4.5/5 ★ – HotHeadJared's review of Metroid Prime Remastered.

Metroid Prime Remastered Played on: Nintendo Switch Time to Beat: 17.5 hours Completion: 100% Metroid Prime Remastered was my first experience with a Metroid (or even Metroidvania style) game, and I got to say... I now understand why this genre is one of the most popular among gamers. I'm not quite sure that anything I have ever done in a game is quite as satisfying as unlocking a new ability, and then remembering somewhere in a sprawling map I can use it, booking it there, and then immediately being awarded with story progress or a permanent upgrade. Not only that, but this game uses 3D space in a way that I'm not sure I've seen many titles do, which is all the more impressive due to the fact that it's two decades old. This game also nails atmosphere in a way that I think very few games match. The music always fits the intensity and vibe of the area, and small details like fans constantly cooling off the magma area keep me immersed in this world. It's also just one of the better-looking Switch games in general. I will admit, I was concerned within the first half hour or so, because I thought that it was lame that the shooting mainly consisted of the game locking on for you. However, I now realize it allowed the developers to focus on fast paced movement, and strategy on how you attacked certain enemies, rather than failing into a boring gameplay loop like so many other FPS games do. My only negatives with the game revolve around the late game backtracking, and boss/enemy design. The worlds are too big to easily be traversed to where you need to go, and it definitely added a few unnecessary hours to my runtime. I also thought a lot of the late game pirate enemies (except the queen) were kind of boring and more obnoxious to kill then interesting. The final boss is excellent, and definitely a big upgrade from the penultimate boss. Overall, other than some minor frustrations Metroid Prime Remastered is an excellent way to experience what I now know as one of the all-time classics. It is so impressive that a game like this exists, especially for it releasing so shortly after the 3D games hit the market. Also, the grappling hook made this game at worst an 8/10.