Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – 15 Details You Need to Know

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The long-awaited return of Samus Aran in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond plunges players into a dangerous world where a simple mission quickly escalates into a planet-wide struggle. While its initial announcement was shrouded in secrecy, Nintendo has now revealed details about the gameplay. Expect a mix of expansive, yet focused exploration, movement powered by psychic abilities, smooth combat, and challenging fights against numerous powerful enemies. Here are 15 key things to know before you embark on your journey into the Beyond, including new ways to move around, visual improvements, and how the game will perform on different Nintendo systems.

You’re on Planet Viewros

Responding to an urgent distress signal from the Galactic Federation, bounty hunter Samus Aran arrives on the previously unknown planet Viewros. The planet is under attack by her longtime enemy, Sylux, and is a bizarre mix of environments – from dense jungles and massive factories to ruined cities, icy labs, and volcanic industrial complexes. Viewros is a dangerous yet captivating world, holding secrets of a forgotten civilization called the Lamorn. Samus’s mission involves exploring these diverse landscapes, sneaking into enemy territory, and engaging in intense battles.

Wheel-and-Spoke Overworld Design

Viewros features a central desert area called Sol Valley, which connects all the game’s different environments. While only a few people have explored it directly, Nintendo has shown that it’s a wide-open, desolate landscape. Some worry that such an exposed area might lessen the sense of mystery found in previous Prime games, but Sol Valley still feels promising and could be a surprisingly engaging location until players get to experience it themselves.

Vi-O-La Bike Traversal

Okay, so getting around Sol Valley is WAY faster with the Vi-O-La Bike. It’s basically a motorcycle Samus can summon, and it’s awesome for zipping across the sand. This thing is super agile – I can make tight turns, smash through those energy crystals, and even fight enemies while riding! I can lock onto targets while speeding along, dodging drones and rocky stuff with some serious motocross moves. The best part? I can summon it almost anywhere as long as there’s enough space to get going, which means I can decide on the fly when to use it instead of being limited to specific areas. It really opens up how I explore!

Scanning is Central to Progression

Samus’ scan visor is essential for uncovering the secrets of Viewros. It highlights important objects, creatures, and clues that help with navigation and understanding the environment. Scanning isn’t just a helpful feature—it’s a central part of the game. It reveals how to unlock new paths, control machines, understand energy systems, and learn the history of the Lamorn people. The game tells much of its story through the environment, and scanning is how players piece everything together.

New Power: Psychic and Telekinetic Combat Ability

Samus’s suit has been upgraded with psychic energy, giving her armor and weapons a violet glow and new abilities. She can now mentally control her shots to curve in flight, lock beams onto targets around corners, and use Psychic Gloves to move objects and enemies. This shifts her fighting style from relying solely on powerful blasts to focusing on precision, control, and dominating the battlefield.

New Power: Verticality and Traversal Through Psychic Tech

Beyond isn’t just about fighting with psychic powers—it completely changes how you move around the planet Viewros. Samus can now use violet energy paths to launch herself through the air in Morph Ball form, and psychic threads act like telekinetic grappling hooks to reach new areas. The game also features environmental puzzles where you’ll need to redirect energy, manipulate machines, and guide glowing particles to activate ancient Lamorn technology. These features make getting around much more dynamic, aerial, and focused on solving puzzles.

Galactic Federation Troopers Need Rescue

During Sylax’s attack on Viewros, many Galactic Federation Troopers, like Samus, became stranded across the planet. As you journey through the dangerous areas of Viewros, you’ll locate these troopers and rescue them from trouble.

You’ll occasionally team up with allies who will fight with Samus for a short time. These allies often have useful items they’ll give you, and finding them is a core part of moving forward in the game – they aren’t just side quests you can skip.

Trooper Companions Come With a Warning

Myles McKenzie, an engineer players meet early in the game, is a prime example of a potential issue. While he quickly shows his thanks by upgrading Samus’s missiles, he also talks a lot. His jokes, tips, and snarky comments clash with the game’s serious atmosphere, creating an awkward contrast with Samus’s quiet nature. If all the rescued troopers are like Myles, parts of the game could end up feeling overexplained or, even worse, irritating to play.

Sylux Takes Centre Stage

In Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Sylux is revealed to be the one who orchestrated the invasion of Viewros. He’s a cold and powerful bounty hunter who deeply resents the Federation, and the game shows off his impressive, likely stolen, technology and drone control. He’s a skilled fighter and marksman, nearly matching Samus in ability. Sylux isn’t just a minor character anymore; his personal grudge against Samus is driving the conflict on Viewros. While details are still limited, it remains to be seen how compelling he will be as a villain.

Expanded Combat Fluidity

Okay, so Metroid Prime 4: Beyond isn’t reinventing Samus’ powers – no crazy new abilities beyond the psychic stuff. But honestly, the demos I’ve seen show a huge improvement in how she moves. She’s way faster, aiming feels so much snappier, and switching between her regular form and the Morph Ball is seamless. It all adds up to combat that feels really modern, clean, and easy to follow. What’s really surprised me is how everything blends together – you’re constantly moving, using the vertical space, scanning for weaknesses, messing with the environment, and blasting away. It’s a really smooth, fast-paced rhythm that I wasn’t really expecting from a Metroid game.

Dialled Up Boss Battles

Initial gameplay shows Samus battling Aberex, a plant-based enemy that changes how it defends, sends out powerful shockwaves, and even transforms during the fight. To defeat it, players will need to quickly switch between targeting its weak points, using the Morph Ball to dodge attacks, and accurately firing the Control Beam. Aberex is a challenging early boss, suggesting Metroid Prime 4 will thoroughly test players’ skills and require them to master all of Samus’ abilities and power-ups.

The Lamorn Are The Heart of Viewros’ Mystery

As Samus explores, she constantly encounters the remains of an ancient civilization called the Lamorn. Their ruins are filled with old technology, like power sources and inactive machines, and covered in mysterious symbols. The Lamorn aren’t just part of the scenery – they’re central to solving puzzles, navigating the world, learning the planet’s history, and understanding the story. By scanning objects, examining the environment, and interacting with the world around her, the player uncovers a story that the planet itself seems determined to keep hidden.

Exploration is “Wide-Linear”, not Open World

Beyond features a sprawling, interconnected world with many different routes, hidden areas, and branching paths to explore. You’ll often need to return to previously visited locations with new abilities and upgrades to progress, adding a platforming element to the exploration. While the main area, Sol Valley, is vast and open, each smaller region feels carefully designed, detailed, and full of secrets for curious players to discover. The game offers a sense of freedom, though it subtly guides you with boundaries.

Significant Visual Overhaul

Beyond boasts a striking new look, moving away from realistic graphics and embracing a distinctive, almost retro 70s sci-fi style. It appears the game’s powerful hardware allows for incredibly detailed environments, filled with lush plants, glowing spores, and realistically reflective surfaces. These visual changes prioritize creating a strong atmosphere and immersive experience over simply achieving the highest level of graphical fidelity.

SWITCH 2 TECH DETAILS

If you play Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the new Switch 2, you’ll notice a significant improvement in how the game runs. Reports show it can achieve up to 120 frames per second at 1080p resolution when docked and set to performance mode. There’s also a quality mode that aims for 4K resolution at 60fps. The Switch 2 version also supports HDR, has better graphics and textures, and features more detailed environments. This means smoother movement and clearer aiming, no matter if you prioritize fast action or beautiful visuals. It’s important to note that the core gameplay experience will be the same on both the original Switch and the Switch 2.

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2025-12-02 22:46