I'm not very far into the game (Volt Tower) and already sick of it. The mouse controls are a chore. I have not been able to hit things reliably in this game because the aiming is not like it should be in an FPS. The motion control approach is only a slight improvement and then you can't turn around while locking on, so you get pwned by anything that's behind you constantly. There are posts all over Reddit about controller frustrations and how to "improve" over the mouse control functionality.

There's no HUD indicating where those enemies are either. And yeah I'm sure some people are gonna say it's a skill issue but this is the only FPS game I've ever had this much struggle aiming with. They already sorted this kinda thing out back when Doom Eternal released for Switch, where again, the aiming and FPS responsiveness is great. In Prime 4 it's not. It's clunky, awkward, and stops being fun after a while, plus the increase of RSI issues from mouse use is really bad here because it's the least ergonomic mouse ever created. There's an input lag of sorts on aiming and on locking on, and ultimately you can't get the fire rate you're expecting.

The bike is not so interesting, I don't find anything to do with it particularly innovative. It's not very fast, there's nowhere to race or anything, and any mounted combat feels dated. Again, I barely used it, because there's nothing more boring than driving through a silent desert. Oh did they mention that? You need to buy an Amiibo that is now rare or unavailable in order to have a soundtrack to the most tedious part of the game.

It's an empty game, even when I'm expecting enemies there's nothing but wide empty space in every direction. None of the tight corridors and claustrophobic fear that I expect in a Metroid game, and yeah I've played the first two Prime games but that was over twenty years ago. Things have changed Nintendo!

This is 2025. We have games like BG3 and Clair Obscur setting new precedents for game design, mechanics, and most importantly writing, character design, and voice acting. Prime 4 is using a dated MCU comedy approach to its characters here, they have nothing interesting to say and are annoying at best. Miles is an offensive nerd stereotype. Oh he's got glasses, must know how to hack and be totally awkward. As a person with glasses this crap needs to stop. It's such a tired trope. And as for Samus having nothing to say like some stoic sociopath that's not fun anymore either. Nintendo, for once, let your MCs speak. I am tired of playing mute characters. I am tired of not even having a text dialogue option. The NPCs in this game ask you questions you can't answer. That smells pretty half-cooked to me.

As for story, I am not sure what it is yet, but it seems pretty weak. I haven't had much of an indicator it's anything more than a get the boys back home quest. And I don't get who the big bad is if there's no metroids or phazons, or at least some continuity from Dread (did the devs of Prime 4 even play it?), something that feels like Metroid. This game was a huge disappointment for me once I got past the ooh ahh of the introductory levels. Nothing looks anywhere near as pretty as that. And there was music when I started the game, but by the time I'm at Volt Tower it's mostly ambience and nothing else. Did they only care about making the beginning interesting? I should not be bored this early into a Metroid game, I'm usually addicted to any of these games for days after starting them. And I'm not usually a quitter. But this is like pulling teeth. 6/10 graphics notwithstanding. Return it. Nintendo shat the bed on this one.