I had almost forgotten how slow a game can be — and still feel intense. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is not interested in pleasing an algorithm or keeping you constantly entertained. It wants your time, your patience, and your attention. And if you give it that, you get something that feels rare in 2025: a game that dares to trust silence, structure, and weight.
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Disclaimer: Apropos Magazine received access or a review copy. As always, we share our own impressions — unfiltered.
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That alone is enough to make the pulse quicken in anyone who once had a GameCube sitting under the TV in the 2000s. Metroid Prime was not just an experiment or a strange detour for an otherwise pure 2D series. It was one of the best-reviewed games on the platform, and a game that proved first person did not have to be fast, noisy, or stupid to be effective. It could be slow, methodical, almost meditative — and still intense.
That is why the hype around Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is massive. Not only because it marks Samus’ long-awaited return to first person, but because the game has had a notoriously uneven development history. Officially announced, pulled back, restarted, and only late in the process reintroduced as a finished project. The question is unavoidable: was the wait worth it?
You are thrown straight into the action. A villain named Sylux attacks the Galactic Federation. An emergency signal goes out. Samus responds because she — as always — happens to be nearby. No long explanations, no exposition disguised as dialogue. We are underway. The story works more as a frame than a driving force, and that is entirely intentional. Metroid has never been about plot twists or moral dilemmas, but about atmosphere, isolation, and the feeling of being alone in a hostile system.
One of the most striking things about Metroid Prime 4 is how uncompromisingly old-fashioned it feels in its structure. Not retro as a stylistic exercise, but genuinely conservative in its design philosophy. The pace is slow. Aim assist is pronounced. Players raised on Call of Duty and constant motion will probably wince. But once you accept the premise, it makes sense. You are not a soldier. You are a bounty hunter in an extremely advanced suit, and the game wants you to feel the weight of that.
The enemies, on the other hand, are not easy. Ordinary fights can escalate quickly, and boss battles are downright demanding. Often it is not immediately clear what works. You have to observe, fail, and adjust. It feels more like combat than shooting. As if the game is constantly reminding you that power in Metroid is not about reaction time, but about understanding.
In practice, Metroid Prime 4 is just as much a puzzle game disguised as a shooter. You are constantly switching between psychic abilities, elemental weapons, Morph Ball, scanning, and environmental interaction. It demands overview and patience. Many areas openly invite backtracking once new abilities are unlocked. For some, that will feel like unnecessary grind. For others, it is the very essence of the thing. The universe unfolds slowly, and the reward is the feeling of mastery, not a pop-up saying “achievement unlocked”.
The atmosphere is carried largely by sound. The soundtrack is precise and restrained, and silence is used actively. The music appears when it should, then disappears again. The worlds are beautiful, dystopian, and unmistakably Nintendo, but also darker than much else from the company. Technically, you can tell the game was built for Switch. Some textures look a little dated, but it is manageable — or I may need to get myself a Switch 2 so the game can truly come into its own.
The biggest new gameplay addition is a motorcycle, which is unlocked relatively early. It is used mainly for transport and a few sequences, and technically it works fine. Design-wise, though, it feels like a relic from another era. Long stretches where not much really happens. It recalls Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time or the sailing sections in Wind Waker. In 2025, it feels more like filler than necessity — a strange gap in an otherwise tight design.
The save system is just as uncompromising. Classic, sparse save points. No checkpoints every five minutes. There are consequences. That creates tension, but also frustration. More than once, you find yourself running back to save after a difficult boss, just to be safe. It has a peculiar charm. A youthful stress-memory of the ink-ribbon economy in Resident Evil. Good thing we are not quite there — but it is close.
Samus herself says almost nothing. Less than Link. NPCs chatter around her, but she remains silent. It can seem comical, but it also feels like a deliberate statement. Sometimes you say more by saying nothing. A professional bounty hunter may keep her mask on — literally. There is a subtle but unmistakable feminine touch to her presence. Not highlighted. Just there.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is not the best game ever made. But it is a consistent, atmospheric, and demanding game that dares to trust its own formula. It is slow, methodical, and uncompromising — exactly as Metroid should be. New Nintendo players should give it a chance. Metroid fans are already playing. Samus is back. And she is in no hurry. The GameCube legacy continues by design.
