I thought I knew what to expect when I first fired up the preview build of Axiom Verge 2. I mean sure, this sequel does introduce a brand new lead character, Indra, and drops her into the frozen wilds of the Antarctic, which is about as far away from the previous game’s alien world of Sudra as you can get. But the clear Super Metroid influence evident in the original quickly resurfaced in Axiom Verge 2, as I set about searching for secrets and power-ups through a series of steel structures and subterranean caverns in a comfortingly familiar mix of enemy-attacking and carefully considered backtracking.
Then I piloted Indra’s personal drone through a tear in time and space and discovered another world within the world, which completely changed my perspective on the landscape. It may be called Axiom Verge 2, but based on the first few hours it feels more like it could be an Axiom Verge 2-in-1.
These breach gates can be found peppered around Axiom Verge 2’s overworld map. Initially they just seem like small self-contained areas that you can infiltrate, hunt around in for skill upgrades and then beam back out of, but over the course of Axiom Verge 2’s first three hours it soon became clear that each pocket of the breach is actually connected, forming a single sprawling space running adjacent to the main overworld.
Phasing in and out of the breach feels a bit like moving between the light and dark worlds of Zelda: A Link to the Past, in the sense that you can use one side of the divide to find a path to an objective that’s otherwise blocked in the other. Aside from the structural differences, there’s also a clear contrast in the look and feel of each world to make them seem distinct, not unlike the shifts between 8-bit and 16-bit time periods in The Messenger.
There’s also a noticeable adjustment to gameplay. As Indra in the overworld, I was performing Ninja Gaiden-style slash attacks with a pickaxe and using a shockwave ability to blast open hidden pathways in the terrain. Meanwhile, as her drone inside the breach, I was firing out a grappling hook to slingshot my way up to out of reach platforms and through fragile walls, like a more manoeuvrable version of the Metroid morph ball.
In addition to all the hopping back and forth between parallel dimensions, Axiom Verge 2 seems intent on playing with some of the other conventions typical of the Metroidvania genre. For example, the handful of boss fights I came across seemed almost entirely optional. I was able to completely avoid the missile attacks of a huge flying beast and the zaps of electricity from an oversized eel, and just pass them by entirely as I went on my merry way. This struck me as unusual for a game of this kind, and may yet prove to be divisive among die hard retro gaming fans who’d prefer to get trapped inside a fenced off arena and forced to take one of these monsters down, but I appreciate that Axiom Verge 2 doesn’t seem to want to throw up frustrating roadblocks purely to hinder your progress. Of course, I still went back and killed them in order to collect the precious skill upgrades they drop – and also because I’m a complete monster.
There appears to have been a conscious effort from the developer to make Axiom Verge 2 easier to navigate than the original game. Different biomes within the overworld map feel more distinct, and a compass collected earlier on indicates the direction of story objectives and hidden secrets nearby.
Using infection powers to hack enemies and objects also brings an interesting twist to Axiom Verge 2’s combat; giving Indra the ability to slow down the movement speed of enemy scorpions or turn bipedal mechs into allies. How important the hacking becomes to the core Axiom Verge 2 experience remains to be seen, however there was one surprise power-up that I was awarded right at the end of my hands-on that could well have a significant impact. I’m absolutely not going to spoil it here, but let’s just say that it could have a transformative influence on exploration and I’m extremely keen to see where it leads.
I’m also curious as to why specific parts of the overworld map appear unstable, as though the breach is threatening to invade the real world – and given I’ve only played the first three hours of what is apparently a fifteen hour game, I’ve no doubt there are still plenty of secrets left to uncover in what is shaping up to be yet another absorbing Metroidvania.