![]() ![]() “Another element, and this is also I guess related to Zelda, is the alternate Breach world where you’ve got the second world that overlaps with the main one, and that’s not something I’ve seen in a Castlevania or a Metroid-type game or really that many games period besides A Link to the Past.” Every part within the whole map is reachable by the player somehow.” I was trying, endeavoring to see how much of a Legend of Zelda type of take on it would work, where the map is continuous, and there’s no black spots. “In Metroid and Castlevania both, the map is this kind of snake-like thing with many branches coming off of it,” explains Tom. That extends to design debts to the Zelda series. Not content with re-harvesting the same Metroid and Castlevania conventions, it experiments with and expands what’s possible within the genre, inventing entirely new approaches to exploration inspired by games of every kind. That explanation captures so much of what makes Axiom Verge 2 feel special. “And so that was something that kind of opened floodgates for me in terms of what I was thinking and how I wanted to go forward with the design in AV2.” So I liked how that had been changed to now the order can be whatever seems important to the player, but is still gated by exploration.” “Since in some regards a Metroidvania is a linear game that’ s just been twisted around into a maze but you’re still forced to do the same thing in a certain order. “To me that made it feel a lot more open and less linear,” said Tom. She may be stronger in attacking, more durable, better at hacking (and gate-breaking) or built around a variety of other variables depending on your preferences. Indra, the protagonist of Axiom Verge 2, will vary wildly in capabilities through much of her adventure depending on player choice. The result is a game that rewards exploration, but which transforms traditional Metroid sequence-breaking into a player agency mechanic. Tom scattered Apocalypse Flasks across the map, each of which provides points toward customizable ability upgrades. Because you still need to explore in order to find the Neuromods in Prey that allow you to get these abilities, it’s just that you get a choice of what ability you’re going to get at that time.” Whereas Prey was more like giving the player the choice of what skills they want to have, and as they do that they could apply more skills into their High Jump or being stronger and lift(ing) things out of the way or being able to crack codes and open more doors, and that was really fascinating to me because it doesn’t remove the exploration element. You only find the High Jump in the place you’re meant to find it. In a Metroidvania-type game that’s always a thing that’s there to gate your progress. You know, one thing that really kind of blew my mind was that, (and it’s a simple thing): in the skill tree of that game there were parts where you can apply skills and be able to jump higher and further. ![]() to see what I could do to improve upon or just change in a way that would make the game feel different.” He continued, “I was actually playing a lot of AAA large scale games like Horizon Zero Dawn and 2017’s Prey and many other games to try and settle on what elements I thought could help with the story.” “As I was developing the game I was playing a lot of different games and trying to see what elements, you know, from other genres that I like. Tom told me he focused on new innovations inspired by games outside the classic Metroidvania tradition and infused those elements into Axiom Verge 2. ![]() I asked Tom about the how and why behind how radically Axiom Verge 2 deviates from its Metroid-inspired roots, and his answers were not what I expected. Some highlights: How Prey, Zelda, and Final Fantasy helped define Axiom Verge 2 You can listen above, or you can find Runtime on Apple Podcasts if you want to subscribe and get monthly episodes delivered to you through the mysterious magic of the sacred internet. I didn’t expect our discussion to get into Final Fantasy X Blitzball, but it did. On the new episode of Runtime (The Limited Run Games podcast), I sat down with Tom Happ, the indie creator-extraordinaire who personally developed almost every aspect of Axiom Verge 2. I’ve never played a game where it was more fun to go find stuff. It’s a design thesis on reinventing Metroidvania. ![]()
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