Metroid Prime 4 & The Illusion of Choice

After 8 years of development, Metroid Prime 4 proves that not every game is a perfect fit for an open world. Having spent 8 years in development, the initial excitement of Metroid Prime 4's announcement gradually made way for concern, as its development was eventually restarted with Retro Studios at the helm - followed by years without updates. Though its eventual re-announcement was met with much excitement, expectations continued to mount higher and higher as time passed - especially after the reveal that it would be the latest of Nintendo's releases to feature an open-ended area, reminiscent of the open-world seen in Breath of the Wild. With many still questioning the inclusion of this "open world" in Metroid Prime 4, how well does it actually integrate into the series' typical "lock and key" style of progression? Did Retro figure out a way of marrying open-ended progression with closed level design, or is the final result a shallow attempt to cash in on the success of open-world games like Breath of the Wild? Though this video aims to explore the implementation of this open-world hub area in Metroid Prime 4, one thing is clear for certain: Metroid Prime 4 is not worse than Metroid: Other M. Y'all are actually wild for saying that, I can't even front. It's not even the most disappointing game of 2025; that "honor" still goes to Monster Hunter Wilds. TWITTER:   / axelayer   THUMBNAIL ART BY:   / jeffmiga1   Special thanks to Kuri for providing additional feedback on the script! Anti-thanks to Kensuke Tanabe for doing so many Metroid Prime 4 interviews that I had to rework this video midway through production! CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 03:57 - Prime 4's Early Hours 06:54 - Heavily restricted progression 09:29 - Sol Valley: The "Open World" 12:12 - Prime 4's Troubled Development 15:50 - Two Mismatched Halves 18:57 - Prime 4's Strong Points 22:07 - Conclusion 25:42 - [ENDCARD] MUSIC USED: 'Dark World Jazz' by Gux (OCRemix; original song is Dark World from LttP) Hyper Diver (Splatoon 3) Hi, Guys! (Phantasy Star Online: Episode III C.A.R.D. Revolution) GLOBAL INSIGHTER (.45 Parabellum Bloodhound) Optimal State Drive (.45 Parabellum Bloodhound) Sea World/The Ocean Floor (Mario Artist: Paint Studio) Maiden's Pantheon ~ The Forum (Hell Maiden) Phantom (Kaze no Notam, Track 03) Solitude (Kaze no Notam, Track 06) Daioujou -＞ Daifukkatsu -＞ Saidaioujou! (Dodonpachi Saidaioujou) SOURCES CITED IN THIS VIDEO: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r... #Metroid #Nintendo #NintendoSwitch