I distinctly remember the outcry when Metroid Prime was first revealed on the GameCube. “Metroid isn’t a first-person shooter!” the people cried, comparing it to Xbox’s Halo that released a year prior. Metroid Prime was a first-person . It didn’t need twin-stick controls. It had a lock-on instead!
Over time, though, the Prime series has moved closer into first-person shooter territory as its controls have evolved. Metroid Prime 3 used the Wii’s motion controls to have players aiming directly at the screen, in a move meant to provide the precision of PC mouse controls but were actually a bit fiddly. This was replicated in the console’s re-release of the complete trilogy. Then, with Metroid Prime Remastered, twin-stick controls were properly implemented and proved to be the smoothest method of play after all. (Let’s just ignore Metroid: Other M and its dreadful Wiimote aiming)
Now we have Metroid Prime 4 on the way to Switch 2, yet another game in the series with experimental controls. For this one, Nintendo has implemented mouse capability. Flipping the Joy-Con 2 on its side and placing it down on a surface allows players to use it like a mouse, moving the on-screen cursor to aim and shoot directly just like on PC. It’s one of the few areas of innovation with the new console and it would appear Metroid Prime 4 is a key example to show it off. I got to try it out for myself at Nintendo’s Switch 2 event in London, but I’m not yet convinced it’s the best way to play.
In terms of pure shooting, mouse controls do offer a welcome level of speed and accuracy not yet seen in a Metroid game. Of course, this isn’t a game for popping off head shots, but turning and shooting does feel fast and smooth, especially in 120fps performance mode. And it feels like the game has been built for this kind of aiming. You can still lock-on to enemies with the left trigger, but then use mouse controls to delicately refine the aiming. The boss at the end of the demo – a hulking, tank-like space pirate that unleashes shockwaves with a stomp – has players locking on to its body, but then aiming at specific weak points away from the centre. Those points aren’t always vulnerable, meaning careful shots are required. Likewise, there are doors that require four locks to be shot while locked on – similar to past games, but clearly designed around these controls. At the very least, this setup proves Switch 2 is capable of near-PC levels of accuracy in FPS games…to a degree.