I have waited a long time for this one. Back in 2015, I played the first Axiom Verge the day it came out on PC and loved every second of it. And having bought it 3 times (twice for different physical editions), I almost couldn't wait to play this... almost. However, this case was special. While the game launched on PC, PS4, and Switch, it was a digital release only, but Limited Run promised it was going to produce a physical release for the consoles. Since I have other games coming that commanded I would get a Switch, I decided this game would be the one I start with.
Unfortunately my plan to play that physical release would not happen as when I pre-ordered the cart, I found out it's not been produced yet, so it's at least 5 months out before I will have my hands on it. I couldn't wait and picked up the download on this console as well. I could jokingly say this was a much better first intro to Nintendo's now current console then the last one, but in all seriousness, this really was a great introduction to the machine.
Story: In the public eye, Indra Chaudhari has it all. She is the CEO of a major global corporation and has all the power that comes with it. In fact, she just completed a take-over of the Hammond Corp, a tech company who's computer tech revolutionized the world and is now the standard in everyone's lives around the globe.
But that is not to say all is as it seems. Indra's personal life is a mystery to those who are not in the know, and more directly, Hammond Corp was such a good deal because they lost their CEO in an expedition which never came back or was closed. But her interest got a little more personal as she got a message saying to come to the base if she ever wants to see her daughter again. Following this lead will forever change her life.
You will start this game at that very point when the helicopter touches down at the abandoned base where you will shortly find the portal Hammond had setup. It has just enough juice to work once, and once inside, you will guide Indra exploring a whole other world. The game gives you very little else to work with, choosing instead to make you explore to figure out what is going on in this place, why it's overrun with drones that want to kill you, and even contact with the bastard keeping your daughter from you! To explain any of this is to do a disservice to this game, as a portion of the experience is uncovering the lore in the form of notes and communications waiting specifically for you. Not that you need to find this to enjoy the game: it stands on it's own in the moment without any help. But there is plenty to find here for the lore-fiend who wants to know everything, too, at least about the world.
Sadly the story itself chose to not really end when all is said and done. True the threat is dealt with and you can rest easy knowing everyone is safe, but at the same time, the last few moments just don't feel like the story is finished, but like we are missing that last chapter. A shame really as this part of the game was masterful in how much it let you decide it matters and still flows right right up until this moment.
7/10
Graphics: Much like the game it sequels, Axiom Verge 2 is a 2D retro-game which will strike you in the right ways, though the world it chooses to do this with is drastically different. Rather then the maze-like world with many caverns built of metal and stone, this time you will find yourself in a world much more akin to ancient ruins of a long gone civilization. These realms are loving crafted with a style akin to how you might see it on old 16-bit consoles. It's bright, colorful, and just incredibly varied as you wander through several zones from the ice glaciers to the mountains to underwater ruins and beyond...
And the inhabitants here also look great, too! Most of what you face off with will be mechanical in nature, ranging from small ground based drones to tall menacing mechs to floating platforms designed to drop bombs. But the real interesting machines are a bit larger as they often cross the look of the ruins with a bio-technical nature. These monstrosities carry the look of their world in a way that just fits everything perfectly.
But this is only half of the world you will see. Eventually things will change as you find a way to the underside of the world and the graphics become a lot more basic. The pixels get bigger and the world is made up of much simpler graphics, giving this area it's own unique charm and mystery as to how it fits with the rest of the world you are in... and yet fit it does... brilliantly.
In short this game is an absolute joy to behold. Enjoy everything it shows you.
8/10
Sound: This game is going to smack you in the face with it's soundtrack before you even hit the start button, and I mean that in a good way. Right off the bat, it's infectious, high energy, and revs you up for the adventure you are about to have, setting the tone for what you should expect from the music playing through your adventure.
And it really doesn't dissappoint. True, the style has changed since the last game, but this world is also not so alien feeling, allowing for a less techno-feel soundtrack to feel at home here. Rather, the music here tends to lend itself to mystical worlds with an ancient flair mixed into the chiptune instramentation it shares with it's predecessor. But that is not to say that is all it shares. If you listen close from time to time, the game leans into it's connections of the older title both in what you find and mixing some of those old tunes with the new ones. In my personal opinion, this is a bittersweet effect, as the music sounds great all around, but the original still outshines it.
Sadly this is about the best thing you will hear in the game, however. This is still a game that immitates the old days of 16-bit gaming and as such you will have no voice work at all and the sound effects are designed to be be the kind of booms, blips, and bloops you might have heard back then. It's inductive to the atmosphere this game is working to keep and for those of us who played back then, it is even a pleasant throwback, putting the package together for a some old-school gaming as it should be.
8/10
Gameplay: Where the first game in the franchise was a love letter to Metroid and it's many clones and followup, this one took a different route. You will still play by exploring a world in a 2D side-scrolling map and have free roam to go wherever you like. You will even gain access to areas by collecting new items and power to expand your range, but the world itself is very different. Instead of being a maze of tunnels with occasional open-spaces and large rooms, this game tends to go the other way around by giving you large open spaces to explore occasionally connected by corridors. In essence if you were to make a side-scrolling open world game, this is much more the kind of world you would come up with. As such, I would consider this entry in the series more of a love letter to games like The Legend of Zelda.
You will explore an open outdoor world, at first with nothing more then a pick-axe to protect yourself with and and the icy ruins of the expedition base on this new world standing over a cave they were exploring... but before long you will find yourself both with other hand-weapons and a unique set of devices called ARMs: intelligent weapon systems that grant you new powers like full free movement under water, the ability to see in the dark without relying on a flashlight, and even a drone you can send out (and even have travel through the other side of this dimension. As you find these objects, the areas you can and will need to explore will open up to you. And you will not be completely blind in your exploration either, as each possition with the next main goal will be highlighted on the map... most of the time it will be a blank place you have yet to reach but need to figure out how.
And while exploration is key, the game does not forget combat either. As noted in the story, this world is filled with robots hat want nothing more then to end your existence... if they can find you. Most enemies in this game will have a "cone" in front of them, revealing what they can see. You go in this cone, they may well see you (but they will at least investigate), creating a cat-and-mouse game where it in your best interest to try to use the blind-spots to your advantage.
Still, stealth alone will not be enough to get through this game, so in addition to abilities you also will find pieces to increase your health as well and even a bit of RPG leveling to help you out. No, you wont level by experience, but by finding vials which will add to a point pool throughout the world. You can then use those points on various ability upgrades to help you alone. You may think its a good idea to hoard these points (as did I) but after finishing the game, I had so many left over I think I could have given myself an even easier time here.
And that is probably the one real fault this game has: it is overall a very easy game. Yes, you can be taken down fairly quickly early on, but like the first game, death is never permanent and you will respawn at the latest save point. But unlike the first game the "bosses" are stictly optional as you explore. They are rather just massive bio-mechanical monsters you will find wandering around and for the most part, you can simply go around them if you so desire. Killing them will earn you a few of those points, but there is no other benefit to spending the time. The only exception is the last boss in the game, but even this is a very easy encounter since you have a spawn-point in the middle of the room itself. In essence once you can't lose.
8/10
Bugs: While playing I did not run into a single bug. The game ran perfectly.
Overall: Make no mistake, Axiom Verge 2 is another amazing game and a pretty damn good follow up to the last installation. However, that is not to say it floored me or is as good as that original offering. That would be asking our esteemed developer to catch lighting in a bottle a second time (and on his second game he wrote on his own). Still, what is here is amazing in it's own right and if you liked the first game, you will like this. It is different, but enough of the same root to promise that to you.
Score:
8/10
Source: Nintendo Switch Online store
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