izigame.me

A different direction of gameplay than the first game (which had more emphasis on a more-Contra-like platform-shooter action). It has some growing pains that take a while to overcome. I see other reviewers gave up (for reasons other than it being "too different from the first game"), and I do understand their frustrations with the early game. I, too, almost gave up on it. I'm glad I persevered; beautiful solodev game by a man of many talents.
The Hacking system is a neato multi-functional evolution of the first game's Address Disruptor, but most functions have a cost, which has me generally being too frugal for my own good; just doesn't seem cost-effective in most cases, which-- to me-- greatly reduces its utility in combat (but it has other uses, including using enemies to acquire items).
Improved detailed map makes it easier to navigate at-a-glance despite all the corridors & pathways being lumped together in a single mass (with many shortcuts to activate that connect them). You can handily add as many map markers as needed to remember where you encounter unreachable items, impassable obstacles, or other objects of interest during your journey. Accessing some rooms/items requires studying how the Overworld and Breach maps overlap and pulling off some Zelda:ALttP-esque Lightworld/Darkworld traversal (I love it!).
Improved grapple. Pretty fun, and with additional functions than the one in the first game (which was low-key pretty clunky to control and rather-quickly became redundant/outclassed by other abilities).
Beautiful style of pixelated graphics. (Though some soft-platforms were a little difficult to read the first time.)
Lovely soundtrack with a handful of tracks featuring wonderful live vocal chanting/wailing by Lebanese-American singer/songwriter Mayssa Karaa. (Also: Oh wow, I remember "Orn". Haha!)
Quite an intriguing story. Builds upon the first game's, but playing AV1 isn't entirely necessary to follow what's going on, aside from catching a handful of references. I do hope we get an Axiom Verge 3 (or an AV2 expansion).
Breach world has a more classic-style action-oriented gameplay that I particularly enjoy, with enemies that have a more-interesting design & behavior than what you generally encounter early-on in the Overworld. Helps keep things feeling much-more-otherworldly when you're in there.
Skill points system to upgrade your character attributes as you see fit. Can either improve your survival/offense, or expand your ability to access higher-grade Hacking options.
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Criticisms:
(I want to preface this by saying THE GAME IS OVERALL GOOD, but you do need to overlook its shortcomings and/or hold out until in-game augments alleviate them. I was admittedly frustrated to the point of quitting altogether and initially left a NEGATIVE review. But I came back, looked at the game objectively, and have changed my stance. I hope others that fully gave up on it find the volition to give it another chance; it was definitely worth it.)
Probably my biggest grievance: Melee combat feels a tad unrefined. Little finesse involved in swinging your weapon; best method for tougher enemies seem to be just brute-forcing your way through them because there is no contact damage for a vast majority of enemies. Lack of evasion techniques and little incentive for destroying enemies has me avoiding most fights, especially against flying enemies. These criticisms are alleviated once additional ranged attack options are acquired, but then it seems to get too easy (projectile from the upgraded Bronze Axe pretty much outclasses everything else, especially at point-blank. Hammer is useful after its ground-pound upgrade is acquired). TO BE FAIR: I would argue the game's intention was to put more emphasis on Metroidvanian exploration/navigation/atmosphere than combat.
Most overworld enemies early-on are gray robots. A bit lacking in the diversity of their aesthetic in that regard, but they do have unique appearances between them. Organic enemies are found later, or in certain sub-areas.
Boss fights don't really feel like boss fights. They're just tougher one-time enemies that you can optionally take on (coming back when stronger if necessary) to gain skill points as a reward, but they're not terribly difficult aside from the ones that are flying. And with the grounded ones, you can just get all up in there and mash the Attack button as long as you avoid the weapon fire themselves. Arguably trivial encounters.
I got completely stuck for a frustratingly long time because the soft-platforms of a particular area's tileset were not as clearly indicated as they could've been. That's is my mistake; the game does show you can stand on them in an earlier segment, but I failed to notice that "silent tutorial". Also, the waypoint I was given at the time was nowhere near the next augment necessary to progress. Perhaps I broke sequence? I did cheese my way into a couple regions a bit early by throwing the drone at pixel-perfect angles while jumping from great heights, before acquiring the movement augments that are normally necessary to progress, so that is arguably my fault as well.
Once inexplicably clipped through a wall and had to reset my game due to soft lock. There is a Save & Quit function; collectibles are kept, and on reload it puts you at the most-recent save point you used, so it's pretty much like a regular in-game death that allows you to conveniently stop at any time. (Later abilities would help avoid the need to restart if it happens again. But it was no big loss.)