Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Hands-On: Samus's Psychic Abilities Are More Than A Gimmick

"Nintendo has not produced one since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, so the question lingering over the announcement of Prime 4 has been: Does anyone still know how to make one of these? A lengthy hands-on ahead of its release in December reassured me that Retro Studios has the look and feel of Metroid Prime well-in-hand, but more importantly, has its objective marker set on expanding the world with new psychic powers that feel just as natural as Samus's other abilities."

"In the midst of Samus lending aid to the Federation, she gets transported to a strange planet, cut off from communications and not entirely sure where she is--and of course, missing some key pieces of her equipment. At that point she discovers a psychic crystal, which fuses itself to her helmet and imbues her with the ability to interface with the planet's technology."

Retro Studios captures Metroid Prime's established look and feel while introducing psychic powers that integrate naturally with Samus's toolkit. The game opens with a showpiece tutorial where Samus aids Federation forces, designed to showcase the Switch 2 hardware and action spectacle. Samus becomes stranded on a strange planet, loses key equipment, and acquires a psychic crystal that fuses to her helmet, granting a Psychic Beam, Psychic Hyper Beam, Morph Ball abilities, and a Psychic Visor. The Lamorn believe the crystal chose Samus as a Chosen One, and Lamorn-infused power-ups parallel traditional Chozo artifacts, supporting open-ended exploration and world expansion.

Read at GameSpot