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Important upgrades and tools are scattered everywhere in Axiom Verge 2, which lends it a beautifully non-linear feeling that doesn’t strictly pigeonhole you into sticking to a somewhat linear path.Ī big part of this non-linearity is due to the new ‘breach’ mechanic introduced relatively early on. Though you’re given a marker that shows where to go on the map to next advance the story, it feels almost like you can go in just about any direction and make meaningful progress. The creepy, alien hallways of the original release have been traded here for much more naturalistic, open-air environments, but the map feels like it’s overall more cohesively designed. It’s the slow drip of mechanics like this which fundamentally change the way you look at Axiom Verge 2, making it the sort of game that becomes intensely more enjoyable the longer it goes on. Via spending consumable points, you can do things like making your foes fight for you or causing them to explode or give out health drops. Not only does this give you the option to overcome a variety of obstacles that once stood in your way, but it also lets you take over most of the enemies you encounter. For example, you’re given an ability early on that lets you hack any machinery in your immediate vicinity. Luckily, new gameplay ideas still keep both exploration and combat feeling fresh as the experience goes on. It’s not necessarily better or worse than what came before, and it’s later expanded upon as you find more secrets in the overworld, but it does feel like this may be the most divisive aspect of the new release. This requires you to get up close and personal with all the enemies you face on this adventure, and while you have a ranged option in the form of a boomerang you get later on, combat has an unmistakably different flow. Axiom Verge 2 is still a 2D Metroidvania, but combat is now oriented mostly around an ice pick that Indra finds almost immediately. This time around, gameplay has been mixed up a little bit from the original. And without spoiling too much, this release does eventually reveal its fascinating connections to the original Axiom Verge.
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You’re not sure whether Indra is dreaming, dead, or something else entirely, which gives all the proceedings a wonderfully vague, fever dream aesthetic. You’re given just enough information that the narrative makes sense, and gaps are slowly filled in as you find optional text logs along the way, but there’s rarely a moment where you feel like you truly understand all the forces at play. If there’s one thing that the narrative of Axiom Verge 2 absolutely excels at, it’s keeping the player continuously wondering what on earth is going on. When she comes to, Indra finds that she’s been transported to a different dimension and given a ‘new body’ by a mysterious artificial being. Unfortunately, all the staff at the base seem to have vanished without a trace, and things are made even worse when Indra accidentally falls into a cave and… drowns. There are some real At the Mountains of Madness vibes as Indra finds herself taking a chopper to a remote Antarctic research station owned by her company after receiving a mysterious message that hints that her missing daughter might be there. Unlike the first game, which saw you playing as a scientist named Trace, the narrative of Axiom Verge 2 follows Indra Chaudhari, a billionaire CEO of a major international conglomerate.