But it’s still worth picking up
Axiom Verge follows the exploits of a scientist who, after apparently killing himself in a lab accident, awakens on a mysterious world full of secrets to uncover and labyrinthine environments to explore.
It’s essentially a new Metroid in a day and age where actual new Metroids look less like the 2D action adventure games of my youth and more like, well, whatever the hell Metroid Prime: Federation Force is.
But that’s neither here nor there. What is here, though, is brand spanking new PlayStation Vita port of Axiom Verge, which, as you might expect, looks absolutely cracking on Sony’s handheld.
As often seems to be the case, Axiom Verge‘s pixel art visuals shine on the portable’s OLED display. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about its performance; the thing just doesn’t run quite as well as its PlayStation 4 counterpart. While not a frequent cause of concern, occasional bouts of slowdown and momentary freezing tarnish an otherwise well-made port.
The only other significant difference between the console and portable version is the controls. Since the Vita’s architecture isn’t identical to the DualShock 4, some of the inputs (the disruptor beam, bombs, and weapon toggling) have been resituated to the four corners of the touchscreen. And while, at least in my experience, the layout was comfortable enough, the controls are remappable. So, if you aren’t getting on with the default layout you can always tailor things to your liking.
Overall, other than a bit of wonky performance issues, Axiom Verge is still as brilliant as ever on Vita — and the fact it supports cross-buy with the previously released PS4 version certainly doesn’t hurt.
The title is also currently available on PC and Mac, and is in development for both Wii U and Xbox One. For more on Axiom Verge, you can find Conrad Zimmerman’s full review of the game right here.
[These impressions are based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
