Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Hands-on Preview – Taking on Aberax

We had the chance to go hands-on with the opening hour of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience in Melbourne. The long wait might actually have been worth it.

The demo began with a rapid descent, Samus landing on a ravaged planet outpost. The classic slow-build exploration of earlier entries is temporarily set aside in favour of a tense push through tight halls and breached airlocks. There’s a chaotic energy here that feels like other space shooters.

Mouse control support was available for the Joy-Con 2 demo units (a new feature on Nintendo Switch 2), and it transformed the traditional lock-on-heavy feel of Prime’s combat. Aiming was freeform and fluid, but it still respected the methodical pacing of the series. Precision and patience are still rewarded over twitch reflexes. I found myself focusing on weak points and flinging charged beams while side-dashing.

Before blasting through doors, we often had to use the scanning visor to override seals. This meant you really had to clear out a room of enemies before progressing. At one point, a collapsed hallway forced us to morph into the iconic Metroid ball form, rolling under debris and through narrow vents laced with hazards. The movement was smooth, snappy, and punctuated by small moments of world-building.

The highlight of the demo was unquestionably the confrontation with Aberax, a mutated Space Pirate encountered deep in the UTO Research Centre’s hangar. Aberax begins the fight using shields to hide weak points and plasma weaponry. You’re circle strafing around this hulking beast, trying to avoid being grabbed, morphing to get underneath shockwave attacks, and waiting for the perfect moment to blast pulsing blisters on it’s body to pick away at the health bar. It might’ve been an introductory fight, but it certainly kept me on my toes.

What stood out most, though, wasn’t just the mechanics or the visuals (which, on Switch 2 hardware, gleamed with the new visual upgrades). It was the tone. The section of Beyond we played feels sleek and new, but eerie. There’s a narrative confidence in the way the opening section slowly reveals the stakes, and the looming spectre of Sylux watching from the shadows.

Retro Studios is reviving Prime and building a richer, more cinematic world around it. One that invites players to feel the story as much as piece it together through logs and scans.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is expected to release later this year exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2. The Nintendo Switch 2 Experience is in Melbourne from 10-11 May for those lucky enough to get an early hands-on.