At first glance, Axiom Verge looks to be the latest in a long line of exploration-based platformers, lovingly dubbed 'Metroid-vania.' It looks great, sure, but does it really do anything new?

The game's been billed as both a loving homage to the 16-bit platformers of yore and the next evolution in the Metroid-vania genre, but can a game made by a single person really hold up against some of the greatest titles of all time?

Axiom Verge tells the story of Trace, a scientist thrown onto a far-off alien world following a lab experiment gone wrong. After waking up, Trace stumbles upon gigantic bio-mechanical beings who then task him with repairing the planet. From there, the story quickly unravels into hard science fiction, and eventually tackles themes like the nature of reality and controlling the spread of technology.

Frankly, there's a lot of stuff to remember: Axiom Verge throws a lot of terminology at the player in a short amount of time, and it can be a bit much at times. 

To be honest, the story is told in a relatively simple way: Axiom Verge relies mostly on text boxes and scripted sequences to tell its tale. However, the story does provide the game with a few chances to change things up along the way, and the unique set-pieces are all great.

For the most part, however, it's all told in a very dry way. On top of that, it can definitely get confusing - it's not terrible by any means, but it clearly wasn't the game's focus, either. 

The bulk of Axiom Verge is dedicated to its main story mode: it's all about guiding Trace through the alien world and finding a way home. Along the way, you'll uncover new weapons, tools and abilities that unlock more and more areas of the map to explore.

There's also a dedicated speed-running mode: all of Axiom Verge's cut scenes and randomized components are removed, leaving only the core game to play through. It won't appeal much to casual players, but for anyone still making speedruns through Super Metroid, it's a nice little extra.

From the second players start moving, Axiom Verge feels fantastic. Running, jumping and shooting all feel perfect, and players' abilities quickly expand to include a powerful drill, a grappling hook and full-blown teleportation. Not all of the extra powers are as easy to use as Trace's core skills - teleporting always feels a bit wonky - and it's a little frustrating that the game doesn't formally introduce all of the finer elements of gameplay, but it's nothing that will ever result in a game over.

The meat of the gameplay is exploration: like the games that inspired it, Axiom Verge is all about moving from room to room, clearing out enemies and unlocking new environments. Basically, if you come to a closed-off path, just turn around and look for another way around. Most of the exploration is left up to the player, and while it's easy to get lost every once in a while, the level design does a great job of guiding players along the central path. It's just like any other Metroid-vania game, but with one major twist: the Remote Drone.

Early on in the game's story, players will unlock a small, remote-controlled drone that moves independently of Trace. Initially, it's the only way players can explore smaller spaces, but as the game goes on, the Drone's role expands - some of the most inventive puzzles in the entire game are based around the Drone's abilities, with later sections introducing new elements onto previously-completed puzzles. It's the game's biggest innovation, and it's an absolute blast.

Of course, new weapons and powers don't mean much if there's nothing to test them on, and while the majority of Axiom Verge's enemies are pretty standard, the vast majority of the game's bosses are standouts. These aren't your typical shoot-the-glowing-weak-spot boss fights, and each does a great job of testing players on both reaction time and skill with the game's arsenal.

The only real low point of the combat is the final two bosses: both are needlessly difficult, as the tests of skill are swapped out for battles of attrition. Players are left hoping that enemies will drop much-needed health pickups: if they do, congratulations, you can continue; if they don't, it's back to the last checkpoint. It undermines the previous skill-based gameplay, and success feels more like the luck of the draw - sadly, the game's final confrontations leave a blemish on the otherwise amazing combat mechanics.

To put it bluntly: Axiom Verge is absolutely gorgeous. Everything about its visuals are amazing: the 16-bit style looks fantastic, as do the characters, enemies, weapons, effects and animations. Enough cannot be said about how good the environments look, and when the game pulls the camera back, it's easy to see the artistry that went into every aspect of the game's visuals. The H.R. Geiger-esque art looks amazing throughout, and it's clear that Axiom Verge not only embraces its retro style, but surpasses most other works like it.

Unfortunately, the sound is not as successful. In keeping with the 16-bit theme, the music and effects are decidedly retro - the only problem is, some of the sound effects are heavily bit-crushed, and it's not always pleasant to listen to. On their own, the individual effects aren't all that bad, but once everything gets layered on top of itself, the sound can be extremely grating. The music is a bit more successful, though it can be drowned out by all of the other effects -thankfully, any sound issues are temporary, and aren't nearly enough to ruin the rest of the game's presentation.

The fact that Axiom Verge was made by a single person is hard to believe. It's such a finely-tuned experience, it'd be easy to assume the game was made with an entire team of experienced designers. Instead, Thomas Happ not only created one of the best examples of the Metroid-vania formula, but innovated on it as well.

If you love Metroid-vania games, action-adventure games, puzzle games, platformers, shooters - buy Axiom Verge. It's not every day that Nintendo gets trumped at its own game, and at $20, the game is an absolute steal.

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