Latest news with #MetroidPrime4
Metro
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Games Inbox: Has the Nintendo Switch 2 been a disappointment?
The Thursday letters page thinks that the power of a console has become irrelevant, as one middle-aged reader loses their enthusiasm for gaming. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Post-launch verdict After having a few weeks to think about it, I'm afraid to say that I'm pretty disappointed with the Switch 2. Or rather, I am impressed by the console itself, and have no complaints about that, but everything else connected to it seems so low effort. Mario Kart World is a good game, but the free roam stuff is pretty bad and whether Nintendo has more planned for it or not, they haven't said anything so that's hardly an excuse. The real problem is there's literally nothing else going on with the console, except for Donkey Kong next month. The only exciting game after that is Metroid Prime 4, which is a Switch 1 game that was going to come out this year whether the Switch 2 was out or not. We know nothing of their future plans for any of their big franchise (even the Splatoon game was just a spin-off) and incredibly there's no sign of a new Mario game or any hope for more Zelda this decade. Given how time and goodwill was on Nintendo's side with this, they really have fumbled the ball. Focus Do it yourself I agree with readers complaining that the games industry is in a very dark place at the moment, with constant layoffs and another new round looming at Xbox. The only positive I can hope for from this is if it pushes more developers towards setting up their own indie studios and kissing goodbye to the traditional publisher system. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. You often hear about ultra low budget indie games selling in the multiple millions and yet AAA games, that must've cost 100 times more to make, still only sell around the same amount. Admittedly, indie games are almost always cheaper but even so, the profits on them must be enormous. Sure, you won't be working with state of the art graphics anymore, but surely that's a small price to pay for owning everything yourself, getting all the money, and getting to make whatever you want. Frampton Faux-Zero I'm not a massive WipEout fan but I thought I'd give Fast Fusion a go on Switch 2, as it was only £15, and I've been amazed by it. It looks fantastic and plays great, with some great track design. In fact, I think it looks better that a lot of games on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. There's an update this week as well, that's going to add more tracks and features. Only thing missing is online play, but the four player splitscreen is great. Also, there is a GameShare option that allows my daughter to play on her original Switch with me and I can't believe how good it works, seeing the game run on her Switch is like magic. More games need to add this feature. So, for £15 this is a steal, I look forward to what the devs do next. Rob Email your comments to: gamecentral@ Games before merch I see the new Donkey Kong and Pauline amiibo is in stock to pre-order on Nintendo Store UK for £16.99. I am tempted to buy it but I was planning to buy a new gaming PC in August and a deluxe edition of Metal Gear Solid Delta for PlayStation 5, so will have to put it on my wishlist. Andrew J. PS: I have just heard about this game, but I don't remember GameCentral reviewing it, it is called BZZZT. It's a platformer from 2023 and it looks amazing and has got a very positive rating on Steam. What is GameCentral's opinion of it? GC: We've never heard of it before, but it looks a lot like Super Meat Boy. Death stranded I'm not sure how big a franchise Death Stranding is but I notice no one around here has been talking about it and that seems to follow for everywhere else I see online. Maybe the algorithm knows I don't like it, but it looks like a really expensive game, especially with all those Hollywood actors in it, but I'm really not sure how it's making its money back. Like you say, I admire Hideo Kojma's ability to talk people into funding him, and then making whatever he wants, but at some point aren't these same people going to want a return on their investment? If a sequel to Death Stranding was meant to be a surefire hit I think there's going to be some disappointment… Lambo Unlimited power I think the concept of the power of a console (or a PC GPU for that matter) has shifted massively since the release of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. PlayStation recognised this with PS5 Pro and dipped their toe in the water with AI upscaling, but being tied to AMD meant they had to (co-?) develop their own hardware-accelerated algorithm in PSSR, which inevitably led to some teething issues. Now that FSR 4 is available (and may even be implemented on PS5 Pro in future) I expect this to be a key feature of both the PlayStation 6 and the Windows NeXtbox One. While AMD still lag behind Nvidia in this regard, FSR 4 is a huge step-up in image quality compared to what's available on PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X, and should have a similar impact to DLSS 3/4 on Switch 2: achieving much better image quality over the current generation consoles even if the GPU and CPU upgrades seem fairly modest on paper. Throw in hardware-accelerated ray tracing support and maybe even frame generation and we'll get some very capable consoles which hopefully won't break the bank. But probably will. Magnumstache PS: Quite interested in Tempest Rising – PC only at the moment but looks like a fun throwback real-time strategy, released back in April. Infinite Pass I was receiving Game Pass for free once upon a time, I think I concluded that it was an ex-girlfriend who liked her choice games and so created her own profile on my Xbox. When we separated a good while later she got her own Xbox and Game Pass, so I assumed it was still tied to the account she had on my Xbone. I only realised when my subscription ran out, but I kept receiving it! Out of guilt I had to resubscribe and strangely it didn't work on the Xbox Series X, but for all I know it could still be running on the Xbone. big boy bent Gaming midlife crisis I wrote in a few weeks back about how good the Sony State of Play amazed me. I'm a VVVVV long time reader, since before you became Digitiser (there was something else before that.) I'm 50 and have been gaming since I got an Atari 2600 for Xmas in 1980. You wouldn't believe how games have progressed since Adventure, Pac-Man, and Asteroids. Graphics and worlds are so amazing you couldn't wish for anything else but I now find myself in a bit of a gaming rut, in that everything that is made has a sword or gun or whatever else is the best method of killing something or someone, with super duper million pound graphics. What has happened to the creative ingenuity of our past time? Why is it that everything that's released I have to slaughter something? Fetch this, get that, and hope I don't get killed? I know Nintendo do cutsey have-fun games but where has this all gone on the other consoles? I've looked and looked at indie games but nothing takes my fancy; Concrete Genie, walking simulators?! (I'll go for a walk myself!). The amazing ideas that were around during the Amiga/Atari ST time have been sidelined for blow anything up or footy or racing, that's it. This drive for fab graphics and a myriad of different ways of making something die or drive here and do this is all a bit too much. I know profit margins and risk aversion is at play, but come on, stop releasing the same sort of stuff all the time and let's have a bit of imagination (even though it don't sell). Rant over, just after 40 odd years of making games we only now get the same four or five genres?! Sad times from what we all imagined as kids. Indiegaz (PSN ID) GC: Concrete Genie was six years ago and walking sim is a derogatory term for games with no action elements, they're not literally about walking. Based on your comments, we'd recommend indie games such as the excellent Blue Prince or Citizen Sleeper 2. Inbox also-ransSo happy to see Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 do well. It really is the feel good success story of the year and well deserved too. Benson Time Crisis? Now there's a name I haven't heard in a very long time. If they can make it work on modern TVs though I'm interested. Just do Gunblade NY afterwards! Maxo More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Will the PS6 be the most powerful console ever? MORE: Games Inbox: Do video game exclusives still matter? MORE: Games Inbox: Is Mario Kart World better than Mario Kart 8?
Metro
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Metroid Prime 4 advert on London tube confuses everyone with 'out now' sticker
An advert for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond claims it has already been released, fuelling hope for a surprise announcement. The Nintendo Switch 2 launch line-up might be lacking in first party titles, but the roadmap for the rest of the year could still make up for it. Donkey Kong Bananza is set to launch next month, while Kirby Air Riders, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond are all slated for 2025. However, the latter, which is a cross-gen release with the original Switch, still doesn't have a release date. For anyone anticipating Samus Aran's next gallivant through space, a new poster on the London Underground might just give you a jump scare. At the Oxford Circus station, an advert for Metroid Prime 4 is emblazoned with an 'out now' sticker – despite the fact it most definitely isn't. This has prompted wild speculation of an imminent shadow drop, and while we all like to dream, this is much more likely to just be an unfortunate mistake than a secret hint. The advert is part of a string of Switch 2 adverts across the tube station, alongside Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. The latter has the correct release date of July 17, while Mario Kart World has the same 'out now' sticker in the exact same position as on Metroid Prime 4's poster, suggesting it could be a copy and paste error. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Even if a shadow drop is unlikely, the poster does imply the game will be released over the summer (and that those not mentioned, such as Hyrule Warriors, are later in the year). The only other game advertised is Super Mario Party Jamboree TV, which is set to be released on July 27, so there's a chance Metroid could land in August. More Trending Metroid Prime 4 is set to launch on the original Switch as well as the Switch 2, but this advert doesn't make any mention of that fact. The upgraded Switch 2 edition will have mouse controls, HDR support, 4K resolution when docked, and run up to 120fps. It's unclear when Nintendo could announce the game's release date, but considering it recently just unveiled a Splatoon spin-off out of the blue, via its Nintendo Today! app, it could happen at any moment. Earlier this week, Nintendo dedicated an entire Direct presentation to Donkey Kong Bananza, where it revealed a young Pauline, new costumes, and a mode inspired by Mario Paint. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Games Inbox: What is the hardest video of modern times? MORE: NetEase game Blood Message may have the best video game graphics ever MORE: You can buy one of the best games ever for the price of an ice lolly
Digital Trends
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Possessor(s) has all the makings of a strong Metroidvania already
By the time 2025 ends, we may be looking at a major year for the Metroidvania genre. Hollow Knight: Silksong is slated to hit sometime this year, as is Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Both could stand to shake a well-trodden genre up in exciting ways. While those are the biggest games on the horizon, there's another Metroidvania that should be on your radar to: Possessor(s), the latest game from Hyper Light Drifter studio Heart Machine. It promises to infuse a familiar action-adventure format with the developer's signature style. Ahead of its release later this year, I played the first 45 minutes of Possessor(s) to get a sense of how Heart Machine is tackling the Metroidvania genre. There aren't any major overhauls here yet, as the slice I played had some familiar ideas that brought me back to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Instead, it more feels like it's collecting as many good ideas as possible, executing them well, and tossing them all in a mysterious world that I'm eager to explore deeper. That may be all it needs to stand out. Possessor(s) opens with an explosion. A bomb goes off in a mega city and Luca, the adventure's hero, is left crawling out of the rubble. I mean that literally, as her legs have been blasted off. I drag her bloody torso across the floor until I meet a demon who offers to fix me if I help them on their own journey. It's a deal with the devil that the legless Luca doesn't have much of a choice. Soon enough, she's back up and running, exploring the ruins of the city and trying to learn about the corporation that may be to blame. Recommended Videos I've only gotten teases into the story so far, which combines technology and demons, but it has a strong pull. The 2D environments are littered with abandoned machinery, corporate advertising, and an occasionally computer terminal filled with emails. It looks as though there's a strong anticapitalist undertone brewing under a supernatural horror story. That tonal pairing gives Possessor(s) a unique darkness that I want to dig into more. That tone hangs over what's an otherwise straightforward side-scroller so far, though that's not a knock against it. Within my first 30 minutes, I accumulate a whole bunch of abilities that build out what Luca can do. First, I get a melee weapon that I can use to perform basic slashing combos. Later, I'm able to add a perk onto those, which gives me a bit of a movement speed increase. Luca can equip up to three secondary special attacks too, which take advantage of the setting. The one I found let me use a discarded computer mouse like a bludgeoning yo-yo. Fights are all a bit basic at first, but the complexity starts to build gradually. I eventually get a grapple that lets me swing off of specified points in the environment. It takes me a few minutes to realize that I can shoot that at enemies too and yank them towards me. I unlock a parry at the end of my demo too, letting me knock projectiles back at enemies. None of this is particularly new, of course, but it all goes to good use in some tough fights. The climax of my demo had me fighting a berserk corporate worker who thoroughly thrashed me. I had to act carefully, dashing and slashing to avoid its sentient briefcase that wanted to take a bite out of me. Combat very much feels like it's cut from Hollow Knight's cape, but the movement feels more in line with Prince of Persia. It's a movement heavy platformer that has me wall jumping up decaying structures, swinging off of abandoned cranes, and air dashing through security walls. That makes for some reliable Metroidvania exploration that has me chaining movements together to find secret keys, weapon perks, and upgrade currency. There's still room to smooth the feel of it out here, as I found myself getting stuck to the side of walls a little too easily. It's a little stiff at present. If all of that sounds a little par for the course, it is. This doesn't so much feel like Heart Machine trying to upend the genre so much as put its stamp on it. The biggest place that it stands out is in art direction, as it all unfolds in a dark and moody 2D world that still somehow feels colorful. There's a minimalistic art style being used here that allows neon color splashes to stand out among a sea of rubble. It's the same kind of style that I loved in Hyper Light Drifter and it adapts to a side-scroller quite well so far. Hopefully that will be enough to help it stand out amongst other genre giants looking to launch later this year. It'll be a fight for attention, but Possessor(s) is making all the right moves. Possessor(s) launches later this year for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Metro
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Games Inbox: Are you getting a Nintendo Switch 2 next week?
The Friday letters worries about what Elden Ring Nightreign means for The Duskbloods, as one reader fears for the future of Codemasters. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ The big decision If this is shown on Thursday we'll be exactly a week away from the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and I still haven't decided whether I want it or not. Ignoring the problem of whether you can find one or not I'm still not decided. It's a lot of money and I'm not really interested in anything this year but Mario Kart and Metroid Prime 4. Admittedly, they probably will be two amazing games but it's always difficult with a new console, knowing when to pull the trigger and trying to be strong enough to resist the fear of missing out. My gut feeling is that I'll cave in within the next couple of days, but I guess I'll see. I do wish Nintendo would reveal more about Metroid Prime 4 though, as I feel we haven't heard much about it yet. If we had more info/footage I'd feel a bit more confident about spending all that money for a day one purchase. Spooner Bad omen I'm not surprised to see the mostly negative reviews for Elden Ring Nightreign, from the more reliable sources, and I agree that it must've started out as DLC. I can't be too angry, because it's at least not too expensive, but it does harm FromSoftware's reputation and seems to overall be a waste of time. More than that though, it makes me worry about The Duskbloods. I'm sure that's a bigger budget affair but some of the problems with Nightreign, like needing a super skilled and committed team to play with, are not things that can be fixed with more budget, they're just fundamentally bad ideas brought on by From's dedication to difficult games. That's fine when you're only wasting your own time, but I don't see how it's ever going to work in multiplayer if you're working in a team. I guess we'll see but I don't have a good feeling about it. Tacle Change of plans It's felt like EA has wanted to back out of making these Marvel games almost as soon as they got the licence. I bet the only reason they're carrying on with the Iron Man one is because it's further along, and the games industry is a big believer in the sunk cost fallacy. Although, to be fair, the Black Panther plot did sound pretty bad. T'Challa has been kidnapped by Skrulls and you have to play as a bunch of other people, including his son. But… why? Why couldn't they just do a normal story with you playing as him? It's not like the character has been removed from the comics, it's only the MCU where it's a problem. Or maybe that was a genius set-up and we'll just never know. If I was anyone at EA working on a licensed game though, I'd be polishing up my CV right about now, because the second the third Star Wars Jedi game is done they're going to jettison all those people into space too. So you can forget all your hopes about Battlefield 3. Hanson Email your comments to: gamecentral@ Disobeying orders I have received an email from GAME saying my Switch 2 order has been cancelled as payment 'was not able to complete successfully'. So initially I think, did I enter my details incorrectly? But no, I did enter the details correctly, so all a bit odd. I checked and it appears this is happening to other GAME pre-orders as well. GAME would not have been my first choice for pre-order, and I am aware of their HQ closing, but they were one of the few retailers with stock when I ordered. Silly me, yes. GAME's online help is useless, and I can't even get into my account with GAME to review the order, so assume it is now cancelled. Have any other GC readers had their pre-orders cancelled by GAME? Mawgan PS: Just an update – GAME have posted on their Facebook and Twitter feeds about the (what looks like) widespread cancellation of Switch 2 pre-orders. GC: Yep, unfortunately it's a pretty widespread problem. Second edition I am interested in getting Fantasy Life i and whilst it seems to be getting a good reception, I haven't seen any reviews from websites I trust. Will you guys be reviewing it? I find your reviews the most informative and always use them when weighing up a new gaming purchase. I am considering getting Fantast Life i as a Switch 2 launch title but was hoping to read your thoughts before committing. Separately, I can't believe it's only a week until the Switch 2 launch now. I got my pre-order in early from Amazon and I am very excited to play Mario Kart World, as well as the hopefully many other great Nintendo games to come over the next few years. Pigfish2 (PSN ID/NN ID) GC: Thank you. If we get a chance we'll try and look at the Switch 2 Edition, but it's not actually confirmed to be a launch title in the UK yet – even though we suspect it will be. Double launch I really think we have to be ultra conservative when it comes to expectations about Nintendo at Sumer Game Fest. In my opinion, the chances of them showing anything at a Geoff Keighley event when they'll probably have their own a week later is minuscule. The worst thing is that everyone is going to get worked up into imagining all these amazing new reveals and the 'secret Christmas game' and then blame Nintendo for not announcing it, even though they never promised anything. I agree that the most likely outcome will be nothing but a montage and a bit of on-stage banter. If we're really lucky we'll get a hint at a new game for next year but nothing else. They're not going to announce a big new game out of nowhere for this year because there's not the time to build up the hype for it and, most importantly, they'll still be pushing Mario Kart World by the time it gets to Christmas. June is a weird time to launch a console for a reason. Very few people are spending money on consoles at that time of the year so really this autumn is going to be the second launch of the Switch 2 and there's no need to complicate that with another big game, when most non-gamers will barely, if it all, be aware the console exists until they start thinking about presents for the year. Casper Physical treasureJust a quick message to say Metro Redux 2033 is free on Xbox until May 30th. It is not currently free on PlayStation Store, unfortunately. Andrew J. PS: Just seen recently you can pre-order Another Crab's Treasure physical version on Amazon and iam8bit. I've been waiting to pick this up on physical for PlayStation 5, after GameCentral's good review of the game a while back. I'm in danger So it sounds like Codemasters is going to shut down by EA, just a few years after they outbid Take-Two for them, for a $1.2 billion. So… what was the point of that? I imagine the Codemasters' driving games are pretty consistent in sales – they're always high quality and the audience is always there – so what was EA expecting? What it probably means is that Codies has just been sacrificed to ensure EA's graphs keep pointing up (there was already talk about 'growth' in the story) after EA Sports FC 25 and Apex Legends didn't do so well. You don't need me to tell you how shortsighted and dumb this is but what happens next year when they also need to show growth? They keep doing it and they'll soon have no one left to make any of their games. They already publish far fewer than they used to, so if something big like EA Sports FC even just underperforms the whole company is in trouble, as we see. Ubisoft are already on the edge of the cliff, EA are going to be half the size they used to be if they keep this up… the truth is the triple-A video games business is dying and it's so far gone I don't think anything can help it now. Imagine a future where the only independent publisher is Take-Two, because they've got GTA, and everyone else is either owned by someone else or is basically an indie publisher. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad in itself but just look how far we've fallen! Focus Inbox also-ransMaybe I've missed something but why is it called Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Seems a pretty bad name to me, if no one knows what it means. Ansel GC: We don't think they've ever said exactly but it seems to be to do with tournament ranking (starting at Z and going up to A) and as a reference to the legendary pokémon Zygarde. Little heads up but Hasbro are releasing a line of figures based on Marvel characters from Marvel Vs. Capcom and they look dead on. No Capcom characters but you should be able to find plenty of them in the same scale. Gorf More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: When will the new Tomb Raider be revealed? MORE: Games Inbox: What review score will Mario Kart Worlds get? MORE: Games Inbox: Are video games too expensive on console and PC?
Business Insider
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
When Is the Next Nintendo Direct?
It's been a little over a month since the last Nintendo (NTDOF) Direct, and gamers are starting to wonder when the next Direct will be. New rumors claim that Nintendo plans to release its next Direct around the same time as the Switch 2's launch, which is scheduled for June 5, 2025. Confident Investing Starts Here: According to these rumors, Nintendo plans to release the Direct the same week as the Switch 2's launch, or during the following week. If true, this would likely provide gamers and investors with more details about the company's upcoming games. While Nintendo revealed many details about Switch 2 games, such as the release dates for Mario Kart World Tour and Donkey Kong Bananza, others, like Metroid Prime 4, still don't have launch dates. A new direct could include this information while also showing new gameplay footage to build excitement for upcoming games during the Switch 2's release. Analysts Remain Bullish Ahead of the Switch 2's Release Three analysts updated their coverage of Nintendo stock last week as the company's new console launch is just around the corner. Four-star Benchmark Co. analyst Mike Hickey reiterated a Buy rating and increased his price target to $91.18 from $82.77, representing a potential 10.86% upside. Citi analysts Tokiya Baba maintained a Buy rating, but cut their NTDOF price target to $92.58 from $98.20, suggesting a 12.57% upside. J.P. Morgan analyst Junko Yamamura kept a Buy rating and raised her price target to $107.31 from $93.99, implying a 30.47% upside. Is NTDOF Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Nintendo is Moderate Buy, based on seven Buy, one Hold, and one Sell rating over the last three months. With that comes an average NTDOF stock price target of $89.45, representing a potential 8.75% upside for the shares.
