I’m in what I presume are the final-ish stages of Axiom Verge as its on sale. It’s pretty darn fun. Pretty much an updated Super Metroid.
If you can live with mostly retro visuals and what feels a little uninspired/cliched with the theme/style, there is an enjoyable core game here. Thought so far...
Pros:
Generally very satisfying exploration and basic monster killing.
Diverse range of moves and abilities.
Glitch gun is really cool.
Unusual soundtrack (particularly odd for the very first area).
Neutral:
There is a very abrupt difficulty spike when you first enter one area (the bit where the lead character starts feeling ill).
Fairly charmless.
Some weapons are a bit redundant.
Cons:
Travelling around is slow and there should be a better insta-travel system than the ‘main corridor’.
These games always sag a little bit in the late game when you have explored pretty much everything and need to find the mysterious unknown ability to progress - most unexplored areas give minor power ups and getting from A to B can be a little tedious, hence the previous point.
Not ‘Hollow Knight’ levels of polish.
Visuals can be a bit messy in the ‘overly pink’ areas - one room actually hurt my eyes. Style is a little generic at times.
Nonsense plot and characters.
If you can live with mostly retro visuals and what feels a little uninspired/cliched with the theme/style, there is an enjoyable core game here. Thought so far...
Pros:
Generally very satisfying exploration and basic monster killing.
Diverse range of moves and abilities.
Glitch gun is really cool.
Unusual soundtrack (particularly odd for the very first area).
Neutral:
There is a very abrupt difficulty spike when you first enter one area (the bit where the lead character starts feeling ill).
Fairly charmless.
Some weapons are a bit redundant.
Cons:
Travelling around is slow and there should be a better insta-travel system than the ‘main corridor’.
These games always sag a little bit in the late game when you have explored pretty much everything and need to find the mysterious unknown ability to progress - most unexplored areas give minor power ups and getting from A to B can be a little tedious, hence the previous point.
Not ‘Hollow Knight’ levels of polish.
Visuals can be a bit messy in the ‘overly pink’ areas - one room actually hurt my eyes. Style is a little generic at times.
Nonsense plot and characters.
