Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally launched on December 4, 2025, after one of gaming’s most troubled development cycles. Eight years after its initial announcement and 18 years since Metroid Prime 3, the sequel arrived to significantly mixed reactions that split the fanbase down the middle. Popular Nintendo content creator Nerrel captured that divisive reception perfectly with his December 28 video titled “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Bloated,” a brutally honest critique that highlights exactly why this long-awaited game failed to meet expectations for many longtime series fans.
What Nerrel’s Review Criticizes
The “Beyond Bloated” review doesn’t pull punches. Nerrel systematically breaks down the game’s most frustrating elements, starting with severe enemy variety problems that plague the entire 15-hour campaign. According to the review, players fight the same laser sponge robots repeatedly through six or seven scripted horde attacks that become absolutely torturous by the endgame. The desert sections feature only two enemy types that constantly harass players, forcing them onto the controversial motorcycle just to deal with threats before resuming exploration.
The AI companion mechanics receive particularly harsh criticism. A giant droid constantly blocks shots and gets in the way during combat, while the system for directing it to destroy obstacles through scanning feels clunky and unresponsive. Federation troopers must catch up before you can open doors, and if they get downed in combat, you’re forced to resuscitate them. If any trooper dies, you die too, creating frustrating fail states that have nothing to do with your own performance. Nerrel compares these mechanics to Resident Evil 5’s infamous Sheva AI companion, which is about as damning a comparison as you can make in gaming.
The Open World Problem
Metroid Prime 4’s decision to include an open-world desert hub with a motorcycle has become the game’s most controversial feature, and Nerrel’s review dedicates significant time to explaining why it fails. The motorcycle, named Viola, glitches and gets stuck on objects it should break through. It suffers from constant targeting problems that make combat while riding frustrating rather than fun. The open area itself lacks the verticality, complexity, and interconnected loop design that defines great Metroidvania level architecture.
Maps like Fury Green are essentially straight lines rather than intricate labyrinths. Backtracking becomes tedious because paths are overly linear and cluttered with elevators that trigger multiple loading screens. Volt Forge resembles a racetrack filled with countless lifts, with three nearly identical sections that feel copy-pasted. The level design abandons what made previous Prime games special, trading complex interconnected spaces for simplified corridors that lead players by the hand.
Why Retro Studios Couldn’t Fix It
A revealing interview published by Kotaku on December 26 explained exactly why Metroid Prime 4 ended up with these problematic design choices. When development restarted under Retro Studios in 2019 after Bandai Namco was removed from the project, the team saw internet comments requesting an open-world Metroid, likely influenced by Breath of the Wild’s massive success. They designed a limited open area that could be freely explored as a hub connecting to other zones, attempting to compromise between traditional Metroid progression and open-world freedom.
However, development took longer than expected, and by the time the game neared completion, player sentiment toward open-world games had completely changed. Retro Studios realized fans were souring on open-world design, but another development reset was out of the question after already restarting once. The team was forced to finish what they’d built despite knowing many players wouldn’t appreciate it. The result is a game that, in Retro’s own words, is “pretty much divorced from the changing of times.”
The Motorcycle Justification
Retro explained that Viola exists because Samus moves fairly slowly in Prime 4, and traversing the large desert hub became a pacing problem during testing. While Samus has high-speed abilities like the Boost Ball and Speed Booster, the developers determined that riding a bike satisfied both the need to move quickly across large areas and the desire to look cool doing it. They hoped the motorcycle segment would mitigate tension from exploration and pace the overall game. Based on player reception, that gamble didn’t pay off.
The Broader Critical Reception
Nerrel’s review reflects a significant portion of fan sentiment, but the professional critical reception has been all over the map. IGN gave the game an 8 out of 10, praising its atmosphere and calling it an excellent comeback despite acknowledging issues. Game Informer titled their review “Worth The Wait,” emphasizing the pristine science-fiction exploration experience. GamesRadar appreciated the series’ atmosphere reaching new heights while criticizing the boring overworld and clunky mechanics.
On the negative side, GameSpot published a scathing piece titled “How Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Fails The Genre Nintendo Created,” arguing the game could have been a Breath of the Wild-level revitalization but instead became a shadow of its predecessors. NPR called it “polished but deeply flawed,” criticizing its focus on action over puzzle-solving and exploration. VGC gave it 3 out of 5 stars, describing Prime 4 as “a game stuck between two worlds” that doesn’t fully deliver on earlier entries’ spirit.
Specific Design Missteps
Beyond the major structural issues, Nerrel and other critics pointed out numerous smaller frustrations that accumulate into a death by a thousand cuts. The game constantly gives players unsolicited hints and reminders, insulting their intelligence. After visiting the open world to collect items, a character named Miles nags you to return to base, with intrusive map icons appearing on screen. The game blocks progress in confusing ways, like rejecting players who travel to Ice Belt before the game wants them there, creating an illusion of freedom that doesn’t actually exist.
Boss design is inconsistent. While some praised the final Sylux encounters, Nerrel and Reddit users found the initial phase of the last boss battle disappointing. Enemy variety is so lacking that the same lizard monsters and laser sponge robots appear throughout the entire campaign with minimal variation. Given that Prime 4 took eight years and featured a complete development restart, the lack of enemy types feels particularly egregious.
What the Game Gets Right
Despite the harsh criticisms, most reviewers acknowledged that Metroid Prime 4 succeeds in several important areas. The atmosphere and environmental storytelling remain top-tier, with locations like frozen bio-labs revealing their sinister histories through careful scanning of computers, datalogs, and test tubes. The game boasts phenomenal visual design that prioritizes evocative environments over raw graphical fidelity, creating a sense of tactility that elevates the series to new heights.
Combat has improved significantly compared to previous Prime games, feeling quicker and smoother without sacrificing the series’ distinctive feel. Boss battles combine puzzle-style weak points with higher tempo action, making Sylux a more interesting rival than Dark Samus ever was. The game runs flawlessly from a technical performance perspective, with no frame rate drops or major bugs reported. For newcomers, Prime 4 serves as the most accessible entry point into the series, easing players in before they tackle something more complex like Prime Remastered.
Community Reactions to the Review
The Reddit discussion surrounding Nerrel’s video reveals a community processing complicated feelings about a game many waited nearly two decades to play. One user noted the lack of enemy variety is extremely noticeable and disappointing given how polished other aspects are. Another complained about the linear level design evident in maps like Fury Green, which is essentially a straight line requiring players to traverse a lengthy bridge section every time they backtrack from base camp.
The forced companion mechanics generated particular frustration. Having to resuscitate downed troopers or instantly failing if any die creates artificial difficulty that contradicts Metroid’s core identity as a solitary exploration experience. The intrusive hint system that constantly reminds players to return to objectives when they’re trying to explore freely fundamentally misunderstands why people play Metroid games. These design choices suggest a lack of confidence in players that clashes with the series’ traditionally respectful approach to player intelligence.
What This Means for Metroid’s Future
GameSpot’s critical review ended on a surprisingly optimistic note, suggesting that Prime 4’s mixed reception might send Nintendo back to the drawing board. They compared it to Skyward Sword, whose shortcomings led Nintendo to reevaluate the Zelda franchise and eventually create Breath of the Wild. If Prime 4 serves a similar function for Metroid, forcing Nintendo to rethink what the series should be in modern gaming, then perhaps the eight-year wait and compromised final product will ultimately benefit the franchise.
The development revelations from Retro Studios suggest systemic problems beyond just bad luck. Getting locked into an open-world design philosophy inspired by early Breath of the Wild hype, then being unable to pivot when that philosophy fell out of favor, indicates planning and management issues. The fact that Retro openly admitted the game is “divorced from the changing of times” is simultaneously refreshingly honest and deeply concerning for a franchise that needs to stay relevant.
FAQs
Who is Nerrel and why does his review matter?
Nerrel is a popular YouTube content creator known for detailed Nintendo game analysis and criticism. His reviews carry weight in the Nintendo community because he combines technical knowledge with entertaining presentation and doesn’t shy away from criticizing beloved franchises when warranted.
When did Metroid Prime 4: Beyond release?
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launched on December 4, 2025, for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, eight years after its initial announcement in 2017 and 18 years after the previous mainline entry, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
What are the main criticisms of Metroid Prime 4?
The main criticisms include severe lack of enemy variety, frustrating AI companion mechanics, a poorly designed open-world desert hub, intrusive hint systems, linear level design that abandons complex interconnected spaces, and the controversial motorcycle that glitches and has targeting problems.
Why does Metroid Prime 4 have an open world?
Retro Studios was influenced by early Breath of the Wild hype and internet comments requesting an open-world Metroid. They designed a limited hub area to balance freedom with traditional Metroid progression, but by the time development finished, player sentiment had shifted against open-world design.
Did critics like Metroid Prime 4?
Reception was mixed. Some outlets like IGN and Game Informer praised it as an excellent comeback, while others like GameSpot and NPR were highly critical. Most acknowledged strong atmosphere and technical performance while criticizing design choices like the open world and AI companions.
What is the motorcycle in Metroid Prime 4?
Viola is a motorcycle-style vehicle Samus rides in the desert hub area. Retro included it to solve pacing problems when traversing large open spaces, but it suffers from glitches, targeting issues, and gets stuck on objects, making it one of the game’s most criticized features.
How long did Metroid Prime 4 take to develop?
Development started after the 2017 announcement but was completely restarted in 2019 when Nintendo removed Bandai Namco from the project and brought back Retro Studios. The game took roughly six years under Retro’s direction, for a total of eight years from announcement to release.
Is Metroid Prime 4 worth playing?
That depends on what you value. If you prioritize atmosphere, environmental storytelling, and technical polish, many reviewers say yes. If you expect the complex interconnected level design and solitary exploration that defined earlier Prime games, you’ll likely be disappointed by the simplified structure and forced companions.
Will there be a Metroid Prime 5?
Nothing has been announced, but GameSpot’s review suggested Prime 4’s mixed reception might lead Nintendo to reevaluate the franchise before attempting another entry, similar to how Skyward Sword’s shortcomings influenced Breath of the Wild’s revolutionary design.
What did Nerrel compare the AI companions to?
Nerrel compared the frustrating AI companion mechanics in Metroid Prime 4 to Sheva from Resident Evil 5, one of gaming’s most notorious examples of terrible escort mission design where babysitting incompetent allies ruins otherwise solid gameplay.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Long Development
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond stands as a cautionary tale about the dangers of extended development cycles, mid-project resets, and chasing trends that may already be passing by the time your game ships. Retro Studios inherited a difficult situation when they took over in 2019, but the decision to pursue an open-world design based on 2017-era internet hype proved shortsighted. By 2025, players had experienced open-world fatigue from dozens of games following the Breath of the Wild template, making Prime 4’s hub area feel dated before it even launched.
Nerrel’s “Beyond Bloated” review resonates because it articulates frustrations many fans felt but struggled to express. After waiting eight years and enduring a complete development restart, expectations were impossibly high. What arrived was a technically competent game that fundamentally misunderstands what makes Metroid Prime special. The solitary exploration, complex interconnected spaces, and respect for player intelligence that defined the trilogy gave way to hand-holding, linear corridors, mandatory companions, and an open-world hub nobody asked for.
Whether Prime 4 represents a stumble on the path forward or a fundamental misunderstanding of the franchise’s appeal remains to be seen. For now, the mixed reception and videos like Nerrel’s serve as important reality checks against uncritical celebration of a long-awaited sequel that, while polished and atmospheric, fails to recapture the magic that made the original trilogy legendary. Sometimes the hardest lesson in game development is recognizing when compromise and practicality have diluted your vision into mediocrity, and unfortunately for Metroid fans, Prime 4 learned that lesson the hard way.