Happy Monday, folks, and welcome to the Weekly Video Games Thread!

Metroid Prime 4 is out! Well, it’s been out for a week and a half by this point, but I was waiting to get it as a gift, so now I can join the conversation. I’m having a good time, and in the spirit of the game’s release, today’s topic is all gonna be about robot suits.

As a video game icon, Samus Aran has a lot of points in her favor, but few stand out quite as loudly as her iconic suits of armor. Usually it’s her huge-shouldered Varia Suit, but all of them, including this one from the new game, are good. They’re large and bulky in a very retro, Seventies sci-fi way, but with some sleekness that brings to mind modern science fiction. Their most iconic power might be the Morph Ball, the kind of goofy video game contrivance that brings out puzzles and sequence breaking of all kinds. Her powerful Arm Cannon is a statement as much as a weapon, because her entire right arm commits to that thing. No palette swapping here, Mega Man! The orange and purple for the Varia and Gravity Suits are also good, as well as the fully distinct suits that the Prime series would end up trading in. And the suit itself upgrades through extra shields, visors, Morph Ball abilities, and missiles, all of which feel natural. It’s an incredible piece of video game fashion in terms of both style and gameplay function.

Now, I could keep yapping about it, but I’m gonna turn things over to all of you: what are your favorite robot suits in video games? Feel free to explore this space as much as you’d like.

And, of course, what did you play this weekend? And just to note: the 2025 Peely Awards are starting on Friday at noon Eastern time!