Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Locks Basic Feature Behind $30 Amiibo

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally in the hands of players worldwide after years of waiting, but players have uncovered that a basic feature is locked behind an Amiibo figure.

18 years after Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was first released, the fourth instalment in the series launched on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on December 4, but early impressions are mixed, with critic scores being the lowest in the series.

There’s still time for that to change, however, and user scores may be more positive, but the locking of a basic feature behind a paywall has left one area of the game feeling barren.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Desert Music Locked Behind Amiibo Purchase

As pointed out by Luke Stephens on Twitter, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s music in the desert, an area explored while driving the Vi-O-La bike, is absent unless you purchased the $29.99 Samus Amiibo.

Nintendo’s product description lists background music as a perk from owning the Samus Amiibo, along with the ability to activate a shield that will block up to 99 damage and fully restore Samus’ life once per day.

The description doesn’t inform you, however, that without the Amiibo figure, the desert landscape in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be eerily silent, and offers nothing if you haven’t splashed out on the figure.

There are also two other Amiibo figures to purchase to get additional bonuses in the game, with the Samus & Vi-O-La figure providing customizable colors, the ability to check total distance travels, and a once-per-day increase to the rate of regeneration for Viola’s Boost Energy.

The final figure, Cyrax, allows you to see the full version of the movies that are shown in fragments throughout the game, once you have completed it, a feature that is otherwise locked behind achieving a 100% scan rate and item collection rate.

What do you think about some Metroid Prime 4: Beyond features being Amiibo exclusive? Share your thoughts in the Insider Gaming Discord.

For more news, read about the discovery of Escape From Tarkov’s good ending, and check out all of the Season 1 patch notes for Call of Duty: Warzone.