don’t forget to mention the desert and the motorcycle! These are features in Metroid Prime 4, the game you played, that are worth mentioning in your review. Use the keyboard to write about it in the next paragraph.
That’s right, the desert. This is the most baffling part of it Prime 4. The great Sol Valley desert acts as a strange, largely empty hub area connecting the different levels. To help Samus cross this vast space, Prime 4 gives the player a cool motorcycle. And it is cool and feels great to drive. Hitting a dune while boosting and flying over the sand is sick shit. But the open desert just becomes a boring way to slow down the game.
Will you find a new upgrade that will let you explore more of a previous level? Cool. You can drive all the way back to that level. Want to get some upgrades now that you have a new Morph Ball ability? Well, guess what, you have to drive through the desert again. Worse still, getting in and out of the desert forces Samus through at least two different loading areas that leave him feeling barely connected to the rest of the game.
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Quote from the back of the box:
“Hey, this is the quote from the box, Samus! You should read this.”
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Developer
Retro studios
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Type of game:
First-person sci-fi adventure shooter
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I liked:
Stunning visuals, great level design and solid performance
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Disliked:
Annoying teammates, the boring desert, Sylux and the ending
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Platforms:
Switch, Switch 2 (played)
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Played:
Completed the main story and about 30% of the side content in 11 hours
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Release date
December 4, 2025
The desert seems to imply that too Prime 4 is an open-ended adventure, but it isn’t. Like past Metroid In games, you collect power-ups and unlock more of the game world in a largely predetermined order. And that would be more than fine if the desert didn’t seem to have created the idea that you had more freedom than you actually have. It’s just a big empty waste of space that shouldn’t have been included in Pripe 4 not at all.
And as you explore the desert, Myles keeps yelling at you to do this or check that or open your map to go here, and it just gets so tedious and annoying. Even worse, to reach the end of the game, you have to collect a bunch of green crystals that appear in the desert. I didn’t have enough when I reached the last moments of prime 4, so I had to drive around the desert for about 30 minutes collecting gems while Myles repeated the same tip about harvesting the damn things. The word torture crossed my mind a few times during all of this.
*Sci-fi sound beep* Oh no! Don’t forget Sylux! This is a villain who has been a part of Metroid for years, but gets a bigger role than ever in this latest sequel. You should discuss him and his appearance in Prime 4 in the next paragraph.
Dear God, leave me alone, Myles. But yes, Sylux is in this game. And that’s… about all I have to say about that. I’m not trying to avoid spoilers; I just don’t have anything else to add. His presence is so minimal that at first I thought he was just a fun cameo. But no, technically you (sort of) see him a few more times before the end.
What are his motivations? Why does he do everything he does in this game, which is very little? Why would someone who, like me, hasn’t played the games he previously appeared in care about this? The game won’t really answer any of these questions until you manage to get 100 percent and unlock the secret extra ending. For everyone else: kick rocks.
Metroid Prime 4: Onward is a good game made worse by some really bad choices. It features annoying characters that ruin the isolated and terrifying atmosphere this latest sequel tries so hard to create, and forces Samus to drive through a boring desert over and over again for no good reason other than forcing you to do some extra busy work to expand Prime 4′s run time up to about 11 hours for most people.
