Experiencing Metroid Prime 4 at 120fps with Mouselook Feels Both Incredible and Illicit

When the gameplay for the Nintendo Switch 2 was unveiled, there were plenty of fresh, exciting experiences, but for me, one stood out above the rest: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. As a longtime fan of the series, I found the demo both thrilling and comfortingly familiar, even though it mostly featured elements we’ve seen before. It felt like a glimpse into the early stages of the game, right before Samus adds those intriguing telekinetic abilities to her power suit.

During my short, intense session playing through a base-under-siege scenario, Samus had access to her trusty arm cannon, missiles, scanner, morph ball, and bombs—tools all too familiar to fans. At first glance, Metroid Prime 4 seemed to offer a straightforward continuation of its predecessors. However, based on other released footage, it’s clear there are many more innovative elements lurking further in the game that just weren’t accessible in this demo.

Nintendo and Retro Studios seemed to have intentionally chosen this particular segment for a good reason. It was quick, engaging, and focused on highlighting the core mechanics and how fantastic they look on the new Switch 2 hardware without distractions from new abilities.

As soon as I sat at the demo station, the Nintendo rep was quick to emphasize, “This is running at 120 frames per second.” That is unusual for Nintendo, known more for creativity than tech specs, but once you see it in action, you get why they mention it.

Metroid Prime 4 on the Switch 2 pleasantly surprises with a native HD resolution, even offering a 4K option at a reduced 60fps. Despite being designed for the original Switch’s considerably weaker hardware, it ran butter-smooth at 120fps on the Switch 2, and it certainly looked better than what I had seen from online streams of the older version.

This major leap in performance feels almost out of character for Nintendo. But what truly caught my interest were the new mouse controls. By placing the Joy-Con side-down, whether on your thigh or on a special mat, the controller doubles as a mouse, which suits certain games well.

Elsewhere during the Switch 2 event, Civilization 7 was a clear example, borrowing its PC counterpart’s mouse controls. In Metroid Prime 4, these controls fit perfectly. As a metroidvania-style game that is also a first-person shooter, it benefits from the precision of mouse controls.

The way mouse controls have been integrated into Metroid Prime 4 is brilliantly done. You don’t fuss with any menu settings; just put the right Joy-Con in the mouse position, and the game immediately switches to mouselook. It’s that seamless. When used, the game feels every bit a mouselook shooter, twitchy and responsive in the best ways. But the true innovation is how naturally you can switch between controller and mouse modes.

The demo segment I played focused heavily on combat, with little puzzle-solving typical of Metroid. Yet in that short time, I found myself falling into a rhythm. I’d use the Joy-Con traditionally for exploration and morph ball actions, locking onto enemies strategically. But as soon as the action intensified, down went the right Joy-Con into mouse mode, triggering my PC instincts and offering fluid control. It was the best of both worlds.

By the time I faced a boss, I relied solely on mouse controls. Thanks to that precision, taking out the boss—those classic blinking weak spots—felt almost effortless compared to those using the traditional control scheme.

The combination of a silky 120fps and nearly flawless mouse control gave me a feeling almost too good to be true. This kind of polish and precision feels like something you’d only achieve with a workaround on Switch 1. Most Switch titles look fine for a hybrid device, especially first-party ones, but performance can be hit-and-miss. If Metroid Prime 4 is an indicator of what’s to come, I’m eager for those enhancements and future titles that go all in on performance over graphics.

When Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launches later this year, there might be a version for the original Switch. However, given what’s on display, the Switch 2 emerges as the definitive platform to experience the game as intended. It’s exactly what you’d hope for in a true next-gen upgrade.