23 years later, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is set to revitalize the bounty hunter on Switch, just as the original did on GameCube

Nintendo lets Samus come out to play with a new adventure every so often – most recently with 2021's inventive and well-received Metroid Dread – but there's been a question on every Metroid fan's lips since Metroid Prime 3 in 2007. When's the sequel? Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally ready to share its answer: 2025. Given what we've seen so far, we have every reason to be hopeful that the long-awaited sequel will be worth the wait.

It's clear that Nintendo wants to get this one right. First revealed in 2017, in 2019 it was announced that everything thus far created had been scrapped, and the project had been transferred from the previous studio (reported to be Bandai Namco) to Metroid Prime veterans Retro Studios. With Kensuke Tanabe also on board – the producer of all three entries in the original trilogy – it's impossible to imagine a better team for the job. Samus is home.

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Prime cuts

The events of Metroid Prime 4 pick up plot threads from the previous game, though after a currently unknown period of time. Those who managed to unlock the "secret" ending of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption through 100% completion will have seen Samus's ship pursued by Sylux, a rival bounty hunter who first appeared in the Nintendo DS exclusive Metroid Prime Hunters. For some reason, he has a deep hatred for the Galactic Federation which hires Samus – and he makes an appearance in the Beyond trailer.

Retro Studios seems keen to keep everything that has come before canon, and it looks like we're set for some significant revelations and lore expansion. Sylux makes an appearance in the secret ending of another entry in the series, Metroid Prime: Federation Force. There, he is seen to hatch a Metroid egg, and the 2024 trailer for Beyond ends with a glimpse of him being flanked by two Metroids. What does he plan to do with them? Does he only have these two, or a whole army? We look forward to finding out, although I have a feeling Samus isn't going to like the answer.

The trailer didn't give much away, but the opening – which sees Samus rise from her ship and then vault to the ground in a familiar way, complete with signature musical cue – is an immediate thrill. We know that Samus will, as always, have her Power Suit and Power Beam (which, again, can be charged for a single, more powerful shot). We see the scan visor in action, as well as the Morph Ball ability and missile launcher. The tone is set for an adventure that will be immediately familiar, but with the ambition to evolve, well, beyond, thanks to multiple leaps in hardware tech since the last Metroid Prime outing.

It seems inevitable that more beams and visors will be revealed, but so far the slicker action that has Samus blasting her power beam and missile launcher in familiar first-person looks fantastic compared to the last go-around. But it won't be all-out action, as she'll still be scanning areas for clues and solving puzzles to push exploration deeper in each zone. The best Metroid games always mix its thrilling action with some chin-stroking, and we can't wait to see Retro Studios let loose with tech that allows for more expansive environments than ever before.

Elsewhere, we're excited to see how Sylux chasing down Samus (with Metroids in tow) is going to factor into gameplay. What we have seen are Space Pirates fighting an unknown faction (the Galactic Federation?) while Samus rolls along unseen above, and turrets firing into the sky – and being fired upon – in outside spaces while she deals with problems of her own. It's a tantalizing glimpse at a more cinematic approach to Metroid Prime that gives us confidence this will be one to remember.

The currently unconfirmed 2025 release date does lead to the inevitable question: Will Beyond be a launch title for Nintendo's next console, the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2? It's definitely a Switch game, but Nintendo might be tempted to pull a The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and release the latest entry in one of its most famous series on both its current and new consoles simultaneously. Whatever the launch ends up looking like, we don't really care what machine it'll be running on – we just can't wait to dive back into Samus' world.

See what other exciting releases await us with our roundup of upcoming Switch games.