2026 Special - Axiom Verge 2

There will be spoilers ahead. This is your only warning.

I've been having something of an internal debate on whether or not I should wait a week before writing this Axiom Verge 2 review. When it comes to transhumanism, my beliefs are determined almost entirely by how much pain I'm currently in. At this exact moment, I'm doing okay. I can appreciate the subtle yet wonderful feelings, such as goosebumps while listening to a favorite song, the uncomfortable yet satisfying brain breeze from drinking a slushee on a hot summer day, all those times when the human body is more than just a prison of flesh that hasn't yet locked the door. In a week or less, okay will turn to abysmal, and I'll begging for my brain to get plopped into a glass jar and away from whatever hell I'm suffering in. I mean, shit, it wasn't even a month ago when I moved my hip too quickly while pouring tomatoes into a bucket. Within a minute, I was struck with what might've been bursitis. Impossible to know for sure when getting a timely doctor's appointment in America is a laughable proposition. Anyway, the hip pain was as debilitating as it was excruciating. One morning I tried using my calves to push myself out of bed. Managed to pull both of them instead. 10:00 am, couldn't stand, let alone walk, and still had to make it into work somehow. 

Ultimately, I'm the architect of my own destruction. The first 45 years of life were spent ignoring words like moderation and exercise. Shameful really, because getting that heartrate elevated and entering "the zone" while working out feels immense, almost like I reached a higher plane of existence. Imagine if I actually stuck with it. In lieu of words that barely make sense, my reviews would contain shirtless pics and number scores. Nowadays though, I'm not sure if even nanomachines or a robot body would do me any good. I'd probably fuck them up even worse. It's because I never learned to love myself. Obsessing over the could've beens or never weres instead of who I am has created an abomination of flesh and machinery that slides across the floor. This is probably what The Substance was telling me and I'm only just now piecing it together. Even if we have the means to extend lives, will it matter if we don't make the effort to preserve them? 

Instead of trying to convince myself that there's a path to transcendence, I should focus on bettering the however many years I have left. A couple goddamn stretches in the morning might've prevented that bursitis and the agonizing days that followed. Good luck convincing my brain to do anything besides make bad decisions though. Perhaps the truth is that we're too afraid to admit we deserve each other. We - much like you and the brains floating in your skulls - inherited a miserable world full of problems. Instead of working to better the lives of those around us (as well as our own), we chose to wallow in the depths. I think that even if I was given more time or a second chance on this planet Earth, I'd squander it the first chance I got. My brain would leave my body to rot while he left on an expedition to a world of his own creation. 

This is the undercurrent that flows throughout Axiom Verge 2. The head of super conglomerate Globe 3, Indra Chaudhari is a CEO living the typical CEO life. Mergers and acquisitions, laying off thousands of workers while profits are soaring, all the greatest hits. Her latest score was Hammond Corp. Once a major competitor, this company's stock price plummeted after its CEO disappeared during a trip to Antarctica. Indra quickly snatched everything up, turning Globe 3 from megacorp to gigacorp. Among the assets was Dr. Hammond's ansible, a communication terminal with transdimensional capabilities. While investigating the device, she read the following:

Come to Antarctica if you wish to see your daughter again.

Reasoning that she's ready for whatever fate has in store for her, Indra immediately headed to Jones Station. While searching the site for any sign of her daughter or Dr. Hammon, she's transported to Kiengir. Somewhere in the valleys and war-torn ruins, Indra faces a question that lacks a plausible answer: How much of yourself can you give up before you no longer exist? 

Not long after her arrival, a brush with death forces the CEO to undergo an incredible transformation. Now she's a Wielder, a human who has formed a deep connection with the Sagiga. They're native to this mysterious universe and capable of lending their powers to Wielders via nanotechnology. Through the service of these Arms, Indra can explore and fight in all the ways a being of flesh and bone could never imagine. One of her first discoveries is that she no longer has to fear drowning. Also, fatal damage simply results in her being whisked away to the last save point. Considerable perks provided one is willing to live with a body constructed entirely of nanomachines. 

Before going further, I have to point out that I've played less than 30 minutes of the first Axiom Verge. Thus, I went into the sequel without any expectations. All I knew was that the main character is a woman, and the first weapons she obtains are a climbing axe and a boomerang. Kiengir, as it turns out, is filled with killer robots; always on patrol and ready to fire upon anything human-shaped. While there are stealth-like mechanics, their purpose is served as a part of combat. To put it another way, outside of extreme exceptions, Indra isn't busting out any sweet combos. Get the drop on robots to eliminate them quickly or take advantage of their slightly delayed reactions to get away. A third option materializes before long, and it involves hacking into the machines to shut down their weapons or gain a temporary ally. 

In a strange yet intriguing twist, most of the bosses are entirely optional. Though they aren't especially difficult, destroying them still feels satisfying. It makes me feel as if I had stumbled upon an exploit that allowed me to defeat an unwinnable boss in an RPG. I don't know how else to describe it. Perhaps it's their immense size and the blase attitude they give off. The apocalypse arm flasks they drop upon destruction are decent rewards early on, since they can be converted to increased attack power, more health, the ability to hack higher-level objects, etc. Really though, combat as Indra is refreshingly subdued. There are various types of enemies, all with varying limitations. Just because they're capable of pursuit doesn't mean that they'll be able to keep up with someone. This really benefits the level-design and atmosphere. Every encounter feels like a part of Kiengir, and not just "this is the part where I press buttons until something explodes."

One Arm that I didn't pay much mind to at first is the drone. When activated, it allows Indra's consciousness to exist inside a little scouting mech. Its primary method of attack is a sawblade on a string. Almost reminds me of a yo-yo. Is this a Goonies II reference? Never mind. Early on, the main purpose of being a drone is to enter the Breach, a heavily stylized world that's explicitly designed to be game-like. Any contact with the strange inhabitants will result in damage, and their behavior has a lot in common with the rank & file of some 8-bit classic. It's quite a departure from the rest of Axiom Verge 2, and just fantastic. Utilizing the portals to jump between worlds is very Link to the Past. I'll be real here; it's a happy coincidence that this game evokes the same Zelda that I've replayed the most. Still, it's as I said earlier, it wasn't until a certain event that I saw the drone's most brilliant quality.

In a bold, yet not entirely unexpected move, Indra's body is stolen. By this point it was probably all nanomachines, but it was still her body, and now it's in the hands of someone plotting a multiverse-destroying scheme. On the plus side, the heroine will get something much better before long. That's right, it's an upgraded drone body that allows her to take a human-shape at any time. It's around this point that I really started to engage with the game's central themes. Before then, I treated the drone as just another neat mechanic, not even considering the possibility that it'd be anything more than temporary. The realization that this would become Indra's new body struck me pretty damn hard. 

Once the initial shock passed, I discovered that I was much more at home in this new body. Instead of having to hurl the drone towards the nearest problem, Indra changes shape with as much ease as a button press. It's seamless, natural, and freeing. This was around the time where the questions started piling up, hardly any of which were related to the plot or characters. How is it that moving around in a wholly mechanical body feels so much better to move around in than her actual human body? I mean, it's not as if Indra 2.0 received a double jump or a speed boost. She's exactly the same as before, yet I've convinced myself otherwise. 

Also, post-transformation, I felt this sense of belonging that wasn't there before. Early on, I was just a stranger to the world, but for once I feel like I actually inhabit it. Yes, the robots are still all out to get me, but it's as if giving up on my old body - or Indra's, I should say - has brought contentment. After 40 odd years of searching, I finally found a home. As far as the game is concerned, this rush of sensations didn't last very long, but it did give me a few thoughts to chew on while looking for more upgrades. The bits of lore scattered throughout Kiengir add welcome details to mull over.

The interconnectedness of the human & droid does a lot for exploration. Jumping off of a wall as a human and then hovering across a chasm as a droid is quite cool. Both forms also have their own set of strengths, yet the player isn't penalizing for favoring one over the other. Yes, the Indra who can use her axe and boomerang has more combat prowess, but the four-legged Indra is a smaller target. There's a fair amount of backtracking needed to obtain everything, which really highlights the value in having two forms that are functionally different, yet also not superior to each other. Of course, having a generous fast-travel feature helps a ton. The average player will be a 1/3rd of the way through the game by the time they obtain it, but instant access to every discovered save point is generous as hell. 

I will say however that I wish there were a few more weapons to find. The distribution of them isn't great, and it wasn't until the very end of the game that I found something that felt better to use than the double-sided axe. Speaking of, that particular axe has one of those hitboxes that doesn't cover the player-character's sprite. Basically, if an enemy manages to invade Indra's personal space, wildly swinging the axe won't do a lot of good. This is a very niche issue that really only occurs when faced with jumping spider-bots, but I just have to bring it up. 

Besides being a fantastic Metroidvania, Axiom Verge 2 does a stellar job at presenting its themes, none of which distract let alone detract from the great world-design and superb controls. Also, I might've learned something about myself. It's not good, but oh well. Maybe I should take better care of this damnable body. After all, it'll have to defend itself from my twisted mind.

Good news! There's a secret behind a waterfall!