Metroid Prime 4 kept one of its most controversial features because it was too late

The team behind Metroid Prime 4: Beyond revealed that the game center design was the result of a time in development hell. First announced in 2017, the latest in Retro Studio's Primary the franchise has been in development for so long and with so few updates that it has become a running joke among fans. The long development cycle seems to have taken its toll on the game design as well, as the team didn't want to delay things again to fix one of Metroid Prime 4: Beyondthe most controversial feature.

Although it received generally favorable reviews, Metroid Prime 4 is the lowest-rated main game in the series, continuing a trend of declining review scores with each release. The game was at 81 on Metacritic upon launch and has since dropped slightly to 78, and its user score of 8.2 is also the lowest in the series. One of the most common complaints was this Metroid Prime 4Open world access is declining and seems outdated to many, and now it's clear why that might be.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Review – The most disappointing video game experience I've ever had

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a beautiful action game, but otherwise it's hard to find many positive things about it.

Nintendo didn't give Metroid Prime 4 a proper open world because it took too long in development

In an interview with Famitsu, Nintendo shed some light Metroid Prime 4development, including how its long delay affected its world design. Originally, the team was inspired by how Breath of the Wild started a new generation of open world Zelda games and wanted to incorporate similar elements into them Metroid. At the same time, the developers thought that the freedom of a fully open world did not mesh with the core mechanics Metroid Prime the series became famous. As a compromise, Nintendo opted for a central, semi-open hub surrounded by more linear areas, but by the time they realized the tides had changed and modern gamers now valued open worlds more than ever, development had taken too long.

Nintendo Confirms Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Timeline Position

As Nintendo says, “players' perception of open-world games changed” after Retro Studios took over the game. But since the team had already rebooted once, “retro-development was out of the question”, so they stuck with their older approach of combining open world with classic Metroid gameplay. The desire not to delay the game again is understandable, considering that there was an 18-year gap between them Metroid Prime 4 and the last major title, but the decision to keep the older, even outdated, world design may not have gone in Nintendo's favor.

Some fans haveE he said Metroid Prime 4 feels like a one-way nostalgia trip while strongly evoking the first three Metroid Prime games, but his adherence to those elements is also one of the biggest things holding him back. The design of the hub world may not have been so contentious back in 2017 when Nintendo first announced the title, although it's impossible to say for sure, but the extra time hasn't helped. Games and people's expectations of them have changed a lot since then, so the linear, limited exploration that once might have seemed like a throwback is now stuck in the past.

metroid prime 4 to save the galactic federation soldiers

Nintendo admitted in an interview that shooters and action games are now faster than they were in 2017, contradicting the classic Metroid the rhythm of unlocking areas by upgrading Samus' abilities. It's unclear whether the team will incorporate what it learned from the experience in its next game. Rumor has it Metroid Prime 5 will begin development soon if it hasn't already, but fans likely won't hear anything about it until it does.