Retrobot presents: Hardcore games

Metroid Prime (GameCube)
Perhaps the ultimate hardcore first-person-shooter, Metroid Prime is widely acknowledged for its brilliance, yet has clearly been developed with true gamers as its audience. It requires thought, too - enemies should be scanned with the scan visor to learn their weaknesses and new weapons and items open up new possibilities in previously cleared areas.

The haunting musical score and broken relics from a bygone civilization give the player the feeling that they really are exploring - but with the saddening feeling of being unable to physically touch this strange world because of the Power Suit that heroine Samus wears at all times. Your TV screen is Samus' visor, even frosting up in jets of cold air. The feeling of distance between player and game has never been so perfectly bridged.

With beautiful graphics pushing the GameCube to its absolute limit, massive boss encounters and the kind of solitude formerly reserved exclusively for Lara Croft, Metroid Prime is a gem of a videogame. Looking for something a bit different from the run-of-the-mill WWII shooters and mass-market conquerors like Halo? Give this a try.

Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.

Latest in Action
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rocksteady's rumored single-player Batman game is in development for PC, PS5, Xbox, and "the next generation of consoles"
The Last of Us Part 1
The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann wanted to make sure the first game "was complete" because "I wasn't sure they would ever let me direct a game again"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Following Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says "every big AAA game could be better," but players shouldn't be mad "just because some dude told you to"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted Status
How to remove Wanted status in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Latest in News
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
Daredevil's Charlie Cox isn't in the Avengers: Doomsday cast list – but Marvel fans have an idea about how he might still show up
Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Simu Liu had the best reaction to Shang-Chi’s announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, but fans think it's "criminal" there hasn’t been a direct sequel
Mario faces the camera with a thumbs up pose in Super Smash Bros. Ulimate.
Nintendo Direct March 2025 live – all the Switch news, trailers, and reveals as they happen
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rocksteady's rumored single-player Batman game is in development for PC, PS5, Xbox, and "the next generation of consoles"
The Last of Us Part 1
The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann wanted to make sure the first game "was complete" because "I wasn't sure they would ever let me direct a game again"
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode