Axiom Verge: What a gem! (Switch)

METROIDVANIA is one of my favorite types of games, and I've played a decent number of them by this point.

Not all of them have lived up to the excellence of the two series the genre stemmed from - but many have come close.

I'm pleased to say that in my opinion, Axiom Verge absolutely does.

The game, by Thomas Happ, had been on my list for a long while before I picked it up in a sale just before Christmas.

In the intro, we see a scientist called Trace buried under a mountain of rubble following an explosion in his lab, after which he awakens in a strange alien world with plenty of questions and a voice urging him onward.

Starting as an unarmed, confused fish out of water, Trace quickly becomes a force to be reckoned with as he collects all manner of weapons and abilities in his quest for answers.

So how does Axiom Verge stack up to the greats?

First of all, it feels great. The controls are solid and responsive, plus your many abilities are mapped to the buttons (in my case Switch) perfectly, allowing for easy use whenever you need them.

And speaking of abilities, there are a great many of them to find. I discovered 12 weapons, each of which was unique and had its usefulness depending on the situation.

I thought I was well kitted out, but having done some research after finishing it, it turns out I only found (literally) half of them.

That's not even counting the numerous upgrades Trace himself can undergo - each of which help you to access new portions of the world in classic, rewarding Metroidvania fashion.

I really like the retro art style and atmosphere of the world. I even found some elements of the world slightly unsettling, in a good way.

The game also has a good soundtrack, with some of the earlier tunes in particular sticking in my mind even now.

Reviews I watched prior to pickup were largely favorable, but I recall at least one which warned of too much walking/backtracking, overly similar environments and even a "forgettable story".

What a load of tosh! Axiom Verge does boast a large world to explore and  you will hit a lot of dead ends as you fill out your map.

But part of the fun of a Metroidvania game is the backtracking! Each tool you acquire presents new possibilities elsewhere, so re-exploring areas is definitely encouraged.

Yes, return journeys can take time if your destination is way on the other side of the many interconnected sectors - but on more than one occasion I was glad I did hoof it because the journey turned up hitherto unseen discoveries.

Besides, after a certain point a form of shortcut does become available to reduce excess power-walking, though this is not so much a teleporter as a central corridor with entries into each region.

I didn't find the locations too similar either. To my eye, each had its own character, color palette and style to mark it out.

And as for the "forgettable story" - I don't know what game they were playing, but I found the tale in Axiom Verge intriguing and suspenseful to say the least.

It had just the right amount of mystery, existential dread and reality-bending use of sci fi for my taste.

Overall, this is a fantastic game which kept me totally hooked for the approximate 10 hours my first playthrough lasted.

I'll definitely be replaying it in the future to try and find more of its hidden goodies - perhaps prior to Axiom Verge 2's release later this year!

Have you played Axiom Verge? Let me know your thoughts below!