The originalAxiom Vergesaw critical acclaim when it was released for PlayStation 4 in 2015, and left fans eagerly anticipating solo-developer Thomas Happ’s next title.Axiom Verge 2was released on the PC and PS4 exclusively through the Epic Games Store in 2021, and has now made its way to the PS5 and Steam. The sequel features many of the details players loved from the originalAxiom Verge, such as a multitude of collectibles, power ups, and weapons, but the follow-up is noticeably distinct from its predecessor in several ways.
Game Rant spoke with Happ about the new mechanics and influences that shapedAxiom Verge 2.The result is a sequel with a distinct approach to puzzles, combat, and exploration, despite its shared metroidvania heritage.
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Varied Inspirations
TheoriginalAxiom Vergetold a high-concept sci-fi story with themes of transhumanism, the fungible nature of reality, and an ambivalent race of biomechanical aliens. Many of the same themes are present inAxiom Verge 2, though the game also owes a debt to some new influences.
“It’s got a lot ofA Link to the Pastin its DNA, and some inspiration for the robot hacking fromHorizon Zero Dawn. There’s also some Alastair Reynolds influence in there - as with AV1, the preponderance of nanotech zooming around like little bugs, and minds separating or merging with those of others.”
The works of Alastair Reynolds, an astronomer and physicist turned hard sci-fi and space opera author, can be considered the connective tissue between both games. Both of Happ’s titles and Reynolds' works incorporate huge spans of time, near-ubiquitous nanotechnology, and space operathemes akin to those found in theMass Effectfranchise.
It isn’t hard to guess how such a story could incorporate themes and mechanics fromHorizon Zero Dawn,which also deals with extinction, transhumanism, and geological scales of time, but the first influence Happ mentioned seems like a bit of an outlier.A Link to the Past,one of the best-known andmost highly regarded entries in Nintendo’sLegend of Zeldafranchise, tells a story across two versions of the same overworld via fantasy magic.
Dual Dimensions, Hacks, and Melee Attacks
Unlike most sequels that simply build on the systems of their predecessors,Axiom Verge 2features several notable departures from the originalAxiom Verge. Happ mentioned three primary changes to the new game’s formula.
“The biggest difference is probably two overlapping worlds. The next biggest difference is the lack of projectile weapons. The hacking mechanic is inspired by the glitching mechanic in AV1 though it’s a bit more detailed and the effects are menu-driven choices instead of being a binary ‘glitched or not-glitched.'”
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A Link to the Past’s primary influences are mechanical rather than thematic;Axiom Verge 2has players bouncing back-and-forth between two overlapping worlds for puzzle solving and navigation. While players can find a ranged weapon in the form ofthe Gishru boomerang inAxiom Verge 2, the high-caliber sci-fi armaments that typifiedAxiom Verge’s arsenal are noticeably absent. Instead, players will need to rely on a menu-based hacking system to co-opt and corrupt enemies. Even though both games are metroidvanias,Axiom Verge 2often feels more like a stealth and puzzle title than a more combat-oriented platformer, as was the case with the originalAxiom Verge.
There is still a sense of continuity between the two titles, however.Axiom Verge’s glitching system was a revelation, both in terms of combat and puzzle solving, and remains one of the most distinctive systems seen ina modern metroidvania title. Giving players more options than a straightforward binary adjustment system opens up the game in a number of ways. Enemies can hijacked, slowed down, and rendered vulnerable in other various ways depending on how the hacking system is used.
A More Intimate Tale
In addition to the new mechanics and inspirations,Axiom Verge 2’s narrative features something of a tonal shift in terms of its storytelling. Rather than continuing Trace’s story in the alien world of Sudra, the sequelfeatures a new protagonist, Indra, with a deeply personal motivation. While Trace is thrust into his adventure via a catastrophic lab accident (in the vein ofHalf-Lifeand countless other sci-fi stories), Indra is proactively exploring an alien landscape to rescue her missing daughter.
Indra is an intrepid technological billionaire who heads to Antarctica after receiving word from a shady source who claims to know something about her daughter’s whereabouts. In many ways, this new core of the story shifts the narrative from a cosmic scale that it is almost abstract, toa poignant journey with an emotionally tangible goal: reunion. Players hoping for answers about Trace’s story may be disappointed, however. While the events ofAV2provide new context forAxiom Verge, it is not a direct continuation of the original’s story, leaving many questions unanswered, and more stories to be told in theAxiom Vergeuniverse.
Axiom Verge 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.
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