![]() Even with a lion's share of the world's health pickups, the later bosses provide a satisfying challenge. Some of them require experimenting with Trace's weapons or simply exercising common sense platforming mechanics, but they're all designed well with some major doozies thrown in for Metroidvania veterans. In particular, boss battles are amazingly designed with some massive monstrosities. It's the nature of the beast, for better or worse, but it would have been nice to have at least some indicator of where to go next after running along the same hamster wheel for hours at a time.īut after finding the right path in Axiom Verge, it hits all the right notes. ![]() Of course, there are no obvious indicators of where to go next and there's no way to mark off the rooms that have already explored, which can be frustrating when getting lost. It does a great job in encouraging users to play around with all of their toys to find their next destination. Axiom Verge continues adding new ways to explore the game's world by sprinkling in jump upgrades, mini drones, and the ability to teleport. While the normal Metroidvania works well here, it truly excels when trying to navigate around the world's strange physics by creating something from nothing with the Address Disruptor.Īnd just like any good game in this genre, the joy is in exploration. This is where the game starts to craft its own identity, adding in a different kind of exploration element. The Address Disruptor allows Trace to create new platforms from glitchy fields, corrupt enemies into completely different matter types, and even breach walls into hidden areas. Soon enough, Axiom Verge's focus begins shifting towards the idea of a world filled with glitches. But after a couple of hours, that gradually starts to change. For the early minutes of the game, it's a solidly-constructed Metroidvania, albeit one that does not offer much in terms of a new experience. Shooting is instinctively easy, with spot-on hit detection and a strong variety of weaponry and gadgets. Unless there was an ability I missed (and I managed to explore most of the map and finish the game without it), these half-dozen jumps really do require unforgiving, almost pixel-perfect precision, in a way that stands out from the rest of the game.Axiom Verge's 2D run-and-gun combat is superb. Several platforming leaps where success finally, mercifully came after about a dozen failed attempts, made while I wrestled with the world’s most fiddly grappling hook. There are times when the game could be more accommodating. Which ability do I need here, and which part of the map should I approach this obstacle from? Can I even get around this barrier yet, or should I come back later? Discovering the solution is usually more satisfying than finding whatever trinket lies in wait as a reward, because you’ve been entrusted to discover it for yourself. Axiom Verge 2-more so than its predecessor-is a game where unexplored map sections are actually devious navigation puzzles. The Breach really blows open the game, particularly when you gain more freedom in travelling between the worlds. It’s an intoxicating place, contrasting nicely with the more grounded nature of the overworld. In the more cramped setting of the Breach, you control your adorable drone sidekick, bashing enemies and dodging traps while listening to synth prog-rock cover versions of an already extraordinary soundtrack. Unexplored map sections are actually devious navigation puzzles The Breach is a separate map-laid atop, or below, the primary one-but with a mostly different layout, and a wildly different visual style: super low-res and with a colour palette that hasn’t been seen since '70s sci-fi. You’ve seen the feature before in games, probably in other Metroidvanias, where the two dimensions are just reskinned versions of each other. However, its standout feature is actually borrowed from The Legend of Zelda: there’s another world running parallel to this one. The newly fleshed-out world encompasses several distinct biomes, linking together in a more organic way than its boxy predecessor. ![]() It feels weird to say that combat is downplayed, in a game brimming with diverse enemies, but that’s only because the exploration side has received such a significant rework. As someone who dreads the bosses in Hollow Knight, for that very reason, I’m very much in favour of this change. Axiom Verge 2 doesn’t want to interrupt the flow of exploration. But there are no locked-off boss arenas-two encounters with the villain excluded-and no giant health bars to whittle down before you can progress. Oh, there’s a perfunctory final battle, and some optional scraps against unique enemies. There’s just as much fighting here, with one key exception: there are no boss fights in Axiom Verge 2.
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