If you have ever played Super Metroid, you will quickly recognize where Axiom Verge's inspiration came from. In essence, it plays exact like a Metroid game except the weapons, level design and story is 10x more convoluted and mysterious. Don't get me wrong, this game is amazing because it takes the metroidvania concept and pushes it to new highs of originality. The sheer fact that this game was made by one man is simply astounding. However, there are a few things which I found to be worse than the original.
Pros:
- Superb soundtrack. Even better than the first game! It delivers a strange midi middle eastern vibe which I have never seen in other games. It helps bring the player into a strange alien universe.
- The weapons and items are very original. It's not your typical shotgun and rocket launcher type weapon. You get weapons which literally defy and bend reality. Similarly to the first game, you can progress through the game by hacking, distorting and body-transfering.
- Its fun to play and very immersive The game has better graphics than the prequel.
- A very original experience. It's different and feels different.
- Fast travelling and moving around feels easy and simple. The map and coordinate system makes it easy to know where to come back.
- The item and inventory system is great. You can customize your items and controls on the spot.
Cons:
-The leveling system feels useless. Some obvious weapons are missing and are replaced with less interesting ones. You will melee fight 90% of the time. The trick is to position yourself within the enemies hit boxes, and spamming attack to defeat any enemy, since you don't take damage by touching enemies.
The game is too hard at the start, and then becomes way too easy mid-game. the first 10% of the game, you need to hit an enemy 6-7 times to kill them, after upgrading your melee weapon and health ,you kill them in 2.
-Because you have infinite"mana" you can actually make a drone and kill anyone without risking your actual body. So in essence, you are invincible.
- I was not invested in the protagonist. I didn't care about the main hero.
- You are never told where to go and what to do, and the way you collect item is random. Usually you need to pick up an Item to get another item, but in Axiom Verge 2, its all over the place.
-The level design and various zones are way too repetitive. A water level, a rock level, a jungle level with certain shades.
-There are no bosses. I mean there are bosses, but they feel more like enemies. In a nutshell, bosses can be avoided altogether, which is weird.
-The story is difficult to understand, and often you don't understand what you have to do and where you have to go.
Overall, its a great game however I feel that Axiom Verge 1 is a bit better.