March 2025 Nintendo Direct, and there's a lot to get excited about. From the many intriguing mysteries that occupy the Planet Viewros, to the game's absolutely stunning visuals, Metroid Prime 4 had plenty of time to tease what it has to offer. Not only was the game one of the highlights of the presentation, but its comprehensive trailer also helped assure me that Metroid Prime 4 will almost certainly live up to the anticipation that it has accumulated over several years.

While I was in awe of everything that was shown during the most recent trailer for Metroid Prime 4, there was one new addition that piqued my interest. This new addition to the game seems fairly standard at first, merely offering a helping hand on your journey through Viewros. Yet, its showcase during the Metroid Prime 4 trailer provides some interesting implications for how this new feature could alter the gameplay experience, making me more excited about the game than ever before.

Samus's Psychic Abilities Are A Huge Addition

The New Feature Has A Variety Of Different Implementations

The new psychic abilities introduced during Metroid Prime 4's latest showcase initially seem like a standard addition to the series. Similar to the handful of other items that can be obtained in the Metroid series, the psychic abilities will aid Samus in her mission, with the trailer showing the bounty hunter using this newfound power to access previously blocked areas. Consequently, it's all too easy to dismiss this new mechanic as nothing more than a simple tool to aid in your adventure.

Despite the amount of new information revealed during the Nintendo Direct, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond did not receive a launch date. The game is still planned for release this year.

However, when watching the trailer, I was surprised by how the psychic abilities were also used in combat. During one particular encounter on Viewros, Samus can be seen using her psychic ability to change the trajectory of her missile, allowing her to attack all three enemies in a single hit. Although the Metroid series has seen its fair share of powerful weaponry and movesets, I was still shocked at the amount of power and control that the new psychic abilities bestowed upon Samus, allowing her to blast through an intense enemy encounter with ease.

This moment from the Metroid Prime 4 trailer left my mind racing about the other potential skills that the psychic abilities could grant. While the trailer provides a detailed look at the many new powers that Samus now possesses, it's unclear whether this is the extent of what the psychic abilities can offer. With this in mind, I began to theorize the many other ways in which the psychic abilities could be used to aid Samus during battle, causing my excitement over the game to grow.

Psychic Abilities Could Allow For More Varied Combat

They Could Help To Make Encounters More Engaging

What has me so excited about the new psychic abilities is how they can allow for more varied and challenging combat in Metroid Prime 4. New skills like controlling your missile trajectory open the door for a far more experimental combat system than before. Part of the fun and challenge can come from playing around with the many weapons and abilities at your disposal to find the fastest and most effective way to clear a horde of enemies.

Moreover, the introduction of psychic abilities could also allow for more challenging enemy encounters. Metroid is often at its best when dealing with enemies that can only be effectively defeated by exploiting weaknesses, and experimental combat opportunities could give the world of Viewros more ways to set up these interesting scenarios. A more varied range of enemies will help to elevate the combat in Metroid Prime 4, adding a level of strategy to the title while also making each encounter feel fresh and exciting.

The psychic abilities have the potential to provide you with much more freedom in how you want to proceed.

Rather than simply blasting your way through each battle, the new abilities should encourage you to consider every possible method of defeating your enemies before heading in to attack. The psychic abilities have the potential to provide you with much more freedom in how you want to proceed, and it's that variety and experimentation that has me so excited about its introduction.

Prime 4 Could Improve On One Of Metroid's Most Important Aspects

Combat Has Always Been A Huge Part Of The Series

Of course, combat has always been an incredibly important part of the Metroid series. Whether you're finding yourself up against Kraid or Ridley in one of multiple different entries, or you're struggling to survive against the relentless and merciless Raven Beak in Metroid Dread, the series has prided itself on creating battles that convey a sense of thrill and suspense that a sci-fi adventure should elicit. Therefore, it's always been vital that the games keep adding to the combat, from new abilities to new enemies in order to maintain that excitement.

With the introduction of the psychic abilities, Metroid Prime 4 could do just that. The ways in which the psychic abilities are shown to assist Samus in battle serve as proof of how Metroid Prime 4 isn't simply adding to the series' signature combat, but allowing it to evolve. The improvements being made to combat provide some much-needed assurance that Metroid Prime 4, a game that has haunted the Switch for almost 8 years, will push the series forward rather than simply maintaining its typical quality.

While Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was first announced in 2017, development was restarted in 2019 after Nintendo was dissatisfied with the game's progress. Development was handed back over to Retro Studios, who worked on the previous mainline entries.

While it's unclear how much the new psychic abilities will affect combat in Metroid Prime 4, I can't help but get excited over its potential implementation. Although its addition may seem minor, the psychic abilities open up a wealth of possibilities that could allow Metroid Prime 4 to become the most varied and experimental title to date. I was already excited about Metroid Prime 4, but after the most recent Nintendo Direct, I can't wait to finally get my hands on the game and see what it has to offer.

Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube