Metroid Prime 4 Beyond
This game definitely feels more like a Zelda game than a Metroid game with each stage feeling like its own separate dungeons. There are certain places in each that are locked behind upgrades you get elsewhere, similar to what you’d see in classic zelda dungeons but everything feels so separated as opposed to how in metroid games the entire map feels like one big dungeon that has separate areas but there’s a ton of going back and forth as there’s so many rooms and paths in each area that open with new abilities. Overall the maps are a lot more linear than Metroid games usually are. I don't mind this as much as it's still fun to play through the levels here so I'd say for anyone who doesn't care about games sticking to their labels or definitions of those labels, they wouldn't mind this likely. And at the same time Metroid Fusion is one of my favorite games in the series and that one was extremely linear but the map layout did feel like it had more freedom of exploration at least in each section of the game.
I feel like I like this game more than some of the stuff I’ve seen online about it, but I would say I don’t like it as much as my other favorite Metroid games like Metroid Prime One or Dread or Super Metroid or Metroid fusion. I actually didn’t mind the long drives through the desert, and I thought the ambient sounds that played was kind of fitting for it. I would say it would’ve been more interesting if they had more to offer in it, though in terms of maybe more shrines and how what you would get would be something that would benefit you more like maybe there’s another progressive power up they could add in this where it just makes your attacks more and more powerful so as you collect more of these power ups, it feels more rewarding at the end of the game. Now there are some like the charged electric shock but for the most part it feels like the difference in power is very minimal.
I can see how some of the other characters may have been annoying for other people and with some of them they kind of were at furs, but I felt the more I played the game the more I enjoyed their presence. I would say at times later in the game it was annoying when Mckenzie would say the obvious and then the game would force it so that the next time you pause it would focus your map to a place where you already know you need to go. This was annoying because I was doing other things like getting other power ups before proceeding to the end of the game and. But as someone who works a full-time job and doesn’t really have much time to play games, I really didn’t mind the help that Mckenzie offers and guiding you where to go.
When it comes to the music in the game, I generally enjoyed it, especially in Volt Forge where its main theme kind of reminded me of the instrumental for the remix of Linkin Park's By Myself on their Reanimation album. But one criticism I saw quite a bit was saying how they paywalled music in the desert area and to me they really didn't. There is music there that is more ambient and subtle and creates a creepy vibe for it which I actually found perfectly fine for the area. So I see the ability to use the Amiibo and getting an alternative soundtrack playing to definitely be more of a feature and not a lazy part on part of the developers because as a musician, even the simple sounding ambient music takes time to make and tailor to a specific environment.
Overall I enjoyed Metroid Prime 4. Yeah it's definitely different from the first prime game and most of the other Metroid games but I feel it still delivers with its action and exploration and for anyone who enjoys those kinds of games in general and aren't so focused on the specifics of a game being a metroidvania, they would definitely enjoy this one.