Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was announced in 2017, although under a different title, but back then, the game was coming to the Switch. It then went through a rebranding phase, and yet fans still had to wait almost a decade to finally play the finished product. A lot of fans are asking themselves: was the wait worth it?
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If it turns out that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond isn't as great as you were hoping, then you might want to find some other atmospheric first-person shooters to occupy your time. Some are available on Nintendo Switch systems, while others require hopping to other consoles to check them out. Either way, they are easily accessible if you know where to look.
Alien: Isolation
Where’s Mommy?
Alien: Isolation
- Released
- October 7, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The Metroid franchise was inspired by the Alien film franchise, so it just seems right to recommend one of that franchise's video game adaptations. Out of the many Xenomorph appearances in gaming, Alien: Isolation is still the best one.
Players, as Amanda Ripley, find themselves trapped on a space station that has gone dark, and they are looking for Amanda's mother, Ellen Ripley, the hero from the Alien films. Amanda will come across infected droids and Xenomorphs, all looking to drag Amanda to space hell. Weapons are limited, so you'll be more inclined to hide while you try to solve puzzles that will hopefully lead to escape, and it is truly terrifying when the alien is on your trail.
BioShock
Don’t Spring A Leak
BioShock
- Released
- August 21, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Irrational Games
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Instead of space, BioShock is set beneath the sea in a decaying utopia known as Rapture, which is now being destroyed by its mutated citizens. Players have to break free, finding weapons, powers, and audio diaries along the way as they fight off Splicers and giant deep-sea diver monstrosities called Big Daddies.
Even after all these years, BioShock is still a masterpiece that is as fun to go through now as it was in 2007. Thanks to the setting, the wild powers, and the intriguing twist at the end that doubles as a commentary on the act of gaming itself, BioShock is one of those timeless games that will always be worth playing.
Halo Infinite
Master Chief Goes Open-World
Halo Infinite
- Released
- December 8, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 343 Industries
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
Halo Infinite is the one game in the series that has an open-world structure, and Master Chief is thrown into it. The first Halo is one of the all-time great console shooters, and every shooter that came after owes a debt of gratitude to the series, including Metroid Prime.
Samus and Master Chief have a lot in common: they're mostly silent figures operating while wearing weaponized suits, with the only differences being that Master Chief is a guy and he has an AI assistant. Between the various weapons and vehicles, players will find plenty of ways to kill aliens and get around in Halo Infinite.
Half-Life 2
A Freed Man
Half-Life 2
- Released
- November 16, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- Valve
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
Half-Life 2 is thought by many to be the greatest shooter of all time. While the actual shooting mechanics cannot compete with something like Call of Duty or even Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, the overall world is perfectly engineered.
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Levels are open once you escape the city walls, granting access to a buggy and a gravity gun to solve physics-based puzzles. The mood of this dystopian world is claustrophobic, which is a big reason why players are longing to return to the series one day. There is nothing else quite like Half-Life 2, which helped Valve rise to power.
Portal 2
I’m A Potato
Portal 2
- Released
- April 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Valve
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Platformer
Portal 2 is a big evolution of the original because it doesn’t take place simply within a facility where players go from room to room solving portal-based puzzles. Instead, this sequel is an adventure game that still features the Portal Gun. However, now there are more twists as to how these puzzles all fit together.
It's definitely worth playing the original as well and making a weekend out of both games because you will get even more out of the experience. On its own, Portal 2 is one inventive surprise after the other, but coupled with the first Portal (and Portal 2's co-op campaign), it becomes a complete and almost perfect collection of brilliant ideas.
Borderlands 4
Guns Aplenty
Borderlands 4
- Released
- September 12, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
Borderlands 4 is a more action-heavy recommendation for those who wish Metroid Prime 4: Beyond had a wider selection of wild guns to exploit. Borderlands 4 is set within a big open world to explore, and it features similar traversal powers to Metroid Prime 4, like a digital motorcycle and a grappling hook.
Humor, as is the case in all Borderlands games, is essential to the experience, which is filled with strange characters and ridiculous situations. There's a roster of four playable characters to choose from, each with a distinct class. Vex and Harlowe stand out as the femme fatale stand-ins for Samus.
Dishonored
The Drunken Whaler
Dishonored
- Released
- October 9, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Arkane Studios
Dishonored starts happily. A castle guard, Corvo, is enjoying his day with Emily, the Queen’s daughter who he is charged with protecting, when the Queen is murdered, and Corvo is blamed. Thrown in prison, Corvo soon finds himself in league with an entity known as The Outsider, who gives Corvo magical abilities to find the ones who did this and get his revenge.
It’s a stealth-focused game where you can explore a steampunk-like city, Dunwall, to find high-ranking targets who will get Corvo closer to learning the identity of the Queen's killer. With open-ended gameplay with plenty of options to be sneaky or loud, this is one assassination game that applauds experimentation.
Perfect Dark
Don’t Turn Off The Lights
Perfect Dark (2000)
- Released
- May 22, 2000
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Animated Violence, Animated Blood
- Developer(s)
- Rare
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter, Stealth
Perfect Dark is a linear stealth game from the N64 era starring a female spy named Joanna Dark. While there are some moments of James Bond-level gadgetry, the game is also very much a shooter at its core. Through various missions, Joanna will try to save the world one bullet at a time.
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Thanks to modern enhancements, there is a cleaner version to play on Xbox systems that will feel more comfortable. Joanna, as a character, means just as much as Samus does to a specific age group, even though her career didn’t have as much longevity.
Prey (2017)
Beware Of Mimics
Prey
- Released
- May 5, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Arkane Studios
- Genre(s)
- FPS
The 2017 reboot of Prey takes place on a space station that has been overrun with Mimics, creatures who can impersonate anything from a coffee mug to a chair. This makes it easy to deliver jump scares because Mimics can just appear seemingly out of nowhere.
Weaponry will be limited, but eventually, you'll be able to effectively fight back as you try to find a way off the station. It’s a bit less intense than Alien: Isolation, which has a similar setup, but Prey does have better and more interesting weaponry if that matters.
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
Ghost Girls
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
- Released
- February 10, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Monolith Productions
- Genre(s)
- First-Person, Shooter, Horror
Players may lose something by starting with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin before the first game, but the series and story are easy to process out of order. The game is essentially about a tactical military team that finds itself in the middle of a war zone controlled by a ghost child who is manipulating minds.
There are plenty of jump scares among the seemingly normal FPS missions, so it’s a weird juxtaposition for a shooter, but it works well in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. The series is famous for its slo-mo mechanic that makes gunfights incredibly cinematic, along with some impressive enemy AI that still holds up today.
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