But Mr. Olney wasn't the only one to share his preliminary thoughts on the game today; quite the opposite, in fact! Other outlets have also had the chance to play through an early section of the game, and we've assembled the following round-up to see what a selection of them made of it.
We'll kick things off with Eurogamer, where the outlet's preview mirrored many of the same concerns as ours: the game looks and plays wonderfully, but gosh, that Trooper is annoying:
I enjoyed the puzzles, the shooting, and very much appreciated the game's control options and visual flair. A huge amount of trepidation about Metroid's usually glorious atmosphere being wrecked now runs through that anticipation, though, like lettering through a stick of seaside rock.
Things went much the same way in IGN's preview, too, where the gorgeous environments and classic puzzles were overshadowed by a chatty companion:
Classic Metroid Prime exploration and combat, an intriguing setup, gorgeous art direction, and great technical performance on Switch 2 are coming together to create an adventure that likely won’t redefine Metroid in any meaningful way – or live up to the unrealistic hype built by nearly a decade of waiting – but one that could serve as a great return for a subseries that hasn’t seen a new mainline entry in 18 years, as long as annoying sidekicks don’t keep getting in Samus’ way.
VGC's worries about these features ran even deeper, with the outlet's preview cautiously warning that the opening section "didn’t feel much like Metroid at all":
What Metroid Prime 4 is seemingly trying to be is a far less interesting, and more dated, type of first-person action game with none of the mood the series is known for.
It's not all doom and gloom, mind you. GameSpot didn't find Myles MacKenzie nearly as annoying as other outlets, even going as far as to call him "endearing", and instead focused much of the preview on Samus' cool new psychic powers:
Nintendo and Retro Studios appear to understand the fundamental core of what makes a Metroid Prime game, with satisfying exploration, tense combat puzzles, and meaningful new abilities that change how you look at the world.
GamesRadar+ felt a similar way, it seems, writing that Samus' companions and abilities might make for a nice surprise in the long run:
The Metroid Prime 4: Beyond demo I played, then, suggests an unexpected direction for the Metroid Prime series – possibly more whimsy than isolation. It's nothing like what I expected. But with the demanding life Samus has lived, I'm glad for all the butterflies she can get.
Wrapping things up, Polygon's preview remains optimistic, noting how, despite the new features, the game still feels distinctly Metroid:
Metroid Prime 4 is not just a rehash of Retro’s original run. It’s a tonal divergence, a bit sillier in places, a bit more gruesome in others. But Metroid Prime 4 still plays the series’ greatest hits.
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