Axiom Verge Reviews

Axiom Verge, from what I've gathered, is a homage to the genre of metroidvania. At first I was very intrigued by the specific art style and felt like this could be an incredible adventure. However, I've tried getting into the game and its narrative on 3 separate occasions and can tell you that I don't want to see any more. I've had the feeling while playing that something was off and checked the other reviews, especially the ones that had constructive positive and negative criticism and found myself resonancing with others on a couple of issues the game has displayed to me so far. Firstly, I think that the game fails on the gameplay aspect a lot. The movement and general 8 directional shooting style feels very clunky. I think that has to do with the overall level design though because the game keeps trying to overwhelm you with enemies all over the place where it becomes irritating not being able to control your shooting more freely. Even though as I've said it tries to pay a homage to those old school games that used to have that kind of gameplay mechanics, it fails on delivering it in a modern compact form. Secondly, the overall level design feels boring. I've played this game for 2 hours and I can't tell you anything about even one area that stuck with me. Most of the time I was just walking through big spacious rooms with no meaning, a bunch of enemies and only one goal of getting ASAP to the next room. I'm not even sure how maintainable backtracking is if the game will go on for another 6-10 hours like this. Also, the rooms do have hidden interactions built into them, but because of the poor communication towards the player I've ended up missing most of them and was surprised when something randomly happened and I was like oh that's possible? Lastly, I've had a lack of interest for the protagonist and the setting. This is the last point because I feel like that with more time this would be less of a complaint but I feel like the delivery of the story failed on me. Not being able to characterize or give background for our main character and therefore giving a lack of motivation means there is no reason to connect at least on that front to see what will happen to him. If the core gameplay loop would've been different, I could ignore the other problems the game has in my opinion but combining all three of those leads me to the conclusion of not wanting to see more of this. In conclusion, I don't recommend playing this. I do appreciate the art style though.

it's fine. the abilities are neat, but the progression is pretty obtuse and the boss fights are all either trivial or miserably difficult (and not in ways that seem intentional). I beat the final boss by aiming upwards and spamming bombs. if that doesn't turn you off of it, then sure, go for it.

Maybe back then where there weren´t many good indie games this was considered good, but it does not hold up at all compared to modern metroidvanias or classics. The game feels slow and sluggish even with mobility upgrades, the controls are uncomfortable( especially the coat ability), and spritework is mediocre. At least it does have a nice OST, but I did basically beat the game out of spite, but it´s not a good thing if I´m constantly thinking how much I´d rather just be playing metroid fusion.

Very interesting metroid-vania style exploration game with retro 16-bit graphics. Very modern and fun! Lots of interesting areas, tools and story. Can be a head-scratcher the more you go on to find your way through or to find hidden items.

This game was a amazing! The story and plot was truly unique and reminds me a bit of Attack on Titans plot which I love. The game play is just as good; being able to collect numerous different weapons and tool while also collecting secret notes. The enemies are also very cool. There definitely are a few which I DESPISE, purely because they're annoying, but that's what makes it fun. The soundtrack is also AMAZING! Whenever I get to a new area, I pause for a moment to just enjoy the music. I would honestly listen to this soundtrack in my free time. I also enjoy how it's not totally impossible. Like some boss fights are definitely difficult but they're not something that I would spend hours on. Each boss has there own kind of way to attack and I really enjoy that. It's also very nice how beating the game doesn't take 50+ hours(which doesn't automatically make a game bad, it's just nice to not spend forever playing the same game). I would definitely recommend this game to anyone, especially if you're into 2D games, which I 100% am. I know some people can't stand 2D games and tend to lean more towards 3D ones, but I'd still recommend this game. I had a lot of fun playing this and it will definitely be inbeded in my brain forever.

It's the best modern Metroidvania. Tons of fun to explore every nook and cranny for secrets and powerups. Interesting story so far.

In terms of gameplay exploration and overall flow, it's probably one of the best metroidbanias out there. In terms of having to look at and listen to it for extended periods of time, it may very well be my personal nightmare. But maybe that's just me being over sensitive to contrast and not an issue for every player ever. It's chill,gets a little crappy near the end but which Metroidvania doesn't get crap at the end

Axiom Verge is a beautiful representation of the metroidvania genre reborn from the days of Castlevania and Metroid. Couldn't recommend it more, even to this day. It's even better now that it has Archipelago support. :D

Great game, great atmosphere, great soundtrack, solid story, nothing much to hate just that it might not be everyones cup of tea - 8.5/10

[h2]Axiom Verge is a decent enough Metroidvania, but there are many others that are more worth your time[/h2] If I could give this game a thumbs sideways I would--[b]It has some interesting mechanics and refreshing progression but is ultimately just a little 'meh'[/b]. You can tell from the screenshots/trailers that Axiom Verge is a love letter to Metroid series and a more retro style of gaming in general and it achieves this nicely while still injecting a cool modern flare, but for me the game was too simple and old school:[list][*]Aesthetically unpleasing art style--clunky pixel art filled with an abrasive colour pallet[*]Annoying 8-bit repetitive techno--some people LOVE the sound track though[*]Mechanically bare-bones enemy and boss fights--Shoot, shoot, move out of the way...that's it[*]Janky hitboxes[*]Unforgiving platforming[*]Even though most areas do eventually loop round into each other, the movement still feels arduous and the lack of fast travel is very apparent[/list] [b](If it's the retro send-up that has attracted you to this game then take all this with a pinch of my salt):[/b] What Axiom Verge does really well though, is surprising you with its unique upgrades and abilities. [b]It subverts the usual Mvania progression patterns[/b]--figuring out what you can do with your incrementallly increasing arsenal is fun and nails what Mvania's should primarily set out to do. Despite this, and with the at-best serviceable story, my overall impression after finishing was "Yeah, that was okay". [b]I didn't not enjoy it, Its just isn't going to crop up in my mind when I think of great Metroidvanias[/b]