At the Nintendo Direct 2024, Metroid Prime 4 made an unprecedented return after seven years of silence. The highly anticipated game showed up with a new title: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. In addition to that, Nintendo revealed some details about gameplay, story elements, and a release date. Here’s what we know so far:
What was Metroid Prime 4: Beyond development like?
Nintendo relayed to fans that the team would restart development development of the anticipated game with Retro Studio back in 2019. This veteran studio is known for its work on the Metroid Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns, as well as with assisting with Mario Kart 7 on Nintendo 3DS.
Nintendo Senior Managing Executive Officer Shinya Takahashi stated at the time that the company was not happy with the state of the game. So instead, it decided to reevaluate the development of Metroid Prime 4. Since that update, Retro Studios hired multiple individuals to help with the game’s development.
In 2019, Retro Studios enlisted the expertise of 343 Industries’ Kyle Hefley as a lead character artist for Metroid Prime 4. Hefley’s previous work included Spartan soldiers models, as well as the Halo 4 version of Master Chief. Given that Master Chief and Samus share a common premise when it comes to their armor, it made sense to employ someone who has done something similar.
Retro Studios not only picked up 343 Industries’ character artist, the Nintendo subsidiary hired EA DICE’s Battlefield V and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst’s Art Director Jhony Ljungstedt. Both Battlefield and Mirror’s Edge are first person games akin to the Metroid Prime series.
Here’s everything we caught in the June 2024 Metroid Prime 4 trailer
In the trailer, we see that the story takes place in the Cosmic Year 20X9 at the Galactic Federation Research Facility. Afterwards, we are met with the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond version of Samus as she heads into an ominous setting. This confirms that Metroid Prime 4 will be first person game like the other entries in the Prime series. Other iconic gameplay features returning from past Metroid games involve the Morph-Ball and scanning.
Morph-Ball appears to bring the platforming and problem solving of old Metroid Prime titles to this new one. We see Samus roll around in tight spaces while avoiding conflict below in the initial footage. With her scanning ability, we see Samus analyze a fallen alien. This seems to give us a glimpse at the environmental storytelling that will be on display.
Also shown in the trailer is someone resembling Sylux from Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Prime 3. Given that Samus is exploring a crumbling Galactic Federation Research Facility and this bounty hunter’s known hatred for the Galactic Foundation,it may suggest that Sylux is the main antagonist of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Release date and platforms
With rumors of the next Nintendo platform being announced in the future, many wondered if Metroid Prime 4: Beyond would be a Nintendo Switch 2 launch title. With the Nintendo Direct 2024, Nintendo confirmed that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. Fans were also waiting for a release date after being relatively quiet since its announcement at E3 2017. However, while there is no solid release date, Nintendo confirmed that the long awaited entry in the franchise will be released in 2025 for the Nintendo Switch.
