Annoying Companions Are Going To Make Or Break Metroid Prime 4

It’s been almost two decades since the last Metroid Prime. The third game in the series, Corruption, arrived as a Nintendo Wii exclusive back in 2007, and aside from the occasional trilogy re-release or remaster, the first-person take on Samus Aran has been radio silent ever since.

Despite this absence, hardcore fans remain incredibly precious about how games in this series should look, play and feel. When Metroid Prime Remastered launched back in 2023, there was a concern that the visuals might be too heavily altered or mechanics may be simplified for modern audiences. All of these worries were for naught, but this time we may not be so lucky. It appears that the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be taking cues from modern blockbuster design that not everyone is going to like. Namely, it doesn’t know when to shut up.

Why Is Metroid Prime 4’s Companion So Annoying?

TheGamer — alongside many other media outlets — published an extensive hands-on preview for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond last week. For the most part, impressions seem positive, with praise being given to the visuals, initial atmosphere, and how Retro Studios is keeping the usual gameplay formula intact while adding to it with larger environments and psychic powers.

Considering the series has been away for so long, fans are likely curious to see a return to form, rather than some sort of radical reinvention. The gap, and massive popularity of the Switch era, also gives Nintendo an opportunity to introduce Samus Aran to a whole new generation of players. The less narrative baggage, the better, while we want the gameplay to feel much like it did back on the Wii (or as most of us remember it, on the GameCube).

I played a small part of the opening for myself, and that was the vibe I got right away. Except there is definitely more talking, with the storytelling seemingly featuring a number of NPCs with their own individual arcs alongside Samus herself. This could complicate things if the execution isn’t absolutely perfect, and the NPC the hands-on previews spent all their time with was far from perfect.

One of the sections experienced in this most recent preview build featured a character called Miles Mackenzie, an overly talkative dork who doesn’t know when to stop yapping. It’s a bizarre tonal shift for a series that has always been about exploring environments defined more by their sense of intergalactic melancholy rather than humans constantly chatting.

Mackenzie is always asking Samus to check her map, to save her game, or point out obvious things going on around the player that we can figure out for ourselves. His presence feels like a betrayal of the series’ core identity, all in pursuit of dumbing down its moment-to-moment gameplay, or at the very least making it more approachable for new players.

Recent trailers confirm that Mackenzie won’t be the only character that Samus encounters during the narrative, so chances are some of those will tag along with us as well. I respect the need for additional speaking roles in a grander narrative like this one, especially if you don’t want everything to be told from the perspective of a heroine who famously doesn’t talk, but it needs to be in-keeping with the already established tone.

Otherwise, it feels like an irritating MCU side character has suddenly found its way into a brooding space adventure in which there is no place for them. I’m still hopeful we’re judging this book by its cover though, and there is more to both this character and the grander plot than meets the eye.

What Does A Metroid Prime Game Look Like In 2025?

On the flipside, it’s important to remember that it has been almost two decades since the last Metroid Prime title, so Retro Studios and Nintendo likely have ambitions of how to evolve its gameplay and narrative in ways that cannot be parsed from a single preview.

We are lacking the wider context of Mackenzie’s role in the story, alongside how other supporting players like this are going to look and sound. Perhaps they only stand around to show us the ropes for a couple of hours or so before leaving Samus to her own devices, whisked away to handle big, crucial objectives through an elaborate cutscene.

That’s certainly how I’d approach it, because I know a lot of people are returning to Metroid Prime 4 for rewarding yet contemplative exploration where sinking into the unparalleled vibes is part of what makes these games so special.

Without that, and with an excess of dialogue or characters that betrays those atmospheric intentions, you are left with something that seems destined to disappoint. But would I rather see a tried-and-tested return to form that is afraid of taking risks in fear of upsetting the hardcore, or something that strikes a balance between old and new even if it makes a few mistakes along the way? Sign me up for the second.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Systems

Released

December 4, 2025

ESRB

Teen / Animated Blood, Violence

Developer(s)

Retro Studios

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

RUDE engine

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