Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is out today. The Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 game was already getting dinged in some people’s minds over a trailer that showcased overly chatty companion characters. Now we’ve moved on from side-eyeing MCU-era cringe to debates about whether or not the game even looks good. A lot of folks are throwing tomatoes at the supposedly lifeless open-world segments on social media, but people who are actually playing Metroid Prime 4 tell a different story.
Admittedly, some Metroid Prime 4 screenshots are pretty rough. The game’s desert sections can look pretty bland in still shots, and without any real dynamic weather effects or notable architecture and landmarks, they look like something out of a game from almost 20 years ago. The comparisons to older games that it resembles, or even older games that are doing a lot more with their environments, are not flattering.
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wiiu, 2015)
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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond ( Nintendo Switch 1/2, 2025) https://t.co/rX8XGj5ycC pic.twitter.com/sxgKhfVgQZ
— Victor✨ (@rotciVArt) December 3, 2025
2008 https://t.co/hAMLMdPhSD pic.twitter.com/STfrk27UZ1
— Raeng(曹赫) (@RoytaMustDie) December 3, 2025
Road Rash 1995 (PS1)
Vs.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond 2025 (Nintendo Switch 2) pic.twitter.com/wtAeY2iRwo
— Velorio do Xbox (@PerolasdoXbox) December 3, 2025
As someone who has been following Pokémon for his whole life, I’m no stranger to how a bad screenshot can paint a damning picture of a game that can otherwise look pretty alright. There are plenty of ugly areas in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but there are also ones that look pretty lovely. Scarlet and Violet, though? That shit looks like an ugly GameCube game that was still in early development, no matter where you are. So when another big Nintendo game seems to be following the same open-world style at the expense of detailed environments, it’s understandable why some folks would be worried.
In general, Metroid Prime 4 has some notable graphic disparities depending on the environment you’re in. Folks have been noting this before the game was even out by comparing shots from the same trailer, in which the game oscillated between looking pretty alright to looking like the shots people are complaining about.
That said, some of this feels like knee-jerk reactions to Metroid Prime 4’s series-low reviews. The game is sitting at a respectable 81 on review aggregate site Metacritic, but that is a bit of a drop compared to the 90+ scores of the first three games. I saw folks on a ResetEra forum saying this was “an absolute failure” or a “fucking disaster” for the historically beloved series, so some of this drive-by hate feels a bit reactionary to a game some people have already decided is a flop.
But what are people who have actually played the game saying? I was surprised to see some folks on my feed also call it one of the best-looking games Nintendo had brought to its handheld console. However, most of the praise points specifically to the smaller-scale dungeon areas, rather than the open-world ones, even comparing its mood and visual identity to the Halo games, which makes sense considering staff who used to work on the series at 343 Industries have moved over to Metroid Prime 4 developer Retro.
Retro’s art design still rocks! Metroid Prime 4 is a visual stunner — and no framerate drops in sight. (Playing at 60fps right now — prefer visual clarity over 120fps, though it’s mighty nice on my LG M5, too) pic.twitter.com/X1ZswwPfAV
— Peer Schneider (@PeerIGN) December 4, 2025
“…Metroid Prime 4 is a technical marvel,” Vincent Acovino wrote over at NPR. “[…] Colors pop, light dances off surfaces, particles drift, and choir vocals layer on top of ambient soundscapes. What Nintendo has done here is a model that the rest of the industry needs to take note of. Great art and music should take priority over unnecessarily taxing graphical ‘innovations.’”
“Within each dungeon-like area to explore, Metroid Prime 4 shines, mixing tactile FPS exploration with gorgeous visuals and impeccable atmosphere,” Oscar Taylor-Kent said in the GamesRadar+ review.
Now that players have Metroid Prime 4 in their hands, some are praising the visuals, especially in those smaller, more focused spaces.
“Retro is a master of using mostly baked plus some tasteful dynamic lighting to achieve great visuals,” Reddit user threeinacorner wrote.
“You really need to see it on a highly capable OLED TV with really good HDR. I have the G3 and HDR on this game is GREAT,” SouthernGuy776 wrote in the same thread.
Overall, it sounds like the desert sections are Metroid Prime 4’s biggest eyesore, and that the bespoke areas Samus explores are much nicer to look at. That probably won’t stop the internet from taking a bad picture and running with it, though.
