I’ve played most of the metroid games, and i know theres a ton of nostalgia for super metroid, but to this day nothing has matched the feeling of exploration and awe from Metroid Prime. Every place in the game was so radically different, and the ability to scan and learn about the environment was so unique, and exactly what i didn’t know i needed. Learning the lore and finding out what happened to the planet only by analyzing everything made the world feel like it had died, and it’s death was a tragedy. All the enemies you encounter are just local animals that don’t know better, or had been corrupted by pollution. That is, until about halfway through the game when you meet actually hostile, malicious intelligence, and the combat steps up exponentially.
It’s fantastic. I still remember being amazed at the fogging and raindrops showing up on the visor the first time you step off your ship on Talon IV. I had never seen graphocs so good, and such attention to detail, and the game was already 4 years old.
The only game i’ve ever played that felt similar was subnautica, and while it had the wonder, it lacked the melancholy and insane combat.