Axiom Verge 2 Review (Switch / Switch eShop)
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In the comparatively dark days of Wii U, we often had to focus more on indie games to get through the worst of months’ droughts between major own releases. Fortunately, several smaller studios stepped up and one of those gems was Axiom Verge, an absolutely incredible Metroidvania that was produced entirely by just one remarkably talented man. Axiom Verge would have been fine as a standalone version, but evidently Thomas Happ had enough leftover ideas that he felt the need to produce a full follow-up with Axiom Verge 2, a game that feels different from its predecessor in some key respects. ways while the center set feels as polished as ever, making for an impressive high-quality experience from bow to stern.
Unlike the first game, which saw you playing as a scientist named Trace, the Axiom Verge 2 narrative follows Indra Chaudhari, a billionaire CEO of a major international conglomerate. There are some real In the mountains of madness vibrates when Indra finds himself taking a helicopter to a remote Antarctic research station owned by his company after receiving a mysterious message that hints that his missing daughter might be there. Unfortunately, all of the base personnel appear to have disappeared without a trace, and things get even worse when Indra accidentally falls into a cave and… drowns. When he comes to, Indra discovers that he has been transported to a different dimension and that a mysterious artificial being has given him a “new body”.
If there’s one thing the Axiom Verge 2 narrative absolutely excels at, it’s making the player continually wonder what’s going on. You get enough information for the narrative to make sense, and the gaps slowly fill in as you encounter optional text records along the way, but there is rarely a moment when you feel like you really understand all the forces at play. You’re not sure if Indra is dreaming, dead, or something else entirely, which gives all the procedures a wonderfully vague and feverish aesthetic. And without spoiling too much, this release does it it will eventually reveal its fascinating connections to the original Axiom Verge.
This time, the game has mixed a bit with the original. Axiom Verge 2 is still a 2D Metroidvania, but combat is now largely oriented around an ice pick that Indra encounters almost immediately. This requires you to get close to all the enemies you face in this adventure, and while you have a boomerang-shaped ranged option that you get later on, the combat has an unmistakably different flow. It’s not necessarily better or worse than what came before, and then it expands as you find more secrets in the world, but it seems like this may be the most divisive aspect of the new release.
Fortunately, new gameplay ideas still keep both exploration and combat fresh as the experience progresses. For example, you are granted an ability early on that allows you to hack into any machinery in your immediate vicinity. Not only does this give you the option to overcome a variety of obstacles that once stood in your way, but it also allows you to take care of most of the enemies you encounter. By spending consumable points, you can do things like make your enemies fight for you or make them explode or deliver health drops. It’s the slow trickle of mechanics like this that fundamentally changes the way you look at Axiom Verge 2, making it the kind of game that gets intensely funnier the more time goes by.
The creepy alien corridors from the original release have been swapped out here for much more naturalistic and outdoor settings, but the map seems to be laid out more consistently overall. Although you are given a marker showing where to go on the map to advance the story, it almost feels like you can go in any direction and make significant progress. Important updates and tools are scattered Everywhere in Axiom Verge 2, which gives it a beautiful non-linear feel that doesn’t strictly pigeonhole you into sticking to a somewhat linear path.
A large part of this non-linearity is due to the new “gap” mechanic introduced relatively early. You have access to a small spider drone that can access the portals scattered around the map, and when passing through one, the drone is taken to an alternate plane of existence that is parallel to the one Indra is on. Some of the more elaborate puzzles in Axiom Verge 2 require you to cleverly use paths in one world to find new ones in the next, making the already huge world feel much more labyrinthine and fascinating.
Along with the more notable improvements, most regions contain several smaller collectibles that are incorporated into the new skill point system. This introduces an RPG-lite aspect to the game cycle, as you can choose how you want to develop the skills of Indra and his robot companion. Things like health, attack speed, and hacking levels can be upgraded with skill points to make them more useful, and while it seems like a bit of an odd inclusion at first, the new skill system makes sense in practice. Now a collectible can theoretically be whatever you want it to be, rather than possibly leaving you disappointed to find another health buff or attack boost that you don’t really need.
Those of you looking for replayability will be delighted to know that Axiom Verge 2 lands perfectly on that sweet spot where it feels neither too long nor too short. It should take you around fifteen hours to watch the narrative to its conclusion, and you can expect to add another ten to that if you want to complete it. We think it’s important to further note that this ride is exceptionally narrow in its overall design, ensuring that those fifteen hours fly by once the ball actually starts rolling. Also, those of you who can’t get enough of you have a speedrun option to watch, allowing you to rush the game in one go without having to deal with cutscenes, pauses, or random content. Axiom Verge 2 may not be playable infinitely, but there is something to be said for a game like this that offers a great, focused experience at a modest runtime. There is no waste of time or unnecessary content here, Axiom Verge 2 is all gasoline and no brakes.
While the original release was borderline horror with its dark visuals and haunting music, Axiom Verge 2 feels a bit more captivating. Although he spends much of his time exploring caves and cold, wild environments, a much broader palette of bright colors is employed here. Although it feels like a break from the eerily secluded atmosphere that came before (which we loved), we did come to appreciate the more varied design of the environments here. Also, there is still a lot strange things to behold, and it’s all backed up by a proper sci-fi soundtrack that keeps you on your toes.
Conclution
Axiom Verge is a remarkably difficult act to follow, but Thomas Happ has done it again by producing a perfectly paced Metroidvania adventure. Axiom Verge 2 perfectly balances the familiar elements that made the original great and testing out new ideas that give the sequel its own identity, and while lovers of the first game may take some time to adjust, it all comes together and creates a Powerful experience that no fan of the genre will want to miss out on. The eerie atmosphere, exciting pacing, and fantastic world design come together to create a worthy following that stands on its own. Do yourself a favor and pick up Axiom Verge 2 as soon as you can, this is a game worth your time.
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