METROID Prime was released more than 20 years ago, and the remaster adds little more than minor control updates.
Despite this, it still very much holds up in 2023. The remaster has breathed new life into the game, with a world that feels more believable than ever before.
The graphics have seen vast improvements.
You were likely a child when you first played Metroid Prime, which will make returning as an adult all the sweeter.
Finally, the level design and the morph ball sections make sense, and you can appreciate the game for everything it does well.
The Metroid series was always obtuse, with little information to help you find the right path.
Prime does a lot to streamline this classic experience, while also keeping hold of what makes the series so mysterious.
One of these streamlining additions is the Scan Visor which does a lot to explain the world without giving too much away.
Retro Studios thought that the Prime series would be focused on its first-person combat, but Nintendo wanted the Scan Visor to be the star of the show.
Nintendo explained how the game should be about exploring the environment, scanning it, and coming to understand this alien world.
Through the Scan Visor, Prime did away with tutorials, instead allowing the player to choose what they want to know about.
Some things you scan will help you solve environmental puzzles, or give you more information on the story.
However, even the hint system doesn’t explain the exact path you need to take, and naturally new paths open up the more power ups you find.
The combat isn’t difficult, but it’s also not the focus here. That is maintaining the puzzle and exploration of the 2D games in 3D for the first time.
Translating a Metroidvania into 3D is no easy task, and Prime pulls it off flawlessly.
Remastered improves on this formula. The controls now work with the modern twin-stick setup, making it easier than ever to control.
The environments are dense with details, and the general effects have been overhauled.
It truly feels like a modern game, shedding all signs that it’s more than two decades old.
With such an incredible game at its base, Metroid Prime Remastered is one of the best games currently available for the Switch.
It wrote the book on how to design 3D Metroidvanias, and still has lessons to teach us.
Written by Dave Aubrey and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
