Fans Celebrate Metroid’s 40th with an Impressive 2D Demake

August 6th, 2026, marked a monumental milestone: the 40th anniversary of Metroid, a franchise that’s so influential it even inspired an entire genre of gaming. But it seems Nintendo itself may have overlooked this significant date, which isn’t exactly a new trend for the company. However, fans stepped up to celebrate in style!

On that notable Thursday, the Metroid subreddit lit up with excitement over “Metroid Prime Origins,” a fan-made game that beautifully adapts the beloved Metroid Prime into a fully-fledged 2D experience. With its charming “fake-bit aesthetic,” this game gives players a nostalgic yet fresh take on the classic.

Having spent a good hour with it, I can confidently say that Metroid Prime Origins feels stellar—it’s polished enough to make you wish Nintendo would produce throwbacks this impressive. The game’s aesthetic pays homage to the original 8-bit NES graphics, but with modern flair, making it more eye-catching than the Super Metroid but still holding onto that retro vibe.

The gameplay is smooth and satisfying. Samus can easily navigate ledges, and the controls are intuitive, with free aiming mapped to the left bumper and aim lock to the right, allowing you to take down enemies without fumbling around. The beloved scan visor from the original game has also made its way into this demake, enabling players to scan creatures and fill up a bestiary, adding a rich layer of lore as you explore.

While I can’t compare every detail to the original Metroid Prime—since it’s been ages since I last played it—there’s a certain charm about the 2D format that feels traditional and familiar. Given how scarce 2D Metroid titles have been lately, this game is likely to bring joy to many players out there.

However, it seems Nintendo isn’t too thrilled about this project. Just hours after its debut, the trailer was yanked from YouTube, along with a download link on Archive.org. Currently, it’s still accessible via Google Drive, but who knows for how long?

The lead developer, known as Lv.4 Games, shared on Reddit that everything—sprites, music, and lore—was crafted by fans without the aid of generative AI. They also mentioned that they hadn’t received any takedown notice from Nintendo, though the trailer’s removal was attributed to a violation of YouTube’s Terms of Service.

What’s particularly impressive is how the developers managed to pull this off in secrecy for three years without the usual Nintendo crackdown that many fan games face. One of the sprite artists, Zevroid, expressed pride in being part of this project, hoping as many players as possible get to experience it before Nintendo steps in.

Despite being an unofficial release, Metroid Prime Origins shines with polish. The game features a robust options menu with autosaving, hints, damage scaling, and more. Plus, it’s playable without a controller, making it accessible to a wider audience.

As of now, the game is only available for Windows, but who knows what the future holds? Lv.4 Games has previously worked on another successful fan project, Castlevania ReVamped, which ended up being open-sourced for both Windows and Linux.

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