Axiom Verge 2 improves on the platforming mechanics from the first game in a lot of fun and interesting ways. This game is enormous and has a ton of stuff to discover, and in the same fashion as its predecessor, it only offers a small amount of guidance to get you to the next objective.

I found Axiom Verge 2 to be significantly easier than the first game. The sequel has a much heavier focus on exploration puzzles and although enemies are present all over the map, they often feel like an afterthought and are easily avoided. With that said, I played through the game on normal difficulty, so perhaps that was a mistake.

It felt like the soundtrack in this game leaned much more heavily on female vocals which I did not like as much. I recognized throwbacks to the first game's soundtrack when they appeared and appreciated those making it into the game. My favorite track is probably the title screen, they hit you with the best one first - this is cool because it's a great first impression but I don't think the rest of the OST lives up to that impression. None of this is to say the soundtrack is bad - it's quality content, it just didn't resonate with me as much as the first game did when it comes to music.

Overall I really enjoyed this game. My first playthrough was a solid ten hours and I never really felt like I hit many significant snags or ever became too lost to progress. I think two fights were way easier than they should have been (this is probably dev overcompensation due to players not being able to kill certain bosses in the first game) and often found regular mook engagements with good positioning to be harder than boss and miniboss fights.

Definitely worth picking up, but play the first one too.

Axiom Verge 2 improves on the platforming mechanics from the first game in a lot of fun and interesting ways. This game is enormous and has a ton of stuff to discover, and in the same fashion as its predecessor, it only offers a small amount of guidance to get you to the next objective. I found Axiom Verge 2 to be significantly easier than the first game. The sequel has a much heavier focus on exploration puzzles and although enemies are present all over the map, they often feel like an afterthought and are easily avoided. With that said, I played through the game on normal difficulty, so perhaps that was a mistake. It felt like the soundtrack in this game leaned much more heavily on female vocals which I did not like as much. I recognized throwbacks to the first game's soundtrack when they appeared and appreciated those making it into the game. My favorite track is probably the title screen, they hit you with the best one first - this is cool because it's a great first impression but I don't think the rest of the OST lives up to that impression. None of this is to say the soundtrack is bad - it's quality content, it just didn't resonate with me as much as the first game did when it comes to music. Overall I really enjoyed this game. My first playthrough was a solid ten hours and I never really felt like I hit many significant snags or ever became too lost to progress. I think two fights were way easier than they should have been (this is probably dev overcompensation due to players not being able to kill certain bosses in the first game) and often found regular mook engagements with good positioning to be harder than boss and miniboss fights. Definitely worth picking up, but play the first one too.