The moment Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2, it was brimming with exciting new titles, but what truly grabbed my attention was a familiar face: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. This wasn’t because of any new mechanics, but rather the nostalgic, comforting touch the game has.
During the demo, as someone who’s no stranger to the series, I felt at home. The section displayed seemed to strip down to the basics, lacking any new exciting features. If I were to take a guess, this part might be from the opening of the game, occurring before Samus gets her nifty power suit upgrades that include telekinetic abilities.
In this demo portion, set amidst the chaos of a besieged base, Samus wielded her typical arsenal: the arm cannon, missiles, scanner, morph ball, and bombs. Everything about this segment screamed familiarity, painting Prime 4 as a straightforward successor to the preceding titles. However, from the snippets of footage lurking elsewhere, there’s sure to be a lot more under the hood in terms of fresh gameplay and abilities. These just weren’t present during my time with the game on the Switch 2.
It seems like Nintendo and Retro Studios precisely chose this slice of the game for the demo. It’s fast-paced and straightforward, ensuring players focus on the essence of Metroid Prime’s magic, now glistening under the advanced hardware of the Switch 2.
As soon as I sat down for the demo, the Nintendo rep chimed in, pointing out that the game runs at 120 frames per second. This emphasis on performance is atypical for Nintendo, which usually shies away from such tech specs. But it’s evident why they’ve diverged from tradition here.
Metroid Prime 4 on the Switch 2 is an upgrade from a game originally meant for a much less powerful system. And yet, it rolls smoothly at full HD (with 4K support at 60fps) and runs like a dream at 120fps. It looks leagues ahead of what I’ve seen on streams of the original Switch, though the OG version wasn’t available for a side-by-side comparison. The standout here is that silky smooth performance, a rare focus for Nintendo. And then there’s something intriguing you notice when you stop focusing on just playing…
Let’s talk about controls. The Switch 2 brings a quirky twist where the Joy-Con can mimic a mouse, a touch I also noticed in the console’s other features like the Welcome Tour mini-games. Simply lay the Joy-Con flat on a surface, and voila, your console doubles as a PC-like device. It’s natural that games like Civilization 7 would benefit from such innovations, but Metroid also proves to be a perfect fit, given its first-person shooter elements nestled within the adventure.
Now, about these mouse controls in Metroid Prime 4—they’re flat-out captivating. What stands out is how seamlessly it integrates. Without toggling anything on or off, you can use the Joy-Con 2 like a conventional controller. Everything feels just as it should from previous games. But, flip the right-hand Joy-Con down and the game switches gears, transitioning to mouse-look mode effortlessly. No pauses, no menus—just fluidity.
Mouselook is as you’d expect: precise, responsive, and it makes you feel instantly at home if you’re familiar with PC gaming. The brilliance lies in how you can hop between traditional control schemes to this new enhancement.
Although the demo segment heavily focused on combat, skimming over the puzzle-solving Metroid loves, it didn’t take long for me to find my rhythm. I gripped the Joy-Con like a standard controller when scanning or navigating with the morph ball, conserving laser-focused control with the lock-on feature. But once combat ignited, I slid into mouse-mode automatically. It was intuitive, combining the best of console and PC worlds.
When faced with a boss battle, I switched entirely to mouse controls. Targeting those classic glowing weak spots with pin-point accuracy made the fight a breeze compared to others sticking to traditional controls.
Pair this level of control with the eye-catching 120fps gameplay, and it’s a surreal experience. It felt almost illicit to have this kind of smooth performance and control precision in a Nintendo game. This new capability also addresses a huge gripe of mine with the original Switch. Its hybrid nature felt compromised with lackluster performance in many titles. If Metroid Prime 4 heralds what’s to come, I’m eager to see classic titles revamped and whole new games that prioritize seamless, fluid play over visual feats.
As we inch closer to its release later this year, if budget allows amid today’s tumult, the Nintendo Switch 2 is poised to be the ultimate home for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. It’s exactly what we hope for with the leap to a new console generation.
