Metroid Prime 4 doesn’t live up to the best Nintendo games

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond It’s finally been released after long and difficult development – and despite some bright spots, the game is really showing its age.

Nintendo has a long and famous history of doing things its own way. During the original Switch era, going back to Super Mario Odyssey In 2017, Nintendo focused on bringing Open-world style exploration elements For many of its major releases. This strategy has worked extremely well, breathing new life into storied franchises such as Donkey Kong, Mario Kartand Legend of Zelda. But it did not add quite the same revolutionary touch Metroid Prime 4.

In all the other games that got the open-world style treatment, these elements were added to the experience. Explore the vast expanses of Hyrule Breath of the wildfor example, inevitably led to some kind of new discovery – a shrine to break, a kurok to uncover, or a treasure to find. We’ve never seen Hyrule presented like this on a Nintendo console, and it was great to track it down and take it all in.

in behindHowever, this kind of exploration is more of a chore than fun. In his reviewAndrew Webster described the desert world that Samus travels through as “an empty, dull place.” There are things to discover, but they are little more than mile markers on a long stretch of desert.

The problem is that for the type of game Metroid is that free-roaming exploration doesn’t work, or at least not in this implementation. In the early hours of behindAs I was riding through the desert on a very cool looking VI-O-LA bike, I encountered a ruined structure spewing smoke. After taking care of some enemies, I looked around to see if there was any puzzle to solve or treasure to take, but I found nothing. There seems to be Something Higher where I could interact with it, but I couldn’t reach it. So I left.

Metroidvania portals provide behind power-ups. When you encounter a roadblock, it’s usually a signal to come back later. This works in a closed environment like the biomes on Viewros, the new planet Samus is exploring, but it kills momentum in an open world because there’s no guaranteed return for your time. It makes the world feel empty in a way it doesn’t Breath of the wild or Super Mario Odyssey. In those games, I knew my noodles would get me something more than just bugs all over my biker suit’s power armor. I could probably return to the crash site when I had whatever power was needed, but I don’t feel compelled to return.

I’m also really upset behindThe illusion of choice. The first time you zoom through the desert, a fellow named Mackenzie, speaking with authority that sounds like a message to the player from the developers, tells you that you can go anywhere you want after that. But when I did, I immediately hit a wall of fire that I couldn’t pass through. I felt like the developers were tricking me, like, “Haha, us He said You can go anywhere but we really want you to come back when you have the right stuff. Kingdom tears You wouldn’t do me like this.

Another element that shows how late Nintendo is to the party is companions. They’re all very quick to tell Samus what to do, where to go, and what she’s doing wrong. This type of walkthrough was and remains popular in big-budget adventure games such as Horizon Zero Dawnand it can come in handy when you get stuck. But part of MetroidThe appeal is using your intelligence and skills to figure things out for yourself.

All this goes unheeded, when Mackenzie, your main companion, comes forward with unspoken and unsolicited advice, condescending to me and Samus. Samus Aran is the worst bounty hunter this side of Zebes, a fact recognized by everyone around her except when it’s time for her to do the very things they all rightly revere. No, Mackenzie, I don’t need you to show me how to get back to Fury Green. I’ve been there several times already!

Nintendo’s biggest mistake with Metroid Prime 4However, it looks very similar to the original Metroid Prime Triple. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the other major mascot titles released by Nintendo is that they all share the same basic structure as their predecessors, but have a few new touches that make the old feel new. with OdysseyIt was Cappy’s transformation powers. in Kingdom tearsIt was Ultrahand’s powers Work together with physics engine To create Unique emergent gaming experiences It felt magical. in Bananza, The simplicity of being able to break almost everything on the screen I did the same thing.

Nintendo gave you weird, often simple, tools and let you take the world by storm, resulting in some of the best games the company has ever made. There is none of that in Metroid Prime 4. The psychic powers that Samus obtained are merely remixes of the powers she had before. The psychic lasso is just a hot grappling beam.

behind It is not without merit, because there is nothing quite like it prime minister 3D Exploration Brand. But it seems like eight years and a development reboot should yield something even more impressive than this, especially given the treatment Nintendo has given its other franchises. in Metroid Prime 4The old doesn’t look new, and the new doesn’t look good.