After announcing it over seven years ago, Nintendo has once again revealed Metroid Prime 4, including a first look at gameplay, which you can check out below.
Announced at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, the trailer showed myriad gameplay clips alongside a handful of the horrible alien beasties Samus must fight in the long-awaited game. It launches in 2025.
Alongside the first look at gameplay, Nintendo revealed that Metroid Prime 4 is now called Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. The new logo features black and purple hues, a stark contrast to the original logo, which was black, with the number 4 having a blue flame-like outline.
Nintendo first announced that Metroid Prime 4 was in development during its E3 2017 presentation, with Bandai Namco Studios taking the lead. However, after Metroid Prime 4's initial development, the project had troubled development, which kicked off when Nintendo announced in 2019 that development had restarted and that Retro Studios, the original developers of the franchise, would be tasked with making the game.
Metroid Prime's first installment was initially released in 2002 for the Gamecube and was a hit for Retro Studios. and was praised for translating the series' 2D-style gameplay into the third dimension. Original Metroid Prime was released for GameCube in 2002, and the series' 2D style was translated into a first-person game with huge success.
Following Metroid Prime was followed up by two sequels, a prequel, and three spinoffs. The most recent installment in the Metroid Prime series was a remaster of the original Metroid Prime, which came out for the Nintendo Switch in 2023
In our review of Metroid Prime Remastered, my colleague Sam Claiborn wrote: "Metroid Prime Remastered honors a lauded classic and brings it up to code, fixing outdated controls and adding a slick coat of polygons and textures that make this masterpiece of a shooter shine once more."
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
