Guessed by @drbunnig
This would still be the latest mainline Metroid Prime game had I made these posts at the right time, but since I'm late to the party, Prime 4 has already come out. It's gotten a somewhat mixed reception, but I have a feeling I'm gonna love it. I loved Prime 3 and, let's be real, it would've received a somewhat mixed reception too had it come out 18 years after the prior entry. This game had a lot to be critical about: linear non-interconnected areas, trying to tell a story with several characters and voice acting, motion controls... and yet, it was still such a great game, because it retained the best thing about the Metroid Prime games: amazing visuals, amazing worldbuilding, amazing soundtrack, amazing atmosphere.
The sense of immersion and isolation was not lost just because the story tried to be a bit more engaged. If anything, this was in many ways an artistic peak for the Prime series - one I'm confident has been surpassed by the newest one. The earlier entries are surely the series' peak in terms of gameplay and level design, and while I wish Retro Studios could've retained more of that essential "Metroidvania" feeling, I'm glad to see this series continuing to evolve artistically.
