We have an exciting new rumor about the long awaited Nintendo sequel, Metroid Prime 4.
Nick “Shpeshal Nick” Baker shared this information in the latest episode of the Xbox Era podcast. Please note this has been edited for clarity:
“I know someone who’s got their eyes on Metroid Prime 4. Of course, as expected, they say its looks visually unbelievable.
They said it looks surprisingly open for a Metroid Prime game.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I just played Metroid Prime Remastered. There are some fairly big open areas in Metroid Prime Remastered.
But this is like big big. Like huge open areas.
It’s not an open world, as far as I’m aware. But some of the regions and areas in Metroid Prime 4 are supposed to be massive.
The way they described them, it almost reminded them of Halo Infinite. Halo Infinite was open world, but when you looked at Halo Infinite, it was this big vast open area. Metroid Prime 4 reminded them of that, of how big and vast and open it looked, but it’s not open world.”
While these are only rumors for now, it’s the most substantial information of any kind that we have received about Metroid Prime 4, official news and rumors alike. The most recent information we did receive in an official capacity is the title appearing in a list of games that are still upcoming for the Nintendo Switch, in one of the company’s quarterly financial reports.
There was also a rumor that Retro Studios worked on Metroid Prime Remastered and Metroid Prime 4 at the same time, which would certainly make sense. There is no reason to believe that Retro Studios has been taken off the project, or that their role has been reduced, as there is no news or even rumors that suggest so.
But Retro Studios may have been so bold as to try new game design ideas on Metroid Prime 4 to push the franchise forward.
For fans who don’t remember, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, exclusive to the Wii, was also a divergence to the conventions of the series. The game directly gave you more hints so that you wouldn’t get lost, and had long, extensive cut scenes. These were not as unpopular as those found in Metroid Other M, but as many fans noticed, they were obviously trying to be more like Halo.
Not that the Metroid Prime series was ever static, but there definitely needs to be consideration that any bright new idea will bring radical changes to its game design. The first Metroid Prime itself made decisions that set it apart from other shooters of its time, making it one of the most influential for future shooters as well.
Would a more open world Metroid Prime be a good idea? If its like the recent The Legend of Zelda games, with a lot of fine tuning made to every little nuance of game design, it could turn out to be the finest game in the franchise. But we’ll all find out when Nintendo is finally ready to release it.
