Metroid Prime 4 Logbook, Entry 1

Ah, well... let's just do this. I'm 90 minutes into the game, where I have played through both the intro sequence and the first area, which covers the demo and the previews. So, these are some very early impressions.

Scans: 30%
Items: 9%

Actually, there isn't that much to say so far. I'm using the pointer controls, which I also preferred in Metroid Prime Remastered. I've briefly tried the mouse controls, but the gyro aiming feels faster and more natural. Main problem with the Joy-Con mouse is that it doesn't change the button layout, so you still have to shoot with the A button...

Also, I'm playing this in Quality Mode, because I want to enjoy those 4K graphics. The Nintendo Switch 2 is my first 4K gaming console, so it's still a rather new sight to behold, at least when playing myself. We do have a PlayStation 5 at home, but there I've been only watching so far...

And here I will do more than just watch. I walk around and shoot things. And scan things. Well, mostly just scan things. That's the penultimate Metroid Prime experience: you have to turn all the green objects into faded blue objects, whether they give you a logbook entry or not.

It seems a bit random, though. Bosses are yellow, so they stand out while scanning, but otherwise I have yet to tell the difference between things that will end up in your logbook and things that are just there to give you random information. Not that it matters much for how excessively I play this game, but this is going more into the direction of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, where there was way too much to scan at every corner.

And overall it feels like Beyond might be the closest to the second game in the Metroid Prime Trilogy. Not the beginning sequence, of course, that was 100% Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but once you are on Viewros it changes the view quite a bit.

You are looking for stranded Galactic Federation troopers. You get this big temple at the center of the world, where all the other areas are located around it. You are greeted by a telepathic visions of an extinct tribe, calling you their prophesied savior. And they even have temples, where you have to collect keys... It all feels very familiar, but instead of the Luminoth, you get the Lamorn. And instead of powers of light and darkness, you get psychic abilities.

But to be fair, the first stretch at Fury Green looks a lot more friendly and inviting than anything on the Planet Aether. Or anything in a Metroid game ever before. This is really where Retro Studios was showing off what they are capable of. And it's looking very beautiful and impressive.

It can't cover how uninspired the whole setting seems, however. Samus loses all her abilities after the incident with the artifact, because of course she does. And now you get telepathic powers, because that's just the new gameplay gimmick for this game, which she will have to lose after everything is over. But yeah... the usual Metroid tropes.

At least there are some difference coming with these swaps. You don't get normal Bombs this time, you get the "Psychic Bombs". The difference is that you can pick them up with your Psychic Visor and move them around, which is interesting.

And the Control Beam is quite awesome, where it reminds me of the Beetle item from Skyward Sword, only more streamlined and deadly. But you can use it to scout the area and look around corners. In the Carvex boss fight it also felt a lot like using the Boomerang against Kalle Demos in The Wind Waker, only that you had to steer it manually.

I'm also liking the boss designs, where the Metroids have fused with different monsters. Well, this is coming completely out of nowhere – it gets mentioned in the intro text and that's it. But maybe the game will give some explanation as to how Sylux managed to manipulate the Metroids like this. At least they don't latch onto you this way...

But I also have to talk about the elephant in the room, who looks like a Galactic Federation mechanic and is named MacKenzie. Honestly, I wasn't that bothered by him as much as I thought I would, where I'm mainly amused by how Samus stays completely silent in this game.

MacKenzie: "Samus, do you copy?"

Samus: "..."

MacKenzie: "Ah, communications are working again, great!"

I disliked the tutorial character of it, where he tells you basic things, like that you can destroy hard shells with missiles. The game is already spamming you with lots control hints on the HUD, where they could have included such info there as well, instead of letting Samus being treated like some rookie. But otherwise he acts very respectful towards her, a bit like a fanboy even, which works for the most part. 

And sure, Nintendo probably wanted to ease in new players with all of this... Now, I personally liked how interactive this character turned out to be. He reacts when you scan him. He reacts when you shoot him. And he can be taken down by enemies. But in that case he stays on the ground and you simply have to revive him, as if you're playing Battlefield.

That's done with your psychic abilities, however, and also not really explained. But I'm just happy that you don't have to worry about these Galactic Federation soldiers all that much during battle. I hated all those credits in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption where you had to save as many of them as possible, but they kept getting themselves killed... 

The game's structure seems to be very classic. You get to an area, you receive a target location, you will have to defeat a boss there, and then you move on to the next. So, I don't think this game will be much longer than the other Metroid Prime games, but let's see. Naturally, there should be more to explore in every area once you return later, where the big tree hopefully won't just be a nice background asset.

After completing the temple at Fury Green, you get shot back into the desert and arrive at the Volt Forge, which is where you will get Vi-O-La. But that's a perfect cut, so I'll talk about that part in the next entry.