Axiom Verge

Axiom Verge is a remarkable homage to classic Metroidvania-style games, yet it distinguishes itself through a unique blend of retro aesthetics, intricate design, and a deeply immersive sci-fi narrative. Developed by Thomas Happ Games, this indie title first captured the attention of gamers with its pixel-perfect art style and fluid gameplay, showcasing the potential of one-person development projects. At its core, Axiom Verge offers a sprawling, interconnected world filled with secret passages, mysterious technology, and challenging enemies, encouraging exploration and rewarding curiosity with a constant sense of discovery. The game’s visuals are a loving nod to the 16-bit era, with detailed pixel art that feels both nostalgic and fresh. Environments range from alien caverns to eerie laboratories, each area meticulously crafted to evoke a haunting atmosphere that complements the storyline. The sound design deserves equal praise; the haunting synth-heavy soundtrack perfectly underscores the mood, immersing players in a mysterious world that feels both expansive and intimate. Audio cues are cleverly used to enhance gameplay, from the ominous hum of machinery to the subtle beeps signaling the discovery of hidden upgrades. Gameplay in Axiom Verge revolves around exploring the vast map, acquiring new weapons and abilities, and solving environmental puzzles. The controls are tight and responsive, allowing for smooth platforming and intense combat encounters. One of the game’s standout features is its arsenal of inventive weapons, each with unique mechanics that encourage creative approaches to combat and exploration. The ability to switch between different weapons and tools on the fly keeps gameplay dynamic, and the variety of enemy designs ensures that players must continually adapt their tactics. The inclusion of glitches as a gameplay mechanic adds an inventive twist, allowing players to manipulate the game world in ways that feel like hacking the system itself, fitting seamlessly into the game’s technological theme. The narrative is cryptic yet compelling, slowly unraveling through environmental storytelling, cryptic logs, and intriguing characters encountered along the way. The story follows Trace, a scientist who wakes up in an alien world after a mysterious accident, piecing together the truth behind the strange landscape and his own identity. This approach to storytelling respects the player’s intelligence, offering fragments of lore that encourage theorizing and exploration rather than spoon-feeding every detail. The dark, atmospheric tone of the story complements the gameplay perfectly, creating an experience that is both intellectually engaging and emotionally resonant. While Axiom Verge may initially appeal to fans of retro platformers, it transcends simple nostalgia by introducing fresh ideas and deep gameplay systems. The difficulty curve is well-balanced, offering enough challenge to satisfy veterans without alienating newcomers. However, some players might find the sheer size of the world and the abundance of secrets overwhelming at first, but this only adds to the game’s longevity and replayability. The map system and the gradual acquisition of new abilities ensure that progress feels rewarding and natural, maintaining a satisfying pace throughout. In summary, Axiom Verge is a masterful blend of retro inspiration and modern design sensibilities, delivering a richly detailed, challenging, and atmospheric Metroidvania experience. Its captivating art style, innovative gameplay mechanics, and subtle narrative create a memorable journey that stands out in the indie game scene. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the genre or a newcomer curious about what Metroidvania games have to offer, Axiom Verge provides an engrossing adventure filled with mystery, exploration, and thrilling combat. It is a shining example of how passion and creativity can produce a game that feels both timeless and refreshingly original. Rating: 8/10

a love letter to metroid that doesn't copy its homework. lovely atmospheric soundtrack (third(?) area is a standout), and the way the beat of each track is incorporated into the graphics and the low-health beeps is really nice. visuals and sfx on attacks/tool use are incredibly satisfying. just play it. if you're looking at these reviews it's because you've played metroid and probably liked it, and you're wondering if you'll like this too. yes. yes you will.

This is "Hyper Metroid" under a different name; the true successor to Super Metroid after nearly two decades. This is the sort of game that lingers in memory as one of a whole console generation's crown jewels, and is still there, unforgettable, any X amount of years later. Another [i]Super Metroid[/i], another [i]Metroid Prime[/i] in weight and dimension. It's the kind of game that casts even a sequel such as [i]Axiom Verge 2[/i] — a great work which if it stood alone would draw deserved praise — as no more than a qualified achievement and comparatively wanting in spirit. [spoiler] [i]Axiom #1: All algorithms are universal and valid, regardless of whether they are executed. Cognition is a sub algorithm whose behavior is to perceive properties of the parent algorithm describing it. Any algorithm giving rise to cognitive entities will be perceived as realities by the entities described.[/i] [/spoiler]

I absolutely love the atmosphere and overall design of Axiom Verge. If it had come out a bit later, its visuals would’ve fit perfectly into the era of modern ARG-style or analog horror aesthetics. It’s basically a perfect retro metroidvania in every aspect, clearly inspired by Metroid and Giger’s work, but still managing to feel unique and tell its own dark, unsettling story. The visual style, music, and overall atmosphere are just incredible. Everything blends together into this oppressive, immersive vibe that really sticks with you. The soundtrack does a lot of heavy lifting here, and paired with the art direction it gives the whole game a very distinct identity. From a gameplay perspective, it feels really solid. Controls are responsive, movement and combat are smooth, and overall it just feels good to play. The game is well balanced too, it keeps a hardcore feel from start to finish. Early on you’re weak and limited, enemies are simpler, but by the end you’ve got a huge arsenal and more tools, and the enemies scale up in both difficulty and numbers, so the challenge never really drops off. Exploration is easily one of the strongest parts. There are tons of well-hidden secrets and power-ups scattered across the map. Some of them are hidden a bit too well and require some real moon logic, but it still feels great whenever you manage to find something. The map marker system helps a lot with that, even if it’s a bit limited since you can only place two markers at a time. The password system is also a bit confusing at first, but once you understand it, it actually adds another layer to exploration and secret hunting. The weapon variety is nice, and unlocking new tools over time feels rewarding, but not all of them stand out. Quite a few feel like duplicates, basically the same weapon but slightly better. It probably would’ve worked better as a more straightforward upgrade system, or if you had more control over what goes into your active weapon wheel versus staying in inventory. The story is surprisingly engaging. It starts off pretty generic, like a typical “guy gets pulled into another world” setup, and there are a few awkward or even silly moments along the way, but overall it’s told in a way that feels interesting and not as cliché as it first seems. It’s also nice that some of your actions during the story actually affect the world around you, which makes things feel a bit more alive. There are a few downsides though. Some bosses can be cheesed pretty easily if you find a position where they just can’t hit you, which kind of breaks the challenge. The dash mechanic is the weakest part of the controls, it’s tied to double-tapping a direction, which feels awkward. Sometimes you trigger it accidentally, and other times it just doesn’t come out when you need it, which is especially frustrating during more precise platforming sections. It’s also a bit disappointing that the game doesn’t give you a choice at the end. The main antagonist actually has some solid arguments, and it would’ve been interesting to decide whether to join them or fight. But it’s pretty clear the developers wanted to keep that big final boss battle, and to be fair, it’s very epic. The built-in randomizer is a really nice bonus feature as well. Overall, Axiom Verge is a very solid and high-quality metroidvania. It nails atmosphere, exploration, and that classic feel, even if a few design choices keep it from being truly perfect.

Прошел не особо много метроидваний, но эта довольно прикольная, хотя боссы довольно однообразны и тема с измененным шрифтом в записках ужасная, больше половину записок просто скипнул из-за шрифта

I have tried soooo very hard to complete this game over the course of 3 different playthroughs. Twice with a walkthrough. I just cannot justify trying to beat this game. The main intrigue of this game is definitely the goregous pixel art and atmosphere. However its downfall is definitely the traversal, annoying bosses, and trivial upgrades. The core gameplay loop is not enough to keep me satisfied unfortunately. I love most metroidvanias, but not this one. Sorry.

I've heard people tell me this is basically Metroid, but made today, and they were right. For better or for worse, hunting for secrets feels very retro; very limited map management, no fast travel, and visuals to match. The more modern touches were nice to have, though. There were a LOT of different types of weapons you can use. I almost want to say there were too many. But having such a variety was neat. I think the game started out a bit on the tough side, but after collecting everything, the final stretch of the game was a piece of cake on Normal difficulty. I didn't really connect with the story in this one. I get it, but it just didn't fit my personal tastes, I suppose. I don't think it was bad, however. By the end, everything made sense. I had fun with this! It was a good, solid game that doesn't really win any awards from me. Perfectly adequate. I liked it!

Such a great metroidvania. I just had so much fun with this game, it really scratches that metroidvania itch with a great map that feels natural to traverse. Edit: Have replayed it after experiencing more metroidvanias and being older and even if still good it felt a lot more tedious. Notes not being able to be read until you found the right ones, items and paths being hidden everywhere (which can be fun but it was too much), the randomized location breach realms which made you rub every wall and just the general pathing of the exploration all made it feel tedious playing it again. If it were the first time i played it then those things wouldn't have bothered me because the pacing of the story is fairly good and that would have made the tediousness go away but when you already experienced it once it then it can't distract from the flaws of the game.