As of January 3, 2026, the dust is finally settling on the launch of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which released on December 4, 2025. While the game has been praised for its atmosphere and visuals (running at a crisp 120fps on the Switch 2), it currently holds a Metacritic score of 78–81, making it the lowest-rated mainline entry in the series.
A recent Famitsu interview with the development team has finally explained why one of the game's most criticized features—the semi-open Sol Valley hub world—feels like a relic of 2017.
The "Development Hell" Compromise
The interview reveals that the hub-based design was a direct consequence of the project's reboot. When the game was originally announced in 2017, the team was heavily influenced by the "Open World" fever sparked by Breath of the Wild.
The Vision: Nintendo wanted to meet fan demand for an "Open World Metroid" but feared that total freedom would break the series' signature "ability-gated" progression.
The Compromise: They settled on a central, semi-open hub area where Samus can ride the Vi-O-La vehicle (alien bike), which connects to more traditional, linear Metroid zones.
The "Out of the Question" Moment: By the time development shifted to Retro Studios in 2019, Nintendo realized that player expectations for open worlds had evolved significantly. However, because the project had already been "restarted from scratch" once, the team felt that backtracking to redesign the core world structure again was out of the question.
"We recognized that completing the game took longer than expected and that players' impressions of open-world games had changed... but we couldn't imagine going back even further on a project we'd already reset once." — Nintendo Development Team, Famitsu (Jan 2026)
Critique: A One-Way Nostalgia Trip?
Reviewers and fans on Reddit have noted that while the game is "thoroughly excellent" in its basic mechanics, it feels "divorced from the changing of times."
The Pacing: The team admitted they consciously chose not to match the faster movement speed of modern shooters (like Doom Eternal or Apex Legends) to preserve the "tempo of an adventure game."
The Hub: Critics have called the desert hub "bland" and "aimless," suggesting it serves more as a loading zone for the bike mechanics than a meaningful exploration space.
The Companions: A secondary point of contention has been the chatty Galactic Federation NPCs, specifically Myles MacKenzie. Nintendo clarified that they included these characters to create a sense of "conflict" and "protection," a major departure from the series' traditional isolation.
The Future: Metroid Prime 5 Rumors
With Beyond now in the hands of players, rumors are already swirling about what’s next for Samus.
| Project | Status / Rumor |
| Metroid Prime 5 | Rumored to be in development at Retro Studios; leaks suggest it may reuse Beyond's engine to hit a 2028 release window. |
| Metroid 6 (2D) | Rumors suggest MercurySteam is working on a direct sequel to Metroid Dread for a late 2026/2027 launch. |
| Prime 2 & 3 HD | Multiple insiders reiterate that Remasters for Echoes and Corruption are finished and being held for a "gap year" release in 2026. |
My Take on It
It’s fascinating to see a developer be this honest about "settling" for an older design. While the hub world might feel a bit static by 2026 standards, there is something to be said for the "Ma" (the Japanese concept of space and pause) that the team emphasized. It might be the lowest-rated Prime, but in an era of overwhelming map-marker-bloat, a "linear adventure" might be exactly what some purists were looking for.
Are you finding the Sol Valley hub to be a welcome breather between missions, or do you agree with the critics that it feels a decade out of date?
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