A remaster of Metroid Prime was shadow dropped by Nintendo during last night’s Direct, and people are deeply impressed by it. This is a game fans of the Metroid series have been after for years, so to have it in their hands so suddenly is a fantastic moment for them.
Fans took to ResetEra to praise the remaster. ” I’m kinda blown away by the amount of work that has gone into this remaster,” wrote ghostcrew. “New geometry, new textures, new physics, new effects, AO updated etc. Visually, it’s essentially all new.”
People are saying “it’s closer to a Remake than a Remaster.” One user wrote, “it’s a remake in all but game/level design. everything you ‘see’ has been redone.” Based on gameplay videos and comparisons like the one below, it does feel hard not to call this a remake as every single object in the game does look like it was made from scratch.
As pointed out by Poltergust, “I’m guessing the reason they didn’t call it that is that the game is still the same underneath the new (and very pretty) coat of paint.” It is an absolutely stunning coat of paint. the game looked good even back on the GameCube, but the updated graphics are something else.
Like the original game, when you shoot your cannon in dark areas, light reflects Samus’ face on the inside of her visor, and the effect looks fantastic. It’s great to see the developers keeping these flourishes from the original. Some people have said it’s a bit weird you can see your reflection even when Samus is blinking, but others pointed out that you’re actually seeing a camera feed from inside the suit, rather than Samus’ direct POV. Also, imagine if every FPS game featured blinks, where your screen went dark for a split second dozens of times a minute. It would suck.
Another point that people are praising is the fact this remaster costs only £34.99. Nintendo is infamous for charging full price for its HD remasters, and with this Metroid Dread remaster looking like much more of a remake than just a remaster, it was natural to assume this game would have been far more expensive.
There are also improvements to the rain physics in the game. Now, when you raise your cannon arm, rain will rush towards your shoulder, and if you drop it down, it will drip off towards the barrel. It’s such a small detail but it adds a lot of texture to the game and makes the world feel more real. Rain is hard to get right in games, especially in remasters, but Metroid Prime has delivered.
