Axiom Verge

Yeah it's basically Super Metroid but more horizontal in upgrade growth than vertical, and with a more "90s anime" feel to it. Masterfully designed and has more stuff to offer for way longer than you'd initially think! The movement is largely uninteresting but the platforming is well-designed at least. This game is clearly not intending you to feel as godlike as you do by the end of Super Metroid, more like a little gremlin in the wires mucking with stuff in subversive ways. That's all well and good, but the issue remains. The wasp is RNG: The Boss and it can go screw itself. The other boss fights are pretty good overall.

This is an excellent non-linear action platformer with great presentation and a unique atmosphere about it. Usually with this type of game, like Super Metroid as one of the earliest examples, it will go for a menacing ambience or haunting tones and an oppressive sensation. In this case they do that but also manage to make it pretty groovy, with a soundtrack that somehow manages to be both evocative and funky at the same time. Paired with graphics that are retro, yet still crisply detailed and brilliantly designed, it is to my mind quite "original" for how it looks and sounds. On the game-play front it is very well-designed, with a couple of neat touches that still stand out in a pretty saturated genre by now. There's quite a varied selection of weapons with different uses for them, and some nicely challenging means for exploration and modest environmental puzzles. Overall it's just right when it comes to the difficulty: It's tough but fair, and the design of levels means that, whilst they are quite large, it's not super tedious making your way around. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it as a slick relatively straight-forward experience that was thoroughly compelling for me. Not everything is perfect though. The story is okay and competent, but nothing more than that. To be fair it doesn't spend a whole lot of time on it, so it's not all that intrusive if it doesn't grab you. Finally: the bosses here look brilliant but don't quite have the same effect when it comes to their attacks. Most are decent enough, though they are fairly sedate compared to more recent titles with multiple attack patterns and bullet-hell-esque design. It also doesn't do the insane platforming set-pieces of games like Ori or Prince Of Persia The Lost Crown, so in that regard it is quite old-skool. There's a very engaging experience to be had here if you want a pure shooter, or like exploring every nook and cranny of a map for hidden items and secrets. It's responsive, tricky to play and has a lot of well developed content. I'd still recommend it even with a large number of this type of game available, but it does come with the caveat that there are more recent games requiring some mad-skills if that's your thing.

It's like a really, really boring Metroid with terrible music.

Kinda mid, it's closer to Metroid 1 than Super Metroid in gameplay, there are TONS of secrets (some randomly generated and very hard to find) and the items don't appear on the map so I didn't feel there was much point to trying to find everything. The story is awful and doesn't really conclude, just a bunch of weird cliffhangers. Idk why its so popular, maybe at the time there weren't many good Metroidvanias idk. I'd say it's worth it on very steep discount (buy for 5 bucks or less), otherwise it's a waste of money.

好玩，美术是顶中顶，进游戏看到出生地血肉蠕动的洞穴，还有血肉机械混杂的boss，异物感拉满了。惊悚怪异的场景再配上各个地图的bgm，让人感觉毛毛的，那种异星异形的感觉简直身临其境。 就是后期跑图没有传送跑的有点恶心 很难相信这是一个人做出来的游戏。 ==================== 打完了，整个流程给我感觉像是在做一场病态、错乱的噩梦

I would buy again just for the soundtrack alone. What a masterpiece bringing back my deepest nostalgic memories. If you fell in love with Metroid on NES, and Super Metroid on SNES, then you will fall in love with this one aswell, and potentially marry it.

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.