When it comes to Nintendo Directs, you honestly have no idea what to expect until something is announced. After all, the many hopes and dreams of leakers and gamers are all sky high until the Direct reveals a certain set of games, and then reality sets in. For many, the hope of Metroid Prime 4 getting shown off was low, and even we weren’t sure it would be in the showcase. Lo and behold, when the Direct was on its final game, Samus Aran appeared, and all was right in the world. Just as important, the game looked good, has a release window, and even has an official name!
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, as it’s now called, showed off a trailer featuring Samus aiding the Galactic Federation at what seems to be one of their bases. The base was being attacked by Space Pirates and one of Samus’ rivals, Sylux, who has been featured in multiple games in the series. Oh, and Sylux had Metroids right behind him; that’s not good!
The twist is that at the very end of the trailer, Samus finds herself on a more prehistoric planet, and that leads to many questions about what’s going on and what the “Beyond” in the game’s title means. However, we can let that go for now, as the trailer looked really good with the Switch’s graphics, and the gameplay is exactly what you would expect from the series.
For example, we not only see the first-person perspective once again, but we see the use of the scanner, the morph ball, blasting environmental objects so we can get through them, Samus blasting enemies left and right, and so on.
While it’s inevitable that she’s going to lose much of her gear, it’s also going to be interesting to see what new abilities she picks up along the way, especially in these “beyond” worlds that she’ll possibly be visiting.
Undoubtedly, fans are just happy to have Samus back once again, and that we’re FINALLY getting this game. Seriously, it was first announced just over 7 years ago, and now, it’s been revealed in full. Granted, there is one catch here. The game won’t be released until 2025, which says a lot about how long this game has been in development. However, the fact that it’s been announced and we KNOW it’s coming to Nintendo Switch is everything we need and more.
It’s coming, everyone. We can wait a little longer for it.