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    Axiom Verge 2

    Game » consists of 2 releases. Released Aug 11, 2021

    The sequel to Axiom Verge.

    Axiom Verge 2 has an announcement trailer

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    rorie

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    This looks like it'll be a lot more artistically accomplished than Axiom Verge, which I eventually kind of gave up on after getting massively lost somewhere around halfway through. I was never a huge fan of the NES-era graphical scheme, too, but this looks like it's a lot more detailed in the art, which is...good! I like a good Metroidvania.

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    Relkin

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    I've been meaning to play the first one ever since it was released for free on the Epic Game Store.

    People seemed pretty enthused about it when it came out; said it did some new stuff with the genre. I wonder if the sequel will also be novel, or if they're just iterating on what they built in the first game.

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    rorie

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    @relkin said:

    I've been meaning to play the first one ever since it was released for free on the Epic Game Store.

    People seemed pretty enthused about it when it came out; said it did some new stuff with the genre. I wonder if the sequel will also be novel, or if they're just iterating on what they built in the first game.

    It was definitely pretty interesting but I also thought it was pretty confusing in terms of guidance for the player. I get that not every Metroidvania wants to hold hands but I definitely hit a point where I just had no idea where to go and it didn't feel like there was any real way to figure it out. In something like Hollow Knight you can move quickly enough to make that OK, but it didn't feel like I really wanted to press on with it when I got really lost.

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    mylifeforAiur

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    Axiom Verge is an awesome game, but it definitely had room for improvement. I agree with Rorie that navigation could have been handled a lot better. A better form of fast travel for one; if you're gonna fill your game with a significantly sprawling map filled with plenty of hidden areas you shouldn't make it a hassle to navigate.

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    SethMode

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    Yeah, I loved the game overall, but towards the end it was starting to really give me that feeling of "Okay, I'm ready for this to be over" by the end.

    Still, love the look of this so I'll be keeping my eye on it!

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    TheRealTurk

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    #6  Edited By TheRealTurk

    I kind of . . . didn't like the first one? It wasn't badly made per se, it just violated my Rule of Superior Similarity. It got so close to Metroid I decided I'd just rather go play Metroid.

    Plus, the sound design on some of those enemies. Yeesh. Migraine-inducing.

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    Relkin

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    @rorie: That gives me some pause, as even something like Hollow Knight provided the locations of the three Dreamers on the map; sounds like Axiom Verge is an extreme example of this sort of unguided design philosophy. Still gonna check it out soon, but maybe this ends being too far in that direction for me.

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    MightyDuck

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    I enjoyed the first one quite a bit, but as @rorie stated, there were times where I hit a brick wall and had no idea where to go. I ended up having to resort to checking out GameFaqs for a large chunk of the game.

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    deactivated-629ec706f0783

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    I'm down to try it, as I do for most metroidvanias, but put me in the category that really didn't like the first. I picked it up and beat it due to Jeff's love of it, but the aesthetic really rubbed me the wrong way, and I didn't care for the story at all.

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    gkhan

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    I loved Axiom Verge, so I'm happy with a sequel. I agree that some sort of fast-travel would have been nice, but I liked the game enough that that didn't really bother me.

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    Froghourt

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    I will ecco what some of you have said, I really love the first one in a lot of ways (the visuals are amazing!) but I never finished it because the end was a little too much for me. Still, look forward to a new one that could improve on some of the shortcomings of the first one.

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    sparky_buzzsaw

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    Something about the controls never really clicked with me. It's cool this is announced, though.

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    Rahf

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    #13  Edited By Rahf

    @sparky_buzzsaw: I'll both second this sentiment and push back on it. The controls were snappy and responsive, while perhaps lacking the floaty feel of Super Metroid along with Samus's overall baseline speed; something I have to shake off every time I play one of these. It simply always felt like you were quite often moving at one pace, and one pace only.

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    Rebel_Scum

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    Rorie's pile of shame just got real.

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    sparky_buzzsaw

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    @rahf: Yeah, I can agree with that. Very well put.

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    hansberg

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    #16  Edited By hansberg

    With these sorts of exploration platformers I often see areas that are out of reach, and I have no idea how to access. That said, I can be reasonably sure that I will find that way eventually. It will be tied to an item or ability that I haven't unlocked, or it will be opened up once I reach it from somewhere else in the world. The point is that I typically see at least one of these, sometimes several. Even if there are no icons on a map or radar, at least I can see where I can go and can then access those areas once I find the item or ability that I need.

    With Axiom Verge I hit a point (possibly the same as Rorie) where I just didn't know where to go. I couldn't see another out of reach area, and so only had a general goal of defeat the big bad guy once the mid game twist has been revealed. It wasn't necessarily the first time that had happened, but previously I had held patience and eventually found a way forward. At this point, it just didn't feel like I could go forward, which was more frustrating than fun.

    Leaving little breadcrumbs encourages exploration. "Hey," says the game, "you can't go here now... but you will eventually." What's over there? Will it be story relevant? Maybe there's a secret path nearby! It may not spell anything out precisely, but it adds an air of mystery. Axiom Verge lacked this for me. I often felt NOT as though I was moving in a targeted direction, but that I was stumbling forward and hoping.

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    cikame

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    My favourite part of the first game was walking through a gigantic underground hangar which housed the bodies of three giant "Rusalki", apparently the giant heads you find can attach to them, with everything being completely dark except for these huge awe inspiring things in the background it was really memorable.

    No Caption Provided

    Hope there's more art like this to come, some improvements to the flow of the game wouldn't hurt, but the glitch-tech stuff and the Rusalki were really the highlights.

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    rorie

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    I'm not 100% sure but it looks like the original creator got new artists to help create this one? Hopefully he still oversees the look and feel but shares the load a bit with other artists to make everything look a little more polished this time around.

    @cikame said:

    My favourite part of the first game was walking through a gigantic underground hangar which housed the bodies of three giant "Rusalki", apparently the giant heads you find can attach to them, with everything being completely dark except for these huge awe inspiring things in the background it was really memorable.

    No Caption Provided

    Hope there's more art like this to come, some improvements to the flow of the game wouldn't hurt, but the glitch-tech stuff and the Rusalki were really the highlights.

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    Rahf

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    #19  Edited By Rahf

    @rorie: While I really enjoyed the H.R. Giger inspiration for the Rusalki, along with the clearly invertebrate designs, it feels almost on-the-nose. I'm halfway to calling it a rip-off, because Giger's original art very much resembles the shapes, while the colours feel like they pay homage to Aliens. I suppose one big exception is that Fulp didn't go for the very explicitly sexual imagery Giger did. It could also be that this inspiration didn't come from the artist himself, but from the derivative work in the Alien-series. Nevertheless his influence is evident.

    A few examples of what I think are striking similarities from Giger's portfolio follow. I have avoided his more explicit art:

    S.H.O.D.A.N. and the more intelligent Rusalka in one?

    General shapes and connective 'tissue'

    Combination of art that would influence several artists here.

    Happy if he chooses to keep a part of it; happier if there is a move away from incorporating it to the degree we saw in Axiom Verge.

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    Onemanarmyy

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    #20  Edited By Onemanarmyy

    I enjoyed Axiom Verge, but i enjoy pretty much every metroidvania. That said this one definitly had some rough patches and the story wasn't all that captivating i thought. There was also quite some bloat in the weapon department. Like half of the weapon assortment was pretty much useless to me or for 1 particular moment. The lightning gun being able to get through blocks was just too good compared to the other weaponry and they give it to you way too fast.

    I also spent a lot of time swinging around in the open area trying to find new places to go because there was no obvious path to be found. To end up with nothing or a small health fragment / lore tab after all that was annoying.

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