Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Review

erek

erek

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"Prime 4 keeps these portions in check by smartly knowing when to leave you alone entirely, with multiple lengthy segments where Samus loses radio signal and no one can bother her. You spend over half of the runtime on your own, so if you’re a longtime Metroid fan who craves ambience and isolation, there’s plenty of that here, too. Overall, the companions are tolerable: while there are still several moments that probably would’ve been more epic if Samus was alone, their inclusion does lead to some fun cinematic events that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

One character who I actually wish was included more is Sylux, Prime 4’s big bad that doesn’t play nearly as big a role in the story as I expected based on Nintendo’s marketing. It’s another underdeveloped part of Prime 4 – Sylux’s amiibo figure has more detail than his personality – and it feels like he’s only here out of reluctant obligation to Prime 3’s post-credits tease from 2007. Instead, this story focuses far more on Lamorn history, which is very fascinating on its own, but doesn’t entirely make up for the disappointing feeling that something’s missing.



Verdict​

It doesn't take psychic powers to see the ideal vision Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was aiming for: it tries to mix the excellent Prime formula with a character-focused story and a large hub world to explore. It doesn't quite reach that ambitious goal, with an outdated open desert area that mostly feels like padding and a cast of characters that provide both a handful of memorable moments and too much chatter at times. But none of its issues come close to ruining Prime 4, which is still an excellent comeback thanks to incredible peaks that are almost entirely self-contained from its stumbles. It mostly knows when to leave Samus alone, and a significant chunk of this 15-hour adventure is spent in delightfully atmospheric solitude. It nails the essential elements of a Prime game that remain special decades later: tense exploration through haunting locations highlighted by amazing worldbuilding, breathtaking art direction, new twists on classic abilities, and flawless technical performance. Even though a few underdeveloped elements keep it from feeling as cohesive as its predecessors, Prime 4 reaches heights worthy of the Metroid name."

Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/metroid-prime-4-beyond-review
 
erek said:
"Prime 4 keeps these portions in check by smartly knowing when to leave you alone entirely, with multiple lengthy segments where Samus loses radio signal and no one can bother her. You spend over half of the runtime on your own, so if you’re a longtime Metroid fan who craves ambience and isolation, there’s plenty of that here, too. Overall, the companions are tolerable: while there are still several moments that probably would’ve been more epic if Samus was alone, their inclusion does lead to some fun cinematic events that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

One character who I actually wish was included more is Sylux, Prime 4’s big bad that doesn’t play nearly as big a role in the story as I expected based on Nintendo’s marketing. It’s another underdeveloped part of Prime 4 – Sylux’s amiibo figure has more detail than his personality – and it feels like he’s only here out of reluctant obligation to Prime 3’s post-credits tease from 2007. Instead, this story focuses far more on Lamorn history, which is very fascinating on its own, but doesn’t entirely make up for the disappointing feeling that something’s missing.



Verdict​

It doesn't take psychic powers to see the ideal vision Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was aiming for: it tries to mix the excellent Prime formula with a character-focused story and a large hub world to explore. It doesn't quite reach that ambitious goal, with an outdated open desert area that mostly feels like padding and a cast of characters that provide both a handful of memorable moments and too much chatter at times. But none of its issues come close to ruining Prime 4, which is still an excellent comeback thanks to incredible peaks that are almost entirely self-contained from its stumbles. It mostly knows when to leave Samus alone, and a significant chunk of this 15-hour adventure is spent in delightfully atmospheric solitude. It nails the essential elements of a Prime game that remain special decades later: tense exploration through haunting locations highlighted by amazing worldbuilding, breathtaking art direction, new twists on classic abilities, and flawless technical performance. Even though a few underdeveloped elements keep it from feeling as cohesive as its predecessors, Prime 4 reaches heights worthy of the Metroid name."

Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/metroid-prime-4-beyond-review
Click to expand...
https://hardforum.com/threads/metroid-prime-4-beyond.2042869/
 
IGN 🤮

I'm REALLY interested in this game and love the look of it, but I'm going to wait until an actual game review.
 
erek said:
what's so bad about IGN?
Click to expand...
IGN is essentially a paid ad and culture platform for a few companies.

Classic games journalism has been nothing but a front for the industry for a while. When a real journalist actually digs up dirt or draws attention to something controversial, they are called "fake" and "not playing by the rules" because they didn't just re-publish a corporate press release.
 
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