Did anyone else assume that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was always going to be a launch title? It sure felt like Nintendo was positioning it as one in the months leading up to release as we received lengthy gameplay trailers and showcases that explored how exactly it would be making use of the Switch 2’s mouse controls. It’s even talked about in Welcome Tour as if the game was already going to be in our hands by now.
Earlier this week, adverts for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond were spotted throughout the London Underground with the words ‘Out Now’ emblazoned upon them. That means these posters were likely printed, approved, and distributed before a last-minute delay was made.
All of the above suggests Samus Aran’s long-awaited return was once pencilled in for the Switch 2 launch. What happened, and how different would our reaction to the Switch 2 have been if it wasn’t unceremoniously pushed back?
Metroid Prime 4’s Apparent Delay Was A Huge Blow To Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World is the only game worth playing in the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch line-up, since it’s the only game in the Switch 2’s launch line-up. It is an incredible experience, arguably the best in the long-running series, which maintains a classic formula while simultaneously expanding on it via its open world, cool new mechanics, and a willingness to try bold things I never expected it to. But beyond costing $80, it’s awfully hard to justify a $450 console with just a single game to play on it.
There are others, technically, such as the mediocre Welcome Tour (which is barely a game) and third-party ports like Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman, Fantasy Life i, and a healthy handful of others. But aside from the remaster of Bravely Default, which is coming to other platforms in the future anyway, and stellar updates for existing Switch titles, there wasn’t much on offer here. It was slim, and if we want to be seriously critical, not good enough. Metroid Prime 4 could have altered that perception entirely by satiating hardcore fans and showing more casual consumers exactly how Switch 2 stands out from what came before. For one, it plays like a dream in Mouse Mode.
There is also Drag x Drive, another Switch 2 exclusive that makes excellent use of mouse controls and is suspiciously missing in action. Why wasn’t that a launch title?
Out of every single game I played during the Nintendo Switch 2 Showcase, Metroid Prime 4 presented this hybrid approach more than any other. I played on a desk with all the room I needed to shift between traditional and mouse controls in seconds, and I couldn’t quite believe how well it worked. No going into the pause menu to change controls or having to drastically change how I was holding each controller. All I had to do was place one of the Joy-Con onto a flat surface, and all of a sudden it was playing like a shooter on PC.
And It Could Have Transformed How We View Mouse Controls On Switch 2
You can switch between them in a matter of seconds, and both methods work like a dream. Metroid Prime 4 relies heavily on its lock-on system to dispatch enemies for the most part, but its puzzles and platforming are more engaging with an accurate cursor to move around the screen.
It’s a simple yet effective showcase of mouse controls that the Switch 2 desperately needed. Your average Joe isn’t going to navigate the home screen in this way or get far enough into Welcome Tour to care, and I would rather take a bath with scorpions if it means not having to play Cyberpunk 2077 at 30 frames per second using a mouse.
Metroid Prime 4 was also advertised with the same Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade path found in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, giving me the impression it had plans to exist between generations, much like those games did. Fans who had been waiting years for it to finally arrive but couldn’t afford a console upgrade could still enjoy it, but those who took the plunge were going to have a better experience. It would not only have moved hardware, but it’s the ideal companion to Mario Kart World with a different vibe, audience, and things to prove.
But it was nowhere to be seen, and my naive assumptions that it was going to launch with the Switch 2 were ultimately met with a disappointing whimper. Yet the surfacing of pretty blatant posters in one of the biggest Nintendo markets in the world has me thinking this was once the plan. Switch 2 was likely meant to launch with Metroid Prime 4, and upon learning that, I am now convinced it’s closer to finally breaking cover than ever.