Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has an additional 20 seconds of footage on the Japanese website, and fans are debating whether it will be an open-world game… and whether the graphics are too good for the Switch.
Metroid Prime 4: BeyondSamus Aran’s new adventure developed by Retro Studios, was finally announced in the Nintendo Direct with a release date in 2025, for Nintendo Switch (many believe it will also be released for Switch 2).
The game was originally announced at E3 2017, in development by Bandai Namco, but that version of the game was canceled… and was rebooted at Retro Studios, the American studio behind the entire saga.
That was in 2019, and there has been no news since (Metroid Dread was released, mind you). Until now: Nintendo has a pending date with Switch users, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond may be the last great Switch game… or the first for Switch 2.
Additional images of Metroid Prime 4 on the Japanese website
It was seen with a not very long trailer, but with images of Samus Aran fighting against space pirates. Lots of action, but we also saw a jungle planet that looks huge, and that promises a lot of exploration.
In fact, the japanese website has some background additional seconds of footage. It’s not much, and it doesn’t even feature Samus, but you can see a little more of the environments we’ll explore, with huge trees and waterfalls.
They are enough to make fans salivate, who are debating on Twitter whether it will be an open world game. Of course, the environments look huge, although I don’t think we can go as far as the eye can see.
Metroid Prime games usually have large but labyrinthine maps, some large open areas interconnected by caves, corridors and passages. That’s the beauty of Metroid games, and we bet Retro Studios will keep it in Metroid Prime 4.
Another thing that has been discussed a lot is If the graphics are too good for Switch. Is it moving a Switch 2? In the shooting scene, the lighting and particle effects are very impressive for the console.
We won’t have an answer until perhaps next year, because the game will be released in 2025, and in the meantime Nintendo will be busy with the new Zelda, Mario… and the Switch 2 announcementwhich will be before March 2025.
