This is a sequel I was waiting awhile for, and it did not disappoint! The strange thing is, I have no doubt in my mind that this is a better game than the original. Better art style, map and exploration, story, etc.. but it isn’t as fun. Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast playing, and of course I 100% the game, but it doesn’t capture the feeling of the OG. In that game, it really felt like a love letter to old school Metroidvanias, from the sound design and art, to the enemies and so on.

The best part of the original was the huge selection of weapons that you got to mess around with, all of them being so fun and unique, and that isn’t here in Axiom Verge 2. You get two base weapons and each one has a few variants, but they are all very similar.

And while I enjoyed some of the upgrades and improvements in this game, such as you as the MC being tied to your drone rather than teleporting to it like in the original, I miss the movement and traversal of Axiom verge 1. There were some tough puzzles in that game if you wanted to 100% it, and while there are some fun “Aha” type puzzles in this game, none are very difficult, and a lot of them are completely void and null after you gain the mist ability.

All in all this is a great sequel, and Thomas Happ once again proves he understands the Metroidvania formula better than most! I love the world he has built and I really hope that it continues to grow in a third installment!