An exemplary restoration. The remaster smooths the controls without betraying the original, and Tallon IV's lonely atmosphere still grips you. Scanning the environment can slow the pace, but the aiming and exploration have aged beautifully.
Your verdict
Category
First-Person Shooter1 player12+
Description
Samus Aran investigates the Phazon-infested planet Tallon IV from a first-person view. Published by Nintendo, released worldwide in 2023. A full remaster of the GameCube classic with modern aiming, the scan visor, the Morph Ball and a lonely, atmospheric world.
Metroid Prime Remastered review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Tallon IV breathes isolation: reflections on the visor, rain beading on the HUD, alien ruins bathed in cold light. The remaster polishes every texture without diluting the original's oppressive mood, proving that careful sci-fi design simply doesn't age.
Kenji Yamamoto's compositions, re-orchestrated for this version, blend glacial ambient with electronic accents to dress the solitude of Tallon IV. The Phendrana theme, its crystalline choir over snow, remains an atmospheric high point. Tense or contemplative depending on the ruins being explored, the music wraps Samus's isolation with an elegance that hasn't aged.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Sharpened aiming, locations that tell a story on their own: the remaster modernizes the feel without touching what made Tallon IV great. The scanner sometimes slows the pace but rewards curiosity. The looping level design, with its backtracking and shooting puzzles, keeps an elegance few shooters still reach.
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Captivating"
Difficulty
"Easy"
Lifespan
"Long"
Technical info
💾3 GB📅08/02/2023
Published by Nintendo
Metroid Prime Remastered (Nintendo Switch) price, value & rarity
Scanning turns every colossus into a puzzle: spotting a weak point, swapping visors and matching the right beam paces duels where observation matters as much as reflex. The Omega Pirate harasses, Thardus endlessly rebuilds itself, and Meta Ridley caps the climb. The oppressive solitude lends these fights a rare, simmering tension.
A cult cover
Emerging from darkness, Samus Aran raises her arm cannon, its glow the only light to cut the black. The cold blue and the isolation of the composition convey the dread of solitary exploration that defines the series. Spare and threatening, the image distills a pared-down sci-fi tension that lingers in the mind.
Is Metroid Prime Remastered still worth playing in 2026?
Metroid Prime Remastered proves that great design does not age. This remake keeps the oppressive isolation and contemplative pace of the original while modernising the aiming and clarity. Tallon IV remains a model of environmental storytelling told through places rather than dialogue, and the scanner rewards curiosity. The looping level design, its backtracking and shooting puzzles, retains all its elegance. The Switch strains a little on certain effects, yet the whole runs cleanly and looks gorgeous. For anyone who has never touched the series, this is likely the best entry point available today.
