Yeah I feel similarly; though the core gameplay is largely more of the same, after a nearly 20 year hiatus in which nothing else was quite like it, just having "more Metroid Prime" feels great.

I actually kinda like that they didn't chase modern trends by making it more twitchy or action-heavy, instead retaining the slow burn exploration that makes the series so compelling.

The ice belt is a real high point in the entire franchise. Just excellent in every way. This game feels like another case of critics seriously underrating a game. I hated myles at the start but the npcs have grown on me and are missing for very large portions of the game. The game has its faults, as all games do, but they feel pretty minor overall.

Didn't get to take the bike offroad yet as I am still working my way through Volt Forge, but from driving it between towers it does feel good to control and not clunky or annoying.

The DNA of Alien, which has been central to the series since day 1, is very strong with this game; a lot of the Lamorn's architecture and machinery feels right of HR Geiger's iconic designs in the 1979 film. (Right down to the vagina doors)

Also, it's a little thing, but the implementation of HD Rumble is brilliant.

While I know some are disappointed with the game or might even dislike it, I am happy Metroid fans got their game after over 8 years and 18 years after Prime 3.
I've barely tried a few old Metroid games. I wanna start with Prime Remastered one day and might skip straight to 4 after that as 2 and 3 don't have difficulty settings and I feel like anything more than Casual in Metroid would eat me alive.

Completed Volt Forge and reach Sol Valley with the bike.

The boss of the former was freaking awesome, one of my favourite in the Prime series. Making the process of getting the bike an entire "dungeon" where you navigate and restart the factory that makes them was a cool concept too.

Now that I've had a chance to really test out the bike and explore the open world, both are fine. Neither is amazing or revolutionary, but they're certainly not bad and are enjoyable overall. Same goes for the physic powers; though the way they are presented and worded narratively feels kinda hokey, mechanically they're solid.

I feel like that's the game's only real issue so far, that while it's well made and enjoyable, it doesn't bring a killer new hook like Prime 1's incredible immersion and perfect translation of the Metroidvania formula to 3D back in 2002 or Prime 3's revelatory pointer controls in 2007. What new stuff it does try is mostly well done, just nothing mind-blowing.

Still, after an 18 year hiatus, a game that's mostly familiar isn't a bad thing by any means, especially when the core fundamentals of the series like enthralling alien worlds and immersive exploration are still terrific.

The original Prime 2 is very hard, yeah. The Trilogy version on the Wii does have an easier difficulty than the original, though they called it the "Standard" difficulty lol. It's still kinda tough though.

Prime 3 is the easiest of the trilogy, I'd say it's a little easier than the easy mode of Prime 1.

Prime 3 gets pretty easy once you have a few energy tanks since all you need to do to use hypermode is sacrifice 1 energy tank, which is pretty meaningless once you have like five. The ending is the only tough spot since it's the one section that's truly designed to challenge the player even in hypermode.

Got the fire shot; it's really badass and feels great to incinerate foes with.

Headed for the Ice Belt so will get stuck into that tomorrow evening; hoping for some nice vibes, as the ice region was one of the standouts of the original Prime way back when, and Flare Pool, from what little I saw, seems to evoke Magmoor to strong effect.

Speaking of vibes, the soundtrack lives up to the high standards of the series, with moody, otherworldly tracks that accentuate the feeling of an alien world.

I've started playing it, and it feels fine? Typical Metroid Prime stuff. Besides Miles Jar Jar, my only criticism is that this feels like a game that should have come out in 2015.

I don't mind the other federation troops giving this sort of Halo vibe, it's not too different from Corruption in that regard.

Haven't played so should probably hold my opinion but I do think making enemies more reactive to impact/damage would be a good touch they could of added to get rid of some of that spongey feel 

Anyway with the wider sentiment of it being a very natural but minimal evolution I'll definitely wait a bit before getting this as I'm still playing through the remaster at the moment. I'll want it to feel fresh when I touch it, so may wait til end of next year... But may still pick it up early this christmas just to show retro and the IP some support when it matters most.