'Metroid Prime' remaster gets surprise launch for the Switch

Metroid Prime Remastered has been launched for the Nintendo Switch, following a surprise announcement during the Nintendo Direct showcase last night (February 8).

While insiders reported on Metroid Prime Remastered‘s existence in both 2021 and 2022, the remaster came as a surprise to many fans as Nintendo had announced nothing prior to its reveal and same-day launch.

Originally released for the GameCube in 2002, Metroid Prime follows armoured bounty hunter Samuis Arun as she explores the planet of Tallon IV. As detailed on Nintendo’s storefront, the Switch remaster features “revamped graphics, sound, unlockable art, and updated control schemes,” and allows players to use the game’s original controls or more modern ones.

While a digital version of Metroid Prime Remastered is already available to buy and play, a physical release is planned for March 3.

You can watch the launch trailer for Metroid Prime Remastered below:

For those who haven’t played the original, Metroid Prime is a first-person adventure game with shooting, platforming and puzzle elements.

As for the game’s sci-fi setting of Tallon IV, the remaster’s storefront page teases that players will “journey through diverse biomes as you uncover the Space Pirates’ sinister experiments and gather information about the toxic substance that left the planet in ruin.”

“From the quiet stillness of the snowy Phendrana Drifts to the magma geysers of Magmoor Caverns, this alien planet introduces beautifully harsh landscapes and labyrinths,” it adds.

Metroid Prime Remastered is the second Switch launch for the Metroid series, following Metroid Dread in 2021. We awarded Metroid Dread five stars in our review, and later named it Game Of The Year at the BandLab NME Awards 2022.

In other gaming news, Total War: Warhammer 3 is set to receive three DLC launches throughout 2023, following delays caused by the game’s Immortal Empires mode.