Axiom Verge 2 Review (lowly worm)
I think The best way to describe Axiom verge 2 is to explain what i hope it becomes, rather than what it is. As I played my way through the game, It felt like I was playing its version of original metroid, but what i was really craving was the supermetroid version. Let me get a bit deeper into it to explain why.
I originally played Axiom Verge 1 years ago, after being drawn in by a love of MVs and a desire to see the mechanic that allowed you to 'hack the game engine'. It was a novel enough experience to prompt me to play the second one, looking for an evolution on that premise. Instead, the game plays more like a platform version of Zelda: the dark world, where there are actually 2 maps and you slowly nurture the ability to jump back and forth between them to get around obstacles in your path. The different upgrades you pick up along the way can be used very creatively, which actually caused me a little pain- getting 'trapped' in a later area of the game that i figured out a way into but didnt have the right powerup to leave. I couldnt really tell if this was a QA failure or a desire to give the map a more open world feel without enough avenues back and forth. Ultimately i did figure out a way to get myself back on track and work my way through the story, And by then i felt like i had a pretty decent handle on upgrades.
Conversely, the weapons system left a fair amount to be desired. I never felt pressed to try out any of the different weaponry at any point in the game. I just picked up the biggest axe i could find and bashed my way through the enemies. I rarely used the hacking mechanism, too. Its novelty wore off pretty early on and was relegated to opening doors, moving platforms, and fighting bosses. I used the boomerang so little i pretty much forgot i even had it. I feel like the hacking features could have really made the game far more exciting if deployed properly. I loved the idea of taking over a bunch of enemy bots and using them to fight a boss, or something similar, but the system really wasnt complex enough to make it work, and that level of hacking was so expensive to use it was cost prohibitive. And I want to make it clear: these werent systemic failures in my eyes so much as not using interesting concepts to their full potential. Pushing the game design a bit more could have fleshed these out better. Of course, none of these criticisms extend to the spider drone. Simultainiously adorable and effective, I found myself spending larger and larger chunks of the game in spider mode rather than humanoid. The buzzsaw style weapon reminded me of playing oldschool rygar from when i was a kid, and the grapplinghook made it delightful for platforming. In terms of gameplay, it was probably some of my favorite, but i think the game actually suffered a bit from making humanoid mode less useful overall.
So you're probably wondering at this point: why the metroid/supermetroid comparison? Well, the aspect of the game where this one really takes off is the worldbuilding. Unlike the first game, this story had me absolutely sucked in on so many levels. I wanted to see more of not just the primary world, but the others too. I wanted the map to be 10 times as big, with the breach fulfilling its true role of interdimensional travel rather than a dark world under the primary world. The story kept me pretty engaged, and even eager to find new bits of lore that are stashed around the map for those up to the challenge. What i hope for in any subsequent sequel is for the map and gameplay to expand to fit the size of the story. I would absolutely love to see this game evolve into ''super axiom verge 2'' in the same way that metroid evolved into supermetroid by adding lots of new mechanics and increasing the map size.
Over all: I had a good time playing it, and while i cant say i was wowed by combat, the game had plenty of other features and a great story to keep me entertained. I think for the price i got it, it's a worthy diversion.