Metroid Prime 4 Metacritic Score Revealed as Reviews Go Live

After nearly two decades of anticipation, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is set to release later this week on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Originally announced in 2017, the latest entry in the Metroid Prime series had its development completely rebooted in 2019, which led to Retro Studios stepping in and taking control of the project. Since this move, fans have continued to wonder how this shift might impact the final product in one of the most acclaimed video game franchises ever. Now, we have an answer, at least when it comes to critics.

As of today, reviews for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond have finally started to hit the internet. Generally speaking, reviewers seem to be a bit split on the game, with some saying that it meets the lofty heights seen with past entries in the series, while others claim that it’s by far the worst mainline title in the franchise. As of this moment, Metroid Prime 4 sports an aggregate review score of 80/100 on Metacritic, which speaks to this split nature amongst critics.

How Do These Reviews Stack Up to Past Metroid Prime Games?

While an 80 aggregate score on Metacritic isn’t bad by any means, this is quite a low rating for the Metroid Prime series. The original Metroid Prime is one of the highest-rated games in history and sports a staggering 97/100 average score. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes isn’t much further behind it with a 92/100 score, while Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has a 90/100 average.

When taking these past review scores into account, it suggests that Metroid Prime 4 is the worst game in the series so far. Whether or not this will impact its sales or the excitement that fans have had for the game remains to be seen. Still, it’s good to see that MP4 didn’t turn out to be outright bad after its troubled development history.

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Why Metroid Prime 4’s Development Has Taken Longer Than Any Nintendo Game Ever

Personally speaking, I’ve been playing a lot of Metroid Prime 4 over the past week myself, and I have also been pretty torn on it. While it definitely scratches the Metroid Prime itch, there are many game design choices that are often at odds with its Metroidvania format. Our full review of MP4 will be going live on ComicBook later this week, so be sure to check it out at that time.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launches this week on December 4th and will be available for both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.

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