Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Finally Gets A Release Date, Open World Confirmed

oh I love Tron

It's finally happening! What a wait it's been, and I hope the journey will be worth it.

All I wanted was Metroid and Mach Rider... and now Metroid IS Mach Rider

Finally! And now she's got a bike! Count me in 😁

Honestly, kinda reduces my hype a little, which has been insane anyway.
Sure it will work amazingly but felt weird seeing the bike.
Still, preordering asap

I have to admit, of all the vehicles Samus could ride, a bike legit never crossed my mind.

But yes, my first thought was that Samus casually became Mach Rider, who is also a woman in case you didn't know.

For a second I thought Extreme-G was back! This is better news!

She looks so funny on a bike I thought this was mk world DLC lol this has to be one of the best ninty directs Ever can't wait for this 💙💙💙

Open-world....
The more I see from the game, the less of a Prime games it feels.
Been waiting forever for this one, but I'm not feeling it anymore.

Somehow this trailer has dampened my hype.... I'm still gonna get it because I'm sure it'll be good, but open world, really?

It's kinda sad to see metroid games no longer being metroidvania.

Super Disappointed.
It should not be released on Switch 1 at this point it only drags it's potential.
The date? Just left it out of GOTY nominations, which means that not even they trust in it.
I love Metroid games and that is why I am hurt as this one has been a mess since the beginning in 2017... 8 years ago

I just can't with the artstyle. It's always been ugly but metroid has potential to be so much cooler in 3d

Kinda looked like the trailer was the Switch 1 version, but could be wrong. It was very brief.

Anyway just glad to finally have a release date!

Yeah, finally!
And I wonder how open it'll be.

Open world BS in Metroid Prime 4 … yay 🙄🙄🙄

Open world is the ANTITHESIS of the Metroid IP …it’s laughable

This is getting to a ridiculous point where the meaning of “new” and “innovation” is just going open world. The new state of gaming is quite disappointing

Oh and don’t forget that this surely will cost $80 just because Nintendo’s open world tax

Why does Metroid do this to me? I don’t like the genre or gameplay type yet Samus is so cool I keep buying these games.

Also Space SuperBike, I’m pretty much gonna be riding around exploring. Hoping the amiibo prices will keep them from selling out.

I hope it's not actually open world the way most open world games are. Surprised they didn't go into more details here, but it's entirely possible these are more like Half-Life 2 vehicle segments than a fully open, explorable world.

When will developers understand that adding big empty areas doesn't make a game better?

Well, i guess my faith now resides on Mercury Steam

Finally my Amazon pre-order, where I got a discount, will go through....... oh wait

Nintendo sure love putting their characters on bikes in their open world games

Pokémon, Zelda, now Metroid !

Samus with a Space Harley.

Lobo, eat your heart out.

It will still be a good game and I'm excited for it but man I'm burned out of open world games

Especially for a game like Metroid Prime

What I wanted from a Metroid game with modern hardware - a complex detailed labyrinth full of secrets. The kind of 3D world that Super Metroid fuelled my imagination with. What I'm getting - Metroid Akira Slide edition.

I...don't know what to make of the bike thing. I love the slower, more methodical exploration and a super fast bike feels anti-that. But it's clear there's still a bunch of the slow exploration in the rest of the game so I'm not mad, still hyped!

Wonder how this will turn out. I wasn't sold on the bike idea, but I have good faith in the studio that it will absolutely be awesome!

this looks so good, happy that its open world.
its been a long wait guys.

Metroid fans can finally rest easy with a release date. This might just be the longest announcement to release in recent memory (except maybe Half Life 3?).

I thought the part on the bike looked like *****😅 cautiously optimistic

I thought they did a low budget spinoff, no that empty desert is the "world" in "open world" ooooooohhhh boy!!! xD

I’d love to play MP4, but I have very bad motion sickness with first person games. Not entirely sure why they couldn’t have a 3rd person mode if they have it with the bike?

Metroid x Extreme G is not what I was expecting, but I am absolutely sold on Prime 4 now. Super glad it's not more of the exact same gameplay which had gotten stale by 3. Hopefully they tapped some of those Monolith resources to build out some giant worlds to tear through.

I think the bike is actually pretty cool, so long as it doesn’t take up the majority of the gameplay. I’m looking forward to it - here is to hoping it delivers.

I am skeptical this will work. Metroidvanias aren't exactly compatible with open world because they have entirely contradictory progression systems. And yeah, it looks barren and empty. I'm definitely on the fence about this. We need a Prime 4 Direct to better explain how the game works.

Why do the Samue amiibo come out a month ahead of the game though?

They glazed over this footage way too fast, definitely deserved more screen time than Pokemon. Also, WHERE ARE PRIME 2+3 😭

Sorry I might have missed it, but is there a difference between Switch and Switch 2 versions?
Apart from resolution, frame-rate or whatever.

Game looks awesome, hopefully it doesn't disappoint any of the players after all this time! I never knew I needed to see Samus on a bike until now 🤣.

It's their big holiday release, so that bodes well for the eventual quality. Not sure if it will be really open-world or just a hub that gives you access to different environments. The increase in travel distance might allow for more variety in environments, but it's not something you associate with Metroid.

This trailer was a bit low-key and felt like it was only intended to get the release date out of the way. I'm sure they'll have a dedicated Direct in the near future to build up hype.

Thats nice, but what about 2&3??

I don't know about the open world bike take on this series... from what I saw on the trailer it was just a desert and nothing in it. Just like Mario Kart worlds open world... DLC for mario kart world?

They should have named this 'Metroid Beyond', it would scare off a lot less people.

Wow OK that is so funny that wax MP4 on the bike? I thought it was some weird spinoff game like Freedom Force only on bikes. Then at the end my brain read it as MP 2 for some reason so I thought it was a remaster.

Wow they're big holiday game and they just kind of dropped it in there. And the bike looked ridiculous. Wow. I need to watch that again later when it's stand alone on Switch. I knew an hour was too long.

@Dalamar agreed hope they haven't spoilt it now. Fed with everything being open world or roguelike

The visuals definitely took a big hit in the open world but outside of that the game looked great. I’m very excited for December!

This Bike? Cringe…

Also, Am I crazy or is this the first official art/render of Sylux for MP4?

All I can say after all these years is that I think it will be one of the best games on the console and that the wait was worth it.

Actually, I think this is kind of cool. I always did imagine cruising around town in a convertible or on a motorcycle. After all, it's not like she's on missions all the time. Assuming she has an actual home to go to on Earth, she's got to have some way to get around town other than her Gunship.

Ermahgerd erpen werld!!

Well we’ll see. For a moment I thought they’d release another racing game, a Metroid spinoff this time.

@Diowine “ The date? Just left it out of GOTY nominations, which means that not even they trust in it.”

There really no space in the calendar to release then the current date they have… Between Kirby Air Riders late November, Legends: Z-A mid October, Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment early November, and Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 early October… The only month that didn’t having releases was December so far.

I really hope this isn't open world. Look forward to more information though. The more I think of the bike the more it just feels a little off. When it first started I thought it was MKW dlc, then as it went on I thought it was a cool little spin off and then the truth.
The direct as a whole makes me wish I didn't watch it, just felt meh when it finished

I'm really not sure about this game....

I love me some Metroid and if i'm honest i'm definitely buying this but yeah I haven't seen any clips of this that make me think it looks good...

I really hope i'm wrong.

@spacely_sprockets mouse controls as well.

Hype's down.
I don't play Metroid for some bs open-world.
This bike section was poor.
I really dislike Nintendo approach to this IP and the way the "promote" it.
Shame

Metroid Prime 4 : Federation Horse

@Diowine That’s not how it works. Indiana Jones released in December

Ugh. This game looks worse by the Direct. Open world, and non-stop action. How has Metroid, of all games, lost its "vania?" And it's sense of adventure and exploration?

And the bike? I guess if Pokemon is going to ripoff Minecraft, Prime can ripoff Tron.

Oh dear, it seems like every single announcement has someone whining about something…

@AverageGamer if they thought this had GOTY potential or even nomination potential it would definitively have been released in time for a nomination.
Are a Kirby Racing game and a Musou really direct competitors? Complementary in any case. Metroid was never a best selling IP for Nintendo anyways but the prestige of it deserved awards

The bike is a very mysterious inclusion. I could accept it if it's the result of the poor gunship biting the dust, but even then, why didn't they make it hover?

Sylux is the worst character name ever.

I'm a huge Grinch when it comes to this console but yeah that looks like a dream.

Gotta say, open world is the one thing that I don't want to see in a Metroid game. Kind of worried to be honest, but I'll still be playing this.

I can rest happy we finally have a release date! Something to feast upon over Christmas!

The trailer was pretty weak though, I have to be honest. The bike sections look a bit… off. Hopefully they’re only a small part of the game.

The traditional gameplay looks great though!

@canaryfarmer Hmmmm...Jett Brodi? Toad? Sol Badguy? Die Hardman?

I was shocked to see that the Switch 1 version was almost 30GB in size! (The Switch 2 version's only a few gigs bigger)

@LikelySatan But those are fun and good names! xD Sylux just sounds like sucks.

Damn, they found a way to make Samus even more of a badass haha. looks cool as hell.

Shut up and take my money!....(throws money at screen)

At this point in the direct, I had absolutely no clue what was going on anymore. I am curious about the bike, but also very confused. Cautiously awaiting more info.

Need to be careful throwing the ‘open world’ moniker around. This feels more like a open hub like Ocarina of Time where Samus has her own Epona to get around to designated areas. There has been no Official confirmation that this is open world. Looking forward to getting around with Epona…err…Viola?

@foursider salty much and im glad their taking prime more into open world territory and nothing wrong about changing the formula like they done with zelda.

What's with the bike name? Maybe something explained in the story?
I wonder if this is more "open zone" though. I agree about the OoT comparison.
I can't believe we got only a simple teaser trailer, again. And Air Riders gets a second Direct announcement.

@Broosh totally agree. The Pokemon segment was not great and the Prime bit didn’t even have VO. They really need to do a Prime direct and properly promote this!

Heck Air Riders is getting 2 directs, it’s the least they could do.

I like the bike idea but I’m hoping the bits are more for transitioning between zones rather than just a constant presence of gameplay.

@eldersnake The fine print at the bottom says the footage is of the Switch 2 Edition.

“ok fine here’s your release date”

still hoping we get a shadow drop for prime 2 and 3 remasters either before prime 4 release date in december or sometime in the future.

@RiasGremory
This should be a no brainer. Get primed for Prime 4 with Prime 2 and 3 Remasters!

@Diowine “Are a Kirby Racing game and a Musou really direct competitors? Complementary in any case.”

All games are direct competitors to one another when you’re dealing with people limited time and even more very very limited financial funds. No smart company to dumb multiple of their own games on top of each other. A smart company would space their games apart.

Listen, all I’m gonna say is the last time people bet against Retro Studios making a 3D Metroid, the result was Metroid Prime.

Sylux gonna get me back in the amiibo game...

This trailer sure has a lot of people upset based on a short teaser that actually didn't show that much.

I didn't think I wanted a bike in Metroid.
And I don't think this changes that.

That looks so cool

so many people judging books by their cover

Very happy with this announcement.

Welcome back, Samus.

We’ve missed you.

🖤

It’s a strange thing that each new trailer actually makes the game look worse, not better. The motorcycle looked janky and the desert incredibly barren. Given the release date, it seems Nintendo is, once again, sending Metroid out to die which is a shame after the phenomenal Metroid Dread.

@montrayjak 😂 Mine was in there for years. I think they finally canceled it a year ago.

Man, reading this comment section is sure bringing back Wind Waker memories. So many people rush to judgment. You know, you don't need to make up your mind about a game BEFORE it is released. You can actually wait for the game and/or reviews.

So it being open World and her having a bike all of sudden makes this game bad? 😂.

Looks great to me and can't wait to explore and just take my time and enjoy myself with the game.

It's not open world. Just large areas.

Slightly concerning that this got like, what, 10 seconds and random indie farm simulator got 4 or 5 times as long and they spent minutes on various other things. I may well not pre-order this one, I think there's a chance it could be solidly mediocre... Here's hoping I get to eat my words!

This looks pretty rough. The motorcycle footage looks like a cheap mobile game.

Samus has a Tron bike now! Cool!

I'm a little concerned with the large world. I hope it's not completely empty like some. They had better still have the same type of puzzles and world that was in the first three games.

@fenlix You know, if you give it a bit of thought...Zelda is kind of a Metroidvania...

I did seriously think we were getting like Metroid Racers or something.

Im not sure about the open world. usually those need a lot of content and usually have a lot of filler fetch quest stuff...

Do you guys consider Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, God of War (2018/Ragnarok), etc. to be open-world? ’Cause I feel like this bike has the same vibe — like using Epona in Ocarina or the boats in the other games.

@AlonditeFE I think it's ok to have concerns but an opinion shouldn't been formed already

Strange to add open environments to the Metroid prime series. I feel that it could be worrying and mess with some of the metroidvania style it has. But then again them restarting development when they did has me thinking that maybe its better than expected.

@AlonditeFE While I wholeheartedly agree with you, there’s just something “off” about the way this game has been treated by Nintendo this year. Usually big first party games drop our jaws. Clearly this trailer is divisive. Short, out of context, and, honestly, not looking like Nintendo or Retro’s best efforts. In a strange way, it feels to me like the launch of Devils Third on WiiU (I know it’s not, but FEELS that way) and the last time we got a “Viola” in a Nintendo funded/published game (Bayonetta 3) it was the worst part of the game.

I say all this knowing I’ll be wrong, btw. There’s just a “spark” missing from this one.

I mean, this is very cool. But I highly doubt this will be “open world” in the truest sense and people are reacting too quickly towards an elements of the game that we don’t know enough about.

To me it seems like more of the expansive A->B traversal scenario.

The DNA of Metroid and Zelda share very similar structures, and Metroids “Dungeons” are just interconnected. I suppose traditionally these areas are traversable “quickly” because we teleport across places, take elevators, fly a ship to a planet, etc… all this is doing is giving the player the additional scope and agency to travel there, it opens up the world and makes it deeper IMO, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Basically, it’s unlikely they are making Metroid of the Wild here for those concerned. It’s probably going to be more comparable to the field maps of older Zelda titles if anything.

The potential open world and bike have made me nervous.

I agree with some of the others.. I don't think this in ANY WAY "confirms" this will be "open world".. kinda a dumb premise for the article IMO. I have faith this will be awesome and people are way overreacting.

Well, this mix of 3D metroidvania and open areas made me curious and want to try it before criticising.
As expected, it's going to be released a few days before Christmas, smart move by Nintendo.

I'll be curious to read the reviews to see what "open world" means for Metroid. It could mean a lot of things. It could very well just be a larger world with more exploration, but still gated in a similar way to the previous Metroid Prime games. I expect it will be done in an interesting way that is still Metroid. Not all open-world games are created equal. For example, the Batman Arkham games became open-world games after the first one, but still had a lot of structure to keep the player on a path of progression in the game, and I enjoyed those. I get some of the trepidation for those who are not the biggest fans of the concept, and I share them, but we'll have to see how that is implemented. It might be a pleasant surpirse.

Loved Metroid Dread, not sure about Prime. Arguably all the Prime games are "open world" so this one is a wait and see.

I’m hoping this game does for Metroid what Breath of the Wild did for Zelda.

I know there'll be a separate direct but the release date reveal should have been a bigger thing with a better trailer.

The bike looks odd though.

Glad there's a release date, AND it's still in 2025!

Possibly the only "full price" game I'll be buying in the remainder of this year. Been taking advantage of Fanatical prices on Steam releases recently, which stretches the game budget a LOT further.

Also, I'd already locked in a pre-order for the Prime 1-3 art book that they also mentioned in this trailer a while ago. Based on what I've seen of it, it looks really nice. It's nice that the trailer mentioned it, as it might have been flying under people's radar if they aren't following everything Metroid. Kind of confused that this article doesn't mention it. Personally, I'm more interested in art books than amiibo.

The art book costs $50 on Amazon, is slated to ship October 28, and is still available for pre-order, if anyone is wondering where to get it.

https://www.amazon.com/Metroid-Prime-1-3-Retrospective-Official/dp/1913330273

Hmm, its finally going openworld...but it looks very empty! And you are on a bike, what the?!

I get the feeling that you are just driving from one very lineair area to another. We won't get a massive labyrinth this time.

Got a bad feeling when the gap since MP3 was so vast ... No games seem to benefit from this pressure.

Samus can become a ball - why does she need a motorbike? Just seems off.

Where is the Prime 2: Echoes announcement? 😰

Was soo looking forward to this game, but now I'm kind of worried they'll ruin it like they did Zelda. Taking away all key elements that make the game special and just transform it into another open world game with different graphics. The bike segment looked pretty bad too. I'll still try the game but I've lost my looking forward to it. They're ruining all the classics and I really hope this is not the end of Metroid. There's already so many open world games out there. Why..., just why???

Yuck! What's Nintendo smoking? They thought that bike reveal was gona be so cool. Fail!

Samus with psychic powers is dumb. Samus on a bike is dumb.
Nintendo had one job and this ain't it! What's next, Samus riding a skateboard on the morphball halfpipes and doing kickflips and 360s to earn powerups?

This is probably going to divide the fanbase because they tried to bring in a new fanbase. And 3D Metroid will be back on the shelf for another ten years. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I hope they prove me wrong though. I'm still buying it.

metroid man having a motorcycle was not in my bingo card
(i know her name ok its a joke)

@JimmyFleck
Yes your right all the trailers so far were like they have been made by an intern...
weird selection of scenes, weird cuts etc...
I don't understand it to be honest... how is this possible ?

@jojobar
Yeah, I understand concern. I get anxious before the release of any game in a series I love, worrying that it might not be as good as I hope. Quite a few people hear are taking it far farther than that though: declaring the game a bust based on wild assumptions from very limited information.

@JimmyFleck
I don't get that sense. Metroid just isn't a big series for Nintendo and they have never treated it as such in their marketing and reveals. That hasn't stopped the teams who work on them from pouring their love of the series into the games when they actually GET the opportunity to make them. The hands-ons with the game I've seen have all been positive and I loved the little clips of the game that were shown on Nintendo Today, so Retro is at least getting important parts of the game right.

I worry about the exploration aspect of the game (whether we will have an interconnected world to explore), but Retro had already diminished that with Prime 3 with its travel between worlds and that was still a good game (although my least favorite of the trilogy).

We'll see in December!

@Zeebor15 Money. Bet people to buy before then they can buy again when the game drops. Cause Id imagine dropping all on release date, would leave sales expectedly lower than time apart.

YES YES YES! Finally! Not sure how I feel about the potential open world aspects, but I choose to remain optimistic for now.

Something like a bike in an open world is just what I needed to sell me. Now we know how this will distinguish itself from other Prime games.

I dig the bike. Yeah the desert looked rough (after everything else in this game looked amazing) but I'll hold for judgement. Still fully expecting this to be one of my favourite games of the year.

So happy and hyped for Metroid Prime 4!!!
Looks really good and the bike is amazing.

Played and enjoyed Metroid Prime 1-3. But this game feels so wrong. Motorbike!?
And Sylux is the most boring character.

I hope Nintendo knows what they are doing. I'm afraid they're going to ruin Metroid for us.

Many people (including me) didn't think Donkey Kong as a game (not the new design) looked that great until it's got its own direct. I'm hoping it will be the case here as well. Still feel the desolated planet could be the right vibe and hope that there will be more interesting parts as well. That it's also a switch 1 game is a bit worrying tho.

I want it
its open world

Guys, have some faith in Retro studios. They know what they are doing.

Only thing I want to know is if you can save at any time or if the still have the stupid save stations....

My body is ready for this game.

The bike is either going to be awesome or horrible. No in between.

Its too premature to call this open world yet. She's in a big area but this may just be the method of traveling in between zones. Like the sailing in Wind Waker.

As a metroid fan, I never realized what a bunch of whiny, spoiled brats metroid fans are. Did I miss the part in the trailer where they shot her dog or something? Lol

The game looks amazing. It looks like metroid prime, but with a bike and ONE area that's big and open. Hasn't even come out yet and people are complaining about it.

@TrogdorTheBurninator save stations are synonymous with metroid dude

@Bolt_Strike I mean, every "Metroidvania" becomes open world by the end of it. Once you have all of the abilities to open all passages and take all shortcuts. But I get ya - if it's too open from jump, that is not really what I want out of Metroid.

Still excited for it. I don’t automatically dismiss just because something has open world. Would have missed out BoTW/Tears if that was the case.

@Corvus96
So were dungeons and linearity for Zelda. Things can change... dude.

@BrianJL That's kind of meaningless because you're already in end game while most of the game is linear. And even the end game isn't open world because there are distinct walls in the game. You can't just walk in any random direction and go anywhere you want, you're still following paths. If you don't have that, it's not an open world.

FFS. Not watched the direct yet but open world? Seriously? Let me guess, it has crafting and side missions too? Open world is infecting everything. Glad I still have loads of retro games I’ve never played before.

@Bolt_Strike Well, I wasn't meaning it as a detailed comparison, just an obversation that all Metroidvanias become more and more open as the game progresses.

Sold. I am in. Toss me the keys to the ball bike.

Game size is 31.6gb (eShop)

Better get that storage ready!

Not a big open world fan, but I'll consider getting this one. Regardless, I hope the motorbike becomes part of Samus' suit like the Cyclone does in Robotech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq7CYrH-_Kc

@Dringo Yes this year they will get announced mid November: https://thegameawards.com/
And no, Indiana Jones was not a Goty nominee.

@AverageGamer Then the smart company should push the games without a chance of being nominated and release the IP with a chance of being nominated on/or before November.
C'mon honestly if they felt this was as big or as good as MP1 was then they would have without a doubt released it just ~20 days earlier. But a Switch 1 game clearly does not have that chance in 2025. They go all in with DK this time.

I would expect more Star Fox like levels with on rail shooting in her ship! The bike feels stupid and it doesn’t make sense considering she had a speed booster that makes her faster than the bike itself! This trailer actually turned me off a bit.

@sketchturner

I wouldn't be surprised to see it just re-released as is on Nintendo Switch Online. They already took the easy way out doing that to Wind Waker instead of porting the updated Wii U version. They'll likely do the same with Twilight Princess. 😑

That really annoys me. I always expected that to be the case, Nintendo needs to sell their online service somehow. Still don't like it.

I guess I can still just play them all on my Steam Deck but it's not ideal.

The open world looks boring and bland going off the trailer. Plus, a desert setting is about as boring as it can get.

I'd have preferred larger open areas interconnected to each other instead. Along the lines of the Tomb Raider games or newest God of War games.

Who knows, maybe that is what they're doing and the desert area is one of many larger areas making it feel open world.

I guess we'll find out on December. So far I'm not too excited.

@fenlix you don’t know that because the game has yet to be released. Just wait and see…

I saw the bike and the open environment and knew it would be controversial but I'm feeling open minded about it. I actually like the Extreme G look. Basically I know what what Santy will be bringing me in December!

Great to know it's coming out this year! I was fearing it would be pushed to 2026...

The bike seems to be a way to move around the different areas of the planet, same as the starship in Corruption, but now you can actually use it, and even fight with it. Fine by me, it looks fun haha.
Day one for sure.

@Emperor-Palpsy Or you can just get the physical edition, which is not Key Card lol.

@Marchop "Samus can become a ball - why does she need a motorbike? Just seems off."

I hope you're kiding lol. Why would you want a car if you can run?

I dunno about this open world bike stuff, man. The open world desert area looked pretty barren. Doesn't really look like a BotW-tier open world...

Amiibos and game now live for preorders

Open World scares me. I'm hoping it's just a hub type thing similar to Hyrule Fields in Ocarina of Time and you use it go from place to place and those areas are traditional Metroid Prime flair.

Wait… whaaat??! This is not a joke? This is like… uhh, Mach Rider combined with Metroid while it all feels together like Fortnite with zero players. That’s a combo.

That motorcycle driving mechanic looked... really stiff... I hope it feels better than it looked.

It’s strange seeing so many assumptions based on this one trailer. People need to take a chill pill.

So much complaining and people that judge a game before its release...
MP need to do something different, 15 years after the 3rd entry. Open areas (because when you play MP Remastered, you feel that the game is "tight" and not modern, even if it's still a good one).
Using vehicles like Halo is a step, Samus need to pitot her space vessel too.
New psychic powers are in.
Open spaces are needed, but not that desert that looks like Pokemon Scarlet XD
Nintendo rebooted the game because they wanted more quality, you'll have it in december, finally.
Let the game be played, and judge after.

I'm actually tired and disgusted about the Online "gaming community" and the boring anti Open World opinions and agendas. We got Open World Metroid and a Samus Cycle Zero that actually fits her image and the game over a random misfit Mad max styled piece of junk dropped on Links head in Breath of the Wild. It's 100x better - and ppl react like this???!! Just because they see a desert , oh sorry when Was a desert biome meant to be this feature Overfilled playground of Metroidvania gameplay?! Even the Choco ruins were barebones, all the gameplay being limited to the Caverns.

Sick of these "Redd!t0r gangs" online, with their negative and obtuse takes influencing sheeple who know no better.

It's Metroid: We are getting top Bosses.

We have clearly seen this game seamlessly provides Us with classic Metroidvania dungeon crawling / light Puzzle based gameplay when the areas close up and structures and Bases are involved, like right at this games very reveal!!

Honestly, these "gamers" need to lighten up, or find a new hobby because their narrative is tired and crusty. I've been a Metroid fan since the 90s and frankly I would be lying if I welcomed Prime 4 to be "just another Metroidvania but in silky 4K".

No, I want more - I want this series to go Beyond those closed and limited confines because it *can.

It has the lore, I love the new Planets name and the design of the new race the Lamorn.

I mean, yes the Desert does seem "a bit empty" - a shock gasp , imagine that sensible ppl , *a desert is a bit empty !! Shock horror!! 😭😄

Honestly, I'll just shut out those toxic ppl and fully enjoy this game for the almost certain Masterpiece of genre blending that it has already has clearly demonstrated it will be!

Many people seem to be over reacting to the trailer but I get it…the open world concept doesn’t suit Metroid, gamers want that classic “claustrophobic” isolating Metroid of past. To be honest for whatever reason I think there may be a separate bike mode in the game. There’s definitely some Samus bike interaction in the main campaign but I don’t recall the game being labeled as Open World during development. I’d recommend waiting until it’s released before writing it off!

How can you watch a two minute trailer with 20 whole seconds of Samus riding a bike and come to the conclusion that "Metroid is now open world and it sucks"? Have you never played Halo? Or Half Life 2? Or ridden through Hyrule Fields on Epona in Ocarina of Time? Are those all open world games? What even is an open world game? Aren't Metroidvania games by definition kind of open as well?

@SynapticFlow well, let's not forget that they managed to slip a bike in BotW too lol

@Rainz

I mean honestly fella, since a whole Generation and then some has passed since the last actual Prime game; I have really woken up to what Our "dear" Metroid community is.

A "fanbase" who barely could be driven enough to allow Pikmin , Pikmin!! to catch up and outsell the Prime series.

I mean, I'm almost glad those toxic! ppl who have had their fill for so long with the same Vania style are "giving up", Good! Let a new fanbase who actually value and Care for this series spreading its wings into the big Time of 10 million plus sellers take over and maybe just mayyyybeeee We won't have to wait 15 years between big Mainline 3D Metroid games.

I was brought up on Metroid since the SNES days but the one thing I severely disliked was the backtracking. I mean , some is fine and the Prime games made it much more tolerable with their fancy newfound visual muscle they leant to this series. But still , *the backtracking was extreme and Change was sorely needed. I have 0 regrets; an Open World makes me respect the series more, it's a Space game have We forgotten ppl??

And , Beyond has already much endeared me with it's charming naming of the new race, the Lamorn and the name Viewros. I like the Purply hue and theming of the Psychic powers, its intriguing and mysterious.

This may seem wild but Prime 1 in particular the Chozo ruins area bored me stuff - and I got tired of rinsing and backtracking through the same closed areas again and again (thankfully the awesome Bosses saved the game for me.)

I loved Prime 2 and 3 far more as their locations were at least heavily themed and set a real mood and of they had fantastic enemies and Lore.

From what little I (We?) have seen of Beyond; it instantly makes me feel at Home with an already cool looking Boss shown off (not that I want anymore spoilers lol) and tight, action focused Base skirmishes with a much "grander" feel over the previous games.

And the Bike? The Bike!!!!!! It dumps 100 shades on Breaths limp Motorcycle Zero , which just seemed like such an odd misfit to me.

I just laugh at "opinions" such as "why does She need a bike when she can Morph all?" Hahaha, are those ppl insane?! It's not the 90s anymore, the areas have gotten a * little larger 😭😄

And you'll obviously get the token "I h8 open Wurlds" drones who have 0 argument other than to blindly describe anything Open as "empty" - what on Earth have they watched for the past Beyond trailers did they wear Syluxs mask too tightly?!!

Anyways, I did rant so sorry for the long one and got a bit emotional but I will say at least their also seems to be a few sensible people in the comments that actually remember that Beyond also demonstrated is is totally comfortable doing Metroidvania style gameplay too with that base action sequence. So, this gives Us the best of both; why would a desert need to be packed with content anyway, ? Don't these ppl ever get bored of their own whiny and moany voices in their heads? 😄

Did Nintendo specifically state open world? Or is everyone just making assumptions based on that trailer? It doesn't look all that open to me. The bridge collapse in particular looks like traditional Metroid gating.

@JimmyFleck The desert is barren. So.. like a desert.

Also this doesn't look open world to me, but the bike being the transportation method between area's in the game. Which is actually quite common in these style of games. It doesn't feel like you can go everywhere and do anything like in an open world game.

I'm reserving judgement till we have details on how they are using this open world (or maybe section.) There is a lot of potential for it, but granted it is a departure from Metroid's usual intimate isolation - which I think has led to a general knee jerk reaction of it looking naff.
Ultimate;y, all they showed was traversal. And having a bike to slog over long distances isn't rubbish. But the open world needs to be meaningful. We'll see.
I've played a lot of Cyberpunk. And I have to confess, I don't fast travel. I much prefer riding through the city on...a motorbike. And one thing the teaser did highlight was motorbike combat. So already, it's promising as they have obviously thought about gameplay
Maybe when folk are begging for a sequel all they really are asking for is more of the same lol. Hope not. That's depressing..

@GrailUK

There you go, thank you! Driving through Cyberpunks vast straights was amazing. It just makes you appreciate the World so much more and knowing you're free to get out and explore anytime.

Much better imo than Metroidvania forcing you through it's last bit of toothpaste in the tube routine of backtracking for the 1000th time 😭😄

Amazing how people seem to have forgotten everything they have already seen of this game and tunnel vision onto one thing that's new and decide the whole game is wrong.
We've seen more linear set piece sections, we've seen jungle environments that looked incredibly loyal to the old games. They showed something new to the series and half of you are outraged.

I'm not sold on the bike stuff yet but I'm open to them expanding the series with new ideas.

That said Nintendo is being really weird about the marketing with this game. This game is a massive deal for a lot of fans but they never seem to want to spend time on it in the directs.
It was one of the only major games that didn't get any VO to talk through or explain anything.

@Lilligant562 I think being set in a desert fits Metroid's isolation theme. It's a different vibe from claustraphobic tunnels for sure, but isolation nevertheless. Now...imagine the game was amazing but they had to walk accross the desert. I wonder what the first thing everyone would be asking for in a patch would be?

Right, this needs saying because I'm seeing a lot of people bemoaning Nintendo's advertising for the game. Metroid Prime remaster was cheap and released in a minor month (February was it?). In Nintendo's eyes, it's not deemed a big seller. Metroid Prime 4 is releasing in December. Another difficult month to sell games because people are skint. But that's for the mainstream blue ocean audience. Fans are going to buy it regardless of what month it comes out. I'm sure it will be a great game. But they aren't going to be doing anywhere near the same marketing as they did for Mario Kart or Donkey Kong. There is time for another Metroid Direct. But look at the amount of love they put into that remaster (to the point of people wondering if it actually was a remake lol!) and the fact that they cancelled development because it wasn't good enough, hardly means they don't value the franchise or indeed, the fanbase.

The bike popping a wheelie then going sideways to kill the 2 enemies was super clunky. I hope that’s not close to the final build.

I'm Looking Forward To
Getting Metroid Prime 4: Beyond On My Switch.

Can’t believe they aren’t reissuing Prime 2+3. Also, really nervous about a big empty open world. MKW has shown us that not every game needs an open world (and that open worlds can suck the life out of the best franchises).

i don't like the bike... it's not really bad but why not just use Samus' Speed Booster? Simple and less... strange ^^

What Optimus Samus can't just transform into a bike/vehicle instead of ride one?

Oof. If anything could dampen my excitement for Metroid, the words "open world" certainly do it.

@MrGawain
Morph Ball is also 3rd person!

@eldersnake The Switch 2 version IS the Switch 1 version running at a higher framerate and resolution.

@Gaviin
It's obviously not open world despite this clickbait article. People just forgot the existence of the earlier trailer and jumped to ignorant conclusions based on one open desert area.

@Cia I certainly hope you're right!

Is it really confirmed to be open world though? If I had to guess based on what we saw you’ll just traverse the desert etc. to get to new areas rather than have elevators/use the gunship like in past games. Some secrets strewn about sure but I’d bet it’s more about making areas seamlessly connected in a fun way rather than segmenting everything. Something like OoT/TP’s Hyrule Field rather than BotW’s Hyrule.

The bigger news for me is that the game is finally available to pre-order on the eShop, revealing the price of the base game and the NS2 Edition upgrade cost. On the Mexican eShop is listed for 1349.00 MXN base game, NS2 Edition Upgrade for 229.00 MXN and NS2 Edition for 1599.00.

It is actually cheaper than the NS2 Edition of Breath of the Wild, not by much but it still means it won't leave me bankrupt if I go directly to the physical NS2 Edition.
If only retailers in Mexico had the option to pre-order the NS2 Edition already, which been confirmed since, what, April? And stores haven't been arsed to update their listings for MP4.

@ShieldHero

Indeed 💯👍 I'm too stoked for this! This of course is all on top of the standard fare Metroid base crawler and light Puzzles gameplay the Metroidvania we all know and love. The series did need modernization after being away for so long and Beyond seems to be doing the job almost Perfectly

@Diowine No, as in, they don’t plan release dates around awards. Indiana Jones was probably the only game that could have challenged Astro Bot last year. But ultimately, it still landed in December.

As someone who indirectly works for the people behind the TGAs, trust me on this one.

@Dringo Yes, they do.
Just being nominated to these awards can significantly increase a game's sales and player base, creating a large spike in visibility and traction. This can be easily verified for past nominees.
Same as Oscar potential winners do with the release date of their movies between October, November, and December (OR ~ Cannes lately).
Of course blockbuster movies and games like Fifa, COD, 2k don't care about these, knowing they won't be nominated and sell well anyways. Metroid has never, sadly, been a blockbuster as other Nintendo IPs. It would have helped a lot being nominated.

Now I see that you insist on Indiana Jones last year. Personally I think it was not better than any of the 6 nominees. But our personal opinion does not count. You say it could have won? Well for the awards it did release on time it won 0 Game of the year other than "Nordic Game of the Year". Big one.
GOTY is defined mostly by Critics -> Average Critic Scores are found on Metacritic -> Indiana is ranked 47 currently of 2024 released games, with 5 of the GOTY nominees being way above that score. No, it was not a challenger, therefore released outside the period on which it could have been nominated.

Everyone up top already stated how I feel regarding this trailer so I won't go into detail. In short: motorcycles don't do it for me in this game (that goes even more for Zelda though ). But more worrying is if they felt this was what they wanted to show off the most. Art direction, that empty wasteland, low poly enemies (yeah yeah bet they're not polygons anymore ).... Not feeling the space hunter alone in space vibe here.

Also I'm biased against Prime 2, and the color scheme in this one somehow resembles that one. Maybe it's the purple? 😁 Not sure, but I might (gasp) wait a bit before biting on this one.

I really, really though hope for this to be aced in the end; for you guys here and all other Samus fans, for the devs who have been through a rollercoaster on this one, and for the IP's future. Crossing fingers.

This has been added to the game voucher list. Considering buying the pair and getting this and Kirby and the Forgotten world. Save $20 as opposed to Jay buying the switch 2 versions outright

My only problem with the bike is that it's seemingly going to be the only vehicle available in the entire universe, which is silly af.

Most excited I've been for a game in years. True system seller and why I bought a Switch 2. This bike and open world reveal has doubled my excitement! Now please give us a Prime Remastered Switch 2 upgrade!!

I just want a physical collectors edition 😍😍😍

The bike has me worried.

More open world slop? Plus that bike looked rough. I’m good. I haven’t even played past Prime 1. Was hoping that would see releases for the other 2. This is a YouTube video play through for me.

They will let you pilot a ghost pirate cucumber before letting you fly samus’ ship lol.

I don’t know how I feel about the open world travel thing but hopefully it at least means we’re in for a large game. Bike combat and platform challenges are also welcome.

Side note wouldn’t be surprised if we see this bike in mk world in the future

It bothered me a bit that she could slide sideways and go straight given that the wheels don't rotate accordingly.

I'm someone who really enjoys the move to open world for certain Nintendo IPs like Zelda, Pokemon, and even Mario. However, I hope Metroid Prime 4 is NOT an open world game. I enjoy the labyrinthine level design of the Metroid games and I think an open world would ruin that.

With that being said, if the open area(s) shown function more like a central hub area that connects the individual regions of the game (similar to Hyrule Field from Ocarina of Time), then I'd be fine with it. My ideal way would be to have open world traversal replace the loading-screen elevators or gunship from the previous Prime games.

@Diowine Ok. I mean, i definitely know a lot more about this than you do, but fine.

Metroid Prime 4 is clearly destined to be bad. Only bad games come out in December. Like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Marvel's Midnight Suns, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, The Last Guardian...

Wow the desert looks so empty and ps2 era like.

My hype is really down on this

@Dringo "clearly I know more about you". So I give you arguments and you give me that.
Well for a "games business journalist" who started this discussion saying that:
" Indiana Jones was nominated for GOTY" ... but it wasn't.
Then said "well but it was the best challenger!" But it wasn't
as clearly the scores were better on the real nominees.
And finally is now saying that I said all those December games are bad. Never said that.

And if you still think that if the Game, a Metroid Game, was good enough it wouldn't be released on time just a few weeks earlier for a nomination with all the traction and awareness that it brings enhancing sales, then let me say that you are definitively not too good at your own profession if your arguments are "BUt Im A Journalist so trust me I know betTR" And clearly has it's facts contradicted.

Not too "obsessed with market data" if you don't even know the impact of a GOTY nomination on an IP like that apparently XD.

But let's see again in December if the general consensus and overall scores place it among the top 6 games of the year. I am sure that with those trailers it looks to be at the level of Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2, Blue Prince, SilkSong, Kingdom Come, Split Fiction or even DK. Not to mention the upcoming Ghost of Yotei and Hades 2.
The message they are sending is that they know it has no chance.

@Diowine Mate, I didn’t say any of those things.

My point about Indiana Jones is that the game was excellent, but Xbox still released it in December, so it missed out on awards.

But that’s because awards don’t factor into release date strategy (not really). It’s just when the game is ready and when there is an available spot

I actually wrote a whole piece about the impact of awards on sales. It can have some minor positive impact, particularly paired with a discount and especially for smaller games, but it varies and certainly isn’t significant.

Nintendo’s strategy is to release a game a month and ensure each title has room to breathe. Metroid in December makes sense, considering the slate it has for October and November.