While the Nintendo Switch 2’s gameplay reveal dazzled with various new experiences, the highlight for me was an old favorite making a grand return: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Getting my hands on Metroid Prime 4 was a treat that felt like slipping into a comfy old sweater for fans like me. The demo showcased an area stripped of fresh features, possibly an early game sequence before Samus gets a power suit upgrade boosting her telekinetic abilities.
In this short, intense segment, Samus wielded her trusty arm cannon, missiles, scanner, morph ball, and bombs—nothing out of the ordinary for series veterans. This made Prime 4 initially feel like just another increment in the series, yet we all know there’s more under the hood, waiting to be unleashed. Unfortunately, those features were absent in this particular demo session.
Nintendo and Retro Studios clearly chose this demo section carefully. By keeping it simple and streamlined, the focus was on what they really wanted people to see: the core Metroid Prime experience on the new Switch 2 hardware.
“Running at 120 frames per second,” the Nintendo rep proudly informed me as I took my seat for the demo. Quite surprising, considering Nintendo’s usual reluctance to emphasize performance specs, but it’s immediately clear why they chose to highlight this.
Indeed, the Metroid Prime 4 Switch 2 version is a significant step up from its predecessor, originally designed for the considerably less powerful original Switch hardware. Running smoothly at full HD (or 4K at 60fps) and maintaining an impeccable 120fps, it looks and feels crisper than ever—though we didn’t have the original version for direct comparison on-site. The frame rate truly steals the show here, marking a significant shift from Nintendo’s typical approach. And then I laid the controller down…
Not because I stopped playing, of course, but to explore the intriguing new mouse controls. The Switch 2’s standout feature lets you use a Joy-Con placed sideways on a surface like a mouse—perfect for games designed with these controls in mind.
Elsewhere at the event, Civilization 7 showcased its mouse control feature, similar to its PC counterpart. Metroid naturally benefits from this too, being as much an FPS as it is a “metroidvania.”
The integration of mouse controls into Metroid Prime 4 is brilliantly seamless; no need to toggle or adjust settings. You can hold both Joy-Cons like a traditional controller, and it plays like any other Prime game. But simply lay that right Joy-Con on a surface, and the game instantly switches to mouselook. Effortless and intuitive.
Anyone familiar with mouselook will appreciate how naturally it works here. It’s responsive, intuitive, and just feels right. The real standout, though, is how smoothly one can transition between modes.
The demo’s combat-heavy section lacked Metroid’s traditional puzzles, but it was enough time to settle into a rhythm with the controls. I’d survey the environment with the Joy-Cons in traditional mode and seamlessly switch to mouse mode when the fight got intense. This adaptability turned out to be the best of both worlds.
Facing a boss, the controller mode faded out. The intuitive aiming with mouse controls allowed for precise hits on the boss’s weak spots, letting me defeat it faster than those sticking with standard controls.
With this new, smooth 120fps, battling almost felt like a cheat code was on. Such precision and performance in a Nintendo game felt unprecedented. It tackled my chief complaint about the original Switch: decent graphics but often lacking in performance. If Metroid Prime 4 reflects the future, I’m eager for enhanced titles prioritizing performance.
Later this year, there might be a Switch version of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but the true experience awaits on the Switch 2. It’s the definitive evolution you wish for in a next-gen upgrade.
