Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Previews Drop – Psychic Powers, Mouse Controls and Switch 2 Performance Explained (14 November 2025)

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally out in the open. Today, 14 November 2025, Nintendo lifted its big preview embargo, unleashed a nearly eight‑minute “Overview” trailer, and quietly confirmed fresh details about story, performance modes, and even the game’s official content rating. ^[1]

Major outlets – including IGN, Polygon, Rolling Stone, Game Informer, GamesRadar, TechRadar, Nintendo Life, VGC, MeriStation and more – have now published extended hands‑on impressions, giving us the clearest look yet at Samus Aran’s long‑awaited return in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond ahead of its 4 December 2025 launch on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. ^[2]

Below is everything that broke today – summed up in one place.

Release date, platforms and Switch 2 performance modes

Nintendo has repeatedly reconfirmed that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond releases on 4 December 2025 as a cross‑gen title for both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. ^[3]

On Switch 2, the dedicated “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” offers two graphics modes:

Quality mode – up to 4K, 60 fps, HDR when docked; 1080p, 60 fps, HDR in handheld.
Performance mode – 1080p, 120 fps, HDR docked; 720p, 120 fps, HDR handheld. ^[4]

Nintendo stresses that 120 fps requires a 120 Hz display, and 4K output is capped at 60 fps – so you’re choosing between razor‑sharp image quality or ultra‑smooth framerate. ^[5]

The original Switch version doesn’t get these high‑end toggles, but cross‑platform comparisons published earlier this year suggest that while geometry and effects remain similar, the Switch 1 edition runs at lower resolutions and framerates, with the Switch 2 version mainly adding sharpness, HDR and fluidity. ^[6]

New overview trailer: Viewros, Soul Valley and Vi‑O‑La

Alongside today’s written previews, Nintendo released a lengthy Overview trailer via the Nintendo Today! app and YouTube. ^[7]

The trailer and accompanying write‑ups highlight:

Planet Viewros as the main setting – a world of distinct biomes linked by a vast desert hub called Soul Valley. ^[8]
Story framing where Samus responds to a Galactic Federation distress call, is caught in a catastrophic event, and ends up stranded on Viewros, trying to find a way home. ^[9]
The debut of Vi‑O‑La, Samus’ new alien motorbike, used to cross Soul Valley, smash obstacles and fight enemies while riding. ^[10]
A stronger emphasis on co‑operation with Galactic Federation troopers, confirming that NPC squads and companions are more than a one‑off gimmick. ^[11]

For many fans, this is effectively the final big “deep dive” before launch – unless Nintendo squeezes in a dedicated Metroid Prime 4 Direct.

Story: Lamorn, psychic powers and a not‑quite‑reboot

New official descriptions and today’s IMDA rating summary fill in important story gaps. ^[12]

Key points:

The game opens with Samus being transported across space‑time to Viewros, picking up from the lingering Sylux tease at the end of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. ^[13]
On Viewros, she encounters an ancient alien civilization called the Lamorn, who grant her mysterious psychic abilities – represented by a glowing crystal in her helmet and a new “third‑eye” motif. ^[14]
Official leaks and rating summaries describe gameplay that alternates between first‑person and third‑person, with exploration, item collection, vehicle segments and morph ball navigation woven into a broader narrative about Viewros and the Lamorn’s secrets. ^[15]
Longtime antagonist Sylux is still hunting Samus and appears early in the game’s prologue, though most previews only glimpsed him briefly before shifting focus to Viewros itself. ^[16]

Rolling Stone’s paywalled preview characterizes Prime 4 as a long‑gestating project that may not be revolutionary, but aims to modernize the formula rather than reboot it from scratch. ^[17]

Classic Metroid Prime structure with new psychic tools

Despite the flashy trailers and new powers, multiple writers emphasize how familiar Metroid Prime 4 feels in the hands. ^[18]

Old tools, new tricks

Previews consistently mention that staples like:

Morph Ball
Missile Launcher
Scan Visor

all return and remain central to traversal and puzzle‑solving. ^[19]

Layered on top are Psychic Abilities, which come in several flavors depending on the outlet’s demo:

A Psychic Visor / glove combo that lets Samus tug floating “Psychic Motes” into sockets to open doors or power devices. ^[20]
Telekinetic manipulation of certain objects, letting her rearrange platforms or mechanisms from a distance. ^[21]
The standout Control Beam, a charged shot that can be steered in slow motion around corners or through gaps to hit switches and enemy weak points – often turning combat arenas into spatial puzzles. ^[22]

Hands‑on pieces from Game Informer, TechRadar and others describe boss fights that force players to mix traditional dodging and shooting with clever use of these psychic moves, like curving a beam through an arena to simultaneously disable multiple plant‑like tentacles. ^[23]

Level design: linear slice, Metroidvania promise

Most outlets played:

A bombastic prologue on a Galactic Federation facility under siege – more chaotic and action‑heavy than classic Metroid intros. ^[24]
A substantial chunk of Fury Green, a lush forest area on Viewros that serves as the first “proper” zone once Samus has lost most of her gear. ^[25]

Here’s the split in reaction:

Several previews praise Fury Green as a dense, atmospheric space filled with hidden paths, environmental storytelling and puzzle‑doors that hint at later backtracking once more powers are unlocked. ^[26]
Others note that this slice is surprisingly linear, more of a guided tutorial with obvious routes and only the occasional tantalizing branch that clearly requires future abilities. Spanish outlet MeriStation describes its hour‑long demo as “almost entirely linear,” albeit with integrated puzzles and a climactic boss encounter. ^[27]

Polygon’s preview (currently struggling behind a 502 error, but summarized in search snippets) frames all of this as putting the “Metroid” back into Metroidvania, with heavy emphasis on interconnected rooms, lock‑and‑key progression and revisiting earlier areas once the psychic toolkit is expanded. ^[28]

Companions, MacKenzie and a big tone debate

The most divisive talking point from today is MacKenzie, a bespectacled Federation mechanic Samus rescues early in Fury Green.

GamesRadar paints him as a nervy, almost rom‑com‑energy supporter who clearly idolizes Samus, adding a strange “Alice in Wonderland in space” vibe to sections where he tags along. ^[29]
TechRadar calls him “high‑energy, highly talkative, and sorta goofy” and admits he can break the series’ trademark solitude, but expects his role to be limited. ^[30]
Nintendo Life goes much harder, saying MacKenzie’s constant quips and forced escort segments actively undermined the essential isolation and unease of Metroid, to the point where the writer half‑jokingly wished he could be removed from the game altogether. ^[31]
VGC likens his presence and the broader tone shift to parachuting a slapstick sidekick into Alien, arguing that juvenile banter and on‑the‑nose hints (“Hey Samus, maybe check that thing you missed!”) make the opening feel more like a dated action movie than sci‑fi horror. ^[32]

An update on VGC’s piece also notes that today’s overview trailer confirms NPC companions will be a recurring feature, not just a one‑off, which has some purists genuinely worried. ^[33]

On the flip side, other previews stress that Samus herself remains stoic and largely silent, and that the core atmosphere – spooky music stings, desolate environments, unsettling scans – is intact whenever she’s alone. ^[34]

Right now, the tone question is the biggest unknown: is this just a loud, companion‑heavy opening hour, or a sign of a more talkative, Marvel‑adjacent Metroid for the whole campaign?

Joy‑Con 2 “mouse” controls – surprisingly real, surprisingly good

Another major theme across previews is the way Metroid Prime 4: Beyond showcases the Switch 2’s mouse‑style control options.

How it works

On Switch 2, the Joy‑Con 2 can double as a small optical mouse, sliding across a surface for fine aiming while the other controller handles movement. Nintendo’s own store page highlights this explicitly, letting players choose between classic dual‑stick controls or Joy‑Con 2 mouse mode. ^[35]

What the previews say

Game Informer reports that the mouse option shines in encounters and puzzles where you need to lock onto a target, then flick precise shots at multiple weak points or switches without losing tracking – particularly with the steerable Control Beam. ^[36]
TechRadar found tabletop mouse mode “pretty natural,” but still slightly preferred a Pro Controller for tight movement, praising the overall flexibility of control schemes. ^[37]
Earlier this year, some outlets like The Verge were skeptical about Nintendo’s mouse experiments, but noted that Metroid Prime 4 already used them more robustly than many tech demos. ^[38]

Combined with traditional lock‑on and gyro options, Prime 4 is shaping up to be one of the most configurable first‑person games Nintendo has ever shipped.

Visuals, atmosphere and violence rating

Today also brought a new Advisory 16 rating from Singapore’s IMDA, offering more insight into the game’s tone and intensity. ^[39]

The rating summary describes:

A mix of first‑person and third‑person gameplay with exploration, combat and vehicle sections.
Fast‑paced firefights using missiles, beams, bombs, elemental attacks and psychic techniques.
Violence that includes severing monster limbs and visible bodily fluids, but avoids graphic gore – aligning with a high‑end Teen/16+ category rather than mature horror. ^[40]

On the technical side, impressions from MeriStation, Nintendo‑Online, TechRadar and others highlight:

Dense, detailed environments – Fury Green’s foliage, mist and alien fauna; Soul Valley’s bright desert vistas; glowing Lamorn structures. ^[41]
Stable performance in both quality and performance modes on Switch 2, with very brief load times. ^[42]
A significant but not generational leap over Metroid Prime Remastered, with sharper textures, richer lighting and HDR highlights standing out most on modern TVs. ^[43]

Tom’s Guide, which also spent nearly two hours with the game today, sums it up as visually striking and tonally spot‑on, even if it doesn’t chase the bleeding‑edge realism of high‑end PC shooters – understandable given that it must also run on the original Switch. ^[44]

So… is Metroid Prime 4: Beyond living up to the hype?

After almost a decade of waiting and a full 18 years since Metroid Prime 3, today’s coverage paints a complex but mostly encouraging picture. ^[45]

The optimistic read

Core Metroid Prime DNA – scanning, backtracking, environmental puzzles, eerie music, chunky lock‑and‑key progression – appears intact and polished. ^[46]
Psychic Abilities add fresh depth to both exploration and combat without replacing the classics.
Switch 2 enhancements (4K/60, 120 fps, HDR, mouse controls) make this feel like a genuine showcase for Nintendo’s new hardware, not just a late cross‑gen port. ^[47]
Most writers say they walked away more excited, especially after boss fights that demand creative use of the new toolkit. ^[48]

The cautious read

The opening hours are more linear than some fans hoped, at least in the demos shown to press. ^[49]
MacKenzie and other chatty NPCs risk diluting the series’ treasured isolation and horror‑adjacent tone if they remain prominent throughout. ^[50]
Rolling Stone hints that, while polished, the game may feel more like a refinement than a reinvention, which might disappoint players expecting a Metroid equivalent of Breath of the Wild. ^[51]

Given that most previews only covered the prologue and a single major area, it’s too early to declare whether Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a cautious evolution or a bold new chapter. What’s clear after today is that:

The mechanical foundation is strong,
The Switch 2 version looks and runs impressively, and
Nintendo is taking some real risks with tone and companions that could either refresh the formula or alienate longtime fans.

With just under three weeks to go until launch, don’t be surprised if the discourse around Metroid Prime 4 gets louder – and weirder – from here.

Quick FAQ – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (as of 14 November 2025)

Release date: 4 December 2025 ^[52]
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Developer / Publisher: Retro Studios / Nintendo ^[53]
Main setting: Planet Viewros, with biomes connected via Soul Valley desert hub ^[54]
New mechanics: Psychic Abilities (Psychic Visor, Motes, Control Beam), Vi‑O‑La motorbike, Switch 2 mouse controls ^[55]
Switch 2 graphics modes: 4K/60 HDR Quality or 1080p/120 HDR Performance ^[56]
Rating: Advisory 16 (Singapore) / Teen‑equivalent, for sci‑fi violence with moderate blood but no extreme gore ^[57]