Is Metroid Prime 4 Worth It for the Busy Gamer? Join us as we find out!

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BLOG VERSION

Since 2007, gamers have been waiting for one very particular game, Metroid Prime 4. But the question isn’t just whether it’s good. The question is: is it worth getting if you’re just an everyday gamer?

Look, like a lot of you, I have a day job. I do other things. I don’t have time to grab every triple-A title, bang it out in two days, and give you a full-fledged early review. I’ve got a backlog of games I’ve been meaning to talk about and just haven’t had time to do proper reviews on. That’s why we’re doing this, the Everyday Gamer review, where we look at games from the point of view of somebody who’s busy. So let’s hit the start button on this one.

Metroid Prime 4 sends our favorite Metroidvania hero Samus to a distant planet full of psychic individuals who are kind of dead, but also kind of not. She’s there to basically revitalize the planet, except also not really. It’s a little confusing. What makes the Prime series special is that it takes the Metroidvania formula and puts it in first-person. You’re in Samus’s visor, exploring, fighting, and doing all kinds of interesting things as you work your way through the world.

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Tutorial Mode

As an everyday gamer, one of the first things I need to know is: do I have to spend a ton of time just learning the game? We don’t always have hours to sink into learning a whole complicated system before we can actually have fun.

Honestly? Metroid Prime 4 does pretty well here. All the control schemes are simple and intuitive. Things build on top of each other naturally, so as you play through, the mechanics stack in a way where you’re just going, “Oh okay, I do this the same way I did that other thing.” It also does a good job of cueing you on available actions in different parts of the map, not always, but most of the time.

One thing I really appreciate is the sub-menu that tells you exactly what Samus’s powers are and how to use them. Because let’s be real, if you haven’t played in a few days, you might forget. That little reference screen is genuinely helpful. Which actually leads right into the next part of the review.

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Pause Menu

Can you actually pick this game up and put it down on a regular basis? Can you pause, go live your life, and come back without losing everything?

Honestly, yes-ish.

The way these games work is through a series of save stations. You don’t auto-save. You have to physically reach a save station and use it, or you lose your progress. Saving in this game is essential. Each section generally has one or two save points, but the question is how quickly you can get to them.

I’ll be honest, there was one stretch that got pretty annoying. I was on the overworld and had to travel all the way across the map, get on a ship, launch into space, land in a hard-to-reach section of the map, and then trek to the save point at the main hub. That’s a lot of game just to be able to put it down.

But here’s the thing, while exploring the overworld, I eventually found a save station right in the dead center of the map. Once I knew it was there, it made a big difference for just getting around and managing my time. So overall, yes, you can pick it up and go. Just be intentional about it. Give yourself a couple of extra minutes at the end of a session to get back to a save station before you call it a night.

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Play Test

Okay, so is it actually fun? Is it worth playing?

Overall, I had a lot of fun with it, especially coming at it as a casual gamer, picking it up here and there in short sessions. Is it one of those games where people are going to go absolutely crazy and call it the greatest game ever made? Probably not, and the reviews out there have reflected that. But it’s not as bad as some people have made it out to be either.

Some folks have complained that the overworld is empty and there’s nothing new there. That’s just not accurate. There’s actually quite a bit going on, it goes back to what makes Metroid great as a series. You’re exploring the space, finding stations where you can unlock new powers, advancing different abilities. One character you meet in-game shows up at various spots across the overworld, sharing lore, wisdom, and upgrades you can add to your armor. You just have to be willing to explore and engage with it.

The sub-areas are a lot of fun too, they’re all unique in how they play out. And they keep the thing that makes Metroid work: you pick up a few things in one area, go somewhere else to use them, and then come back to the original spot to unlock everything that was waiting there. That loop is still satisfying.

Now, one thing people do legitimately gripe about is the scanning mechanic. And look, if you’ve never played a Prime game before, scanning is going to feel weird. But this is just how the series works. Since Metroid Prime 1, you’ve had to scan just about everything. It’s part of the gameplay. That said, the scanning could definitely be a bit quicker. There have been more than a few times where I’m trying to get a scan and getting shot at in the process, and that’s just not great. Hoping they patch that.

The visuals are worth mentioning too. This game is actually quite pretty in a lot of areas. Some people complained about the desert map being bland, but I think those folks didn’t stick around long enough to see the rest of it — there are some genuinely beautiful spots throughout. I played on Switch 1, and I’ve heard the Switch 2 version looks even better. That’s exciting, because it’s already a good-looking game in certain areas.

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The Verdict

So yes, Metroid Prime 4 is a fun game. I enjoy it. Pick it up and play it.

But if you’re still on the fence and not sure you want to shell out for a new copy, here’s my recommendation: grab Metroid Prime 1 Remastered first. It’s a beautiful remaster of the original and it’ll give you a real feel for how a Metroid Prime game plays, especially if you’ve never experienced one before.

Until next time — stay devoted. Peace and love.