I enjoyed Samus Returns more than I thought I would a couple of years ago, but when I started this game I remember thinking 'this doesn't feel like much of a step-up...'
How wrong I was. Well paced, good-looking, buttery smooth to play and with an engaging story, this may only be the 2nd Metroid game I've beaten but don't let that take the punch out of me telling you this is the best one I've played. I could even see myself replaying this in a couple of years.

To give you an idea of how much I was enjoying this, I've been playing it after work every day for the last week, and I've been excited to get home and play it, thinking about it actively at work.

It's not perfect, with some areas feeling largely the same outside of some surface-level aesthetic changes and some moves not being as responsive as they should (but that could just be me playing poorly and also other factors). This does lead to a couple of hours scattered throughout where exploration feels like a chore more than fun, but that's only by comparison to how purposful and clear the rest of the game feels in it's exploration.

All of the combat and mechanics are varied and interesting, and it's perfect at spacing out when it gives you items and abilities and on ramping up satisfaction levels with each new item and ability.

In short, it's really good!