Axiom Verge 2 review: a Metroidvania for people who hate the term Metroidvania

Axiom Verge 2 is a Metroidvania game for people who hate the term “Metroidvania”. Thomas Happ Games’ second outing has a purist take on the genre built by Metroid It feels like a refreshing change of pace in a sea of ​​copycats. More importantly, while your meticulously accelerated exploration and refresh cycles are a little too close to your inspiration at times, it’s the way Axiom Verge 2 delves into the isolation at the heart of the Metroid series that makes it stand out.

Axiom Verge 2 takes you to the cold and mysterious world of Kiengir and gets right to the point. You don’t know what’s going on or what anyone else is doing here, but you’re hell-bent on getting back to Earth. So you take a pick and start exploring a new alien landscape with the help of the arms, a group of super-powered entities that imbue their bearers with powerful abilities.

Most of what we call Metroidvania games tend to borrow more from Castlevania’s RPG grind and economy-based progression than Metroid’s simpler approach to power-ups. In Axiom Verge 2, enemies don’t leave money for you to spend on upgrades. In other words, enemies are not resources to me, they are obstacles in the purest sense, and if you can avoid fighting them altogether, even better.

This makes the world of Axiom Verge 2 one that explores, but does not necessarily conquer. Sure, by the end of the game my health had improved a lot, but the enemies climbed to equalize. Walking back and forth through this world always felt a bit oppressive, because even when I was returning to previous areas as a more powerful threat, enemies could still quickly take me down if I wasn’t alert.

Image: Thomas Happ Games

Each new area is appropriately difficult to navigate at first, but that only makes finding new upgrades and collectibles even more captivating. Also, the game is quick to roll out updates early on. I waded an early underwater section for 10-15 minutes before gaining a skill that made moving underwater a breeze. It’s an obvious gimmick, pending progress in front of players like this, but the speed with which I evolved made it hard to worry. It also helps that the map presents coordinates in the game, making it easier to track specific updates.

Some of these updates are also fun to experiment with. One is a drone that you transplant your consciousness into with its own set of upgrades to help you get through Kiengir. Later on, you get the ability to hack into locked doors, but you can also hack any kind of robotic enemy to deactivate their weapons or make them your allies.

But while Axiom Verge 2 He cleverly splices and reuses Metroid bits and pieces, his purist dedication can also make him feel too familiar at times. I explored as much as I could from the beginning, gathering new weapons and skill points that I could spend on new skills, more health, or higher damage. Later, however, upon seeing a new mystery item, prodding it, and then immediately calling it a “come back later” sign, I was satisfied with the tools I already had. I’ve been through this loop dozens of times and Axiom Verge 2 He didn’t do enough to force me to complete it.

But Axiom Verge 2 it doesn’t let you forget that there’s more to Metroid than backtracking. One of the most enduring things about that series is how isolated it can feel. And that’s where Axiom Verge 2 find your most powerful moments. After acquiring the aforementioned drone, I learned that there is a second world that I can explore called Breach. It is uninhabitable for humans, but my little robot friend had no trouble exploring it. At one point, however, I was stuck in the Gap, cut off from most of my bodily enhancements and vulnerable as a result.

In a game like this, reversing that sense of progression feels heartbreaking; I had to navigate old areas in a much weaker state. I wasn’t entirely sure I’d ever go back to my old body, which is a huge twist on a genre that’s all about building a slow upward ramp into power, and it recaptured the sense of tension and loneliness that is felt in women. first sections. from the Metroid games.

most of Axiom Verge 2The story, told through brief exchanges of dialogue and snippets of text, is obsessed with both the weight of the story and the futility of looking back, a strange thread for a game that is so in love with the past and so persistent in having you. . Go back to places you’ve already been Many of the key terms and characters have been drawn from the history of Sumar and Mesopotamian mythology, which made me think of the way he views history in eons, not years.

Image: Thomas Happ Games

The backdrop, a war between races from another world that takes place over a vast period of time, includes gods who are as reserved as they are benevolent, followers who sacrifice their humanity to save their people, and many questions about nature. of consciousness. The soundtrack, filled with haunting synths and muscled ’80s guitar, resonates with yearning chants that make the world a little lonelier.

The actual plot is quickly confused by slang, proper names, and sci-fi concepts that are difficult to parse outside of the basic rhythms of the story. But the details are not as important as how detached they made me feel. Axiom Verge 2 regularly had me thinking about deep time, about how little my fleshy body mattered on the grand scale of the universe. It’s a more existential kind of isolation, but it felt in keeping with the way Metroid loves to suppress you in your own head.

But even though the story continued to emphasize the point that looking back can be a curse, its final hours are very specific nostalgia trips that undermine that notion. Both mechanically and narratively, the ending was disappointing in how predictable it all felt. That Axiom Verge 2 So cleverly paralleling the isolation and difficulty of Metroid is its greatest strength, and it sets it apart in the Metroidvania genre. But that same rigid adherence is also a good reminder of why the broader genre has had to innovate. As seductive as nostalgia may be, at a certain point, it’s time to move on.

Axiom Verge 2 was released on August 11 on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Y Windows PERSONAL COMPUTER. The game was reviewed on PlayStation 4 with a pre-launch download code provided by Thomas Happ Games. Vox Media has affiliate associations. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.