


Axiom Verge 2 caters to player choice in a manner reminiscent of Arkane Studios’ Prey, and while the skill trees and their interplay with systems aren’t nearly as deep, the core elements are clearly there and they work well. You can also focus on improving your drone’s abilities if you decide you want to use that to get a lot of your work done. You can turn yourself into a really hardy fighting machine pretty easily, or you can opt to focus on hacking with a giant pool of energy to draw from and turn everything on the screen into your friend and explode anything that doesn’t comply. You’ll collect skill points that you can invest into some trees that will let you strengthen yourself in areas that suit your play style. I tended to use these strategies interchangeably or in combination. Combat is very much an affair of “approach each situation however you want,” leaving you to decide whether you want to hack apart every hostile deathbot you see, avoid fights where you can, or use your hacking abilities to turn your foes into allies and improve your odds in encounters. There’s so much to explore, new abilities and upgrades are doled out at a frequent, well-measured pace, and it’s incredibly responsive and easy to control. On the whole, playing Axiom Verge 2 is a delightful experience. The real power of this dynamic becomes apparent later in the game, but I’ll say for now that it’s more than just a gimmick and it feels not just like a part of your arsenal but an extension of yourself.
Axiom verge 2 fast travel full#
Utilizing a remotely controlled drone makes a return conceptually, but rather than just being a clone of an enemy type like in Axiom Verge 1, the drone becomes a central part of the experience as it allows for safe travel into The Breach (the alternate world between worlds first introduced in the original game), and it also has its own full set of unique abilities that allow it to access places that Indra can’t on her own. It also excels at finding new and interesting ways to experiment within the context of the genre, and within its own fiction, so that the mix of abilities you gain are not just practical upgrades that enable enhanced traversal (like climbing vertical walls or detonating loose rock), but exciting twists on old favorites and entirely new concepts that weave in seamlessly with the world and the gameplay. There is no direct reference or major overlap to the story or characters in Axiom Verge 1, which helps make the game accessible to folks who skipped the first, and adds to the sense of mystery and discovery for those who did.Īxiom Verge 2 hews closely to core tenants of the genre, with a major focus on exploration, loads of abilities and unlocks, and like its predecessor it boasts some truly wonderful artwork and music that both pay tribute to the roots of the Metroidvania legacy and elevate it above its forbears. Indra starts off the game modestly, armed solely with a small health pool, an ice axe, and her apparent genius intellect to help her on her way. Things really pop off once you cross over into the alternate universe and your questions are answered with further, bigger questions.Īs Indra Chaudhari, the mysterious billionaire head of Global 3 (the aforementioned worldwide mega conglomerate), you set off on a journey to uncover the fates of the research scientists at the station belonging to a rival company she has recently acquired. This club has everything worldwide mega conglomerates, antarctic research stations, disappearing science crews, mysterious invitations, and portals to other universes, and one very impressive helicopter give you all of the pull you need to dig into the adventure that lies ahead, and this is all within the first fifteen minutes of the game. Kicking off with an opening sequence befitting of the 16-bit era it pays homage to, Axiom Verge 2 pulls no punches with its setup.
