P.S. Let me adjust my recommendation for diehard fans.

If you are a diehard fan, watch this video first before deciding if you want to buy the game.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdyQ...

Also, start collecting green crystals as soon as you can and make sure to hit the button at the end of the game.

I have a lot more thoughts, so I will probably write a Medium post at some point, but for now, I will simply end with this.

It's clear that the developers had some idea of why people love Metroid Prime. I just wish they had given us new reasons to love it instead of reheating the old ones.

Lastly, I had my suspicions that this game would not be great when the first few trailers were released.

The lack of marketing by Nintendo was definitely a red flag too.

My hope is that the design team takes a good hard look at what works, and actually iterates on that.

To use a food analogy, this game is like if you described the perfect cheeseburger to someone and they gave you a McDonald's cheeseburger.

Yes, it has all the correct ingredients, but the preparation, the quality, and the overall taste is not the same at all.

There are a handful of really clever ideas, but they all feel underutilized.

I find it really interesting that a game that's over 20 years old (Metroid Prime 1) feels more innovative and well-designed than this game.

To be honest, I don't think there was any way this game was going to match people's expectations after 8 years of development, but there are so many moments where I kept feeling there was missed opportunities, whether that was gameplay, story, or environment.

Previously, I compared this game to The Force Awakens, and after finishing it, I think that still holds true.

It also reminds me of Avowed (very uneven with some great highs and low lows) and Halo Infinite (the ending of this game was a chore).

The Metroid Prime series is known for a feeling of isolation, wonder, and exploration.

The desert could have been a really interesting hub zone where you enhance that sense of isolation, but that's really hard to do when you have an NPC chatting to you every 5 minutes.

A lot has been said about the desert and the human companions, and while the addition of these things did not ruin the game outright, their implementation really weighed the experience down.

As you can tell from these lists, the game was very uneven.

I really enjoyed the first 3 hours or so, and I didn't mind the desert that much until the game forces you to start backtracking for upgrades and story progression.

By the time game really found its footing, it was halfway over.

Cons:
-Sylux
-The level design is dated at best and bad at worst
-Some of the environments feel uninspired
-Some of the music is very bland
-The sergeant, Myles, and the fangirl
-The backtracking
-The Desert
-The Green Energy
-The naming schemes
-Sylux
-A lot of ideas feel half-baked

Pros:
-The combat feels tight
-Some of the environments are gorgeous
-Some of the music is very good
-The sniper guy and the mech
-Some of the environmental storytelling is good
-The bike is fun to control
-The game runs very well on Switch 2

Here are my recommendations:

If you have never played a Metroid Prime game before, I would not play this game. I would play Metroid Prime Remastered first.

If you are a casual MP fan, I think you will enjoy this.

If you are a diehard MP fan, I would read some reviews and adjust expectations.

This post is probably going to get lengthy, so let me just give my reviews and recommendations at the start.

Overall, the game is a 5/10. It's OK.

It has some cool ideas and moments, but those are weighed down by some outdated and just plain bad decisions.

I have beaten Metroid Prime 2, 3, the Trilogy, and some of the 2D Metroids as well.

If I had to rank the Prime games, I would rank them in order (i.e. 1, 2, 3), and unfortunately, MP4 draws the most inspiration from the latest title, Metroid Prime 3.