The Axis Unseen
- October 22, 2024
- Just Purkey Games
- 2h median play time
Get on SteamIn "The Axis Unseen," a heavy metal horror game, explore a mysterious open world to hunt nightmarish monsters from ancient folklore, gaining their powers and elemental arrows. As you traverse the eerie landscape, beware that you may become the hunted. Critics have praised it as a unique indie game, comparing it to Skyrim with a darker, scarier twist. If you have an AMD card, ensure you reinstall drivers without the optional Radeon software to avoid startup crashes.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a stunning atmosphere with gorgeous visuals and a captivating heavy metal soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- Exploration is rewarding, with a vast open world filled with unique creatures and lore, encouraging players to engage with the environment and discover new abilities.
- The gameplay mechanics, particularly the stealth and archery elements, provide a satisfying challenge that evolves as players progress, making each encounter feel meaningful.
- The combat can feel frustrating due to limited resources and basic enemy AI, leading to repetitive encounters and a lack of strategic depth.
- Navigation is often confusing without a map, and the lack of clear objectives can make it difficult for players to know where to go next.
- There are performance issues and bugs that detract from the experience, including collision problems and inconsistent frame rates.
- gameplay55 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily centered around stealth mechanics and archery-based combat, offering a mix of open-world exploration and hunting elements. While the mechanics are generally solid and provide a deep toolbox for players, some reviewers noted issues with AI and navigation, as well as a potential for repetitiveness. Overall, the game is praised for its atmosphere and unique world, but some mechanics could benefit from further refinement.
“The core gameplay is this mix of open-world exploration, stealth mechanics, and archery-based combat.”
“Between the terrain, stealth mechanics, and your character's special abilities, your toolbox is deep enough to keep gameplay interesting.”
“The gameplay loop is fun, feels good, and is consistent in both evolution and difficulty curve -- you'll always feel challenged, and you'll always feel accomplished in besting those challenges.”
“The gameplay loop was rather basic and boring in my opinion, especially as monsters got caught on rocks and trees (this problem has been somewhat successfully patched out at the time of writing).”
“I felt extremely weak and at the mercy of mechanics I had to get used to.”
“My first impression of the game was that it was gorgeous, with exceptional sound design and music, but had boring, basic gameplay (and some jank).”
- music34 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its heavy metal soundtrack, which enhances the overall atmosphere and complements the gameplay, particularly during combat. While many players appreciate the unique and immersive sound design, some have noted that the music can become repetitive in certain areas and may not fully align with the heavy metal theme as advertised. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's ambiance and player experience.
“The metal soundtrack perfectly complements the on-screen action, elevating the overall experience.”
“Amazing atmosphere and music, massive world, and an unbelievable amount of content considering this was by a solo dev!”
“Together with a great metal soundtrack, the game creates a unique and dense atmosphere.”
“Hope the soundtrack gets beefier in the future.”
“Music gets repetitive in several areas.”
“For being advertised as a heavy metal game, it really felt nothing like that at all; the music was pretty tame even in combat, so much so I wouldn't even call it metal, let alone heavy metal.”
- graphics27 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning visuals, atmospheric lighting, and artistic design that enhance the overall aesthetic. However, some players report performance issues and optimization problems, particularly on higher-end systems, which detracts from the visual experience. Overall, while the art style and graphical fidelity are appreciated, there are significant concerns regarding performance and optimization that need addressing.
“The visuals are brilliant.”
“The lighting and visuals are great, the world looks stunning.”
“Visuals are beautiful, you can tell a lot of heart went into the game.”
“Yes, I've tried changing every setting under the sun to try to resolve these issues, and yes, my graphics drivers are updated.”
“Also, the graphics and performance were pretty bad; my PC is well above the recommended specs, and at max graphics, it looked kind of meh and had very inconsistent frame rates. This is something that has potential for improvement but is currently lacking.”
“Broken, horrible graphics, poorly optimized; they have fall damage in a movement game... horrendous UI.”
- atmosphere21 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised as its standout feature, creating a unique, immersive experience that evokes feelings of mystery and tension. Players appreciate the combination of stunning visuals, sound design, and thematic elements that enhance the overall vibe, making it particularly appealing for fans of spooky and atmospheric settings. However, some reviews note that while the atmosphere excels, the gameplay mechanics could use improvement.
“The atmosphere feels like walking in the forest just as the sun goes down.”
“One of the biggest strengths of this game is the atmosphere, its overall vibe.”
“The sheer atmosphere of it is just hard to describe.”
“Tl;dr: visual style and atmosphere superb, gameplay lacking.”
“The atmosphere is spot-on, the tension and sense of discovery make it worth the journey.”
- story11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's story is primarily conveyed indirectly through exploration and environmental storytelling, with players uncovering lore at their own pace rather than following a traditional quest structure. While the narrative is less direct and more gameplay-focused, it effectively engages players, encouraging them to delve into the world and piece together the storyline through discoveries, such as diaries. Overall, the approach to storytelling enhances the immersive experience, appealing to those who enjoy a more open-ended narrative.
“The combat is great, the world is vast (from what I've explored so far) and the story has me wanting more.”
“The storyline is peppered throughout, and the controls are intuitive.”
“I like not having a quest log, and actually having to figure out the lore.”
“It's much more gameplay focused with a story that's mostly told indirectly and secondhand.”
“Without spoiling any story details, your general goal is to travel to points of interest that slowly lead you further into new, more hostile environments.”
“Think of the discovery in Breath of the Wild or Skyrim without any mission quests.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, including frequent frame rate drops and crashes, regardless of graphical settings. While some users report solid performance and appealing graphics, the overall consensus indicates that the game requires substantial optimization improvements to enhance the gaming experience.
“If/when the optimization gets fixed, I'll change my review to positive because, like I said, I legitimately want to enjoy the game, but I can't do that if the game is actively working against me.”
“Performance has been excellent for me thus far, and the graphics have a cool stylized look to them without veering into cartoonish.”
“Graphics are great, and performance is solid.”
“However, after almost 2 hours of playing the game, all the good I've seen has been overshadowed by major performance issues (dips to 15-20fps even with DLSS performance mode on) and crashes to desktop due to fatal errors in the game engine (max settings, potato mode doesn't matter) about every 10-20 minutes.”
“Also, the graphics and performance were pretty bad. My PC is well above the recommended specifications, and at max graphics, it looked kind of mediocre and had very inconsistent frame rates. This is something that has potential for improvement but is currently lacking.”
“Broken, horrible graphics, poorly optimized; they have fall damage in a movement game... horrendous UI.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is often derived from unexpected and chaotic situations, such as respawning directly into danger, which players find amusing despite the frustration. The stylistic comparisons to other games, like Skyrim, add a layer of comedic imagery, while players also share personal anecdotes that highlight the game's challenging nature in a lighthearted way. Overall, the humor is characterized by a blend of absurdity and self-deprecation, making the tough gameplay more entertaining.
“Walking out of a respawn directly into a mob of monsters that decided to end my life because I looked at them funny sucks.”
“Stylistically, it's like a thief-class from Skyrim took something 'funny' and went hunting for cryptozoological prey inside Zeno Clash.”
“I don't want to reveal any spoilers, so I can't share my hilarious experience so far and just say: starting on hard mode isn't for the faint of heart, lol.”
- stability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users report that the game runs smoothly on a 3060 graphics card, highlighting its impressive graphics and overall stability.
“The graphics are gorgeous and the game runs great on my 3060.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, which is impressive for such a large game.”
“The performance is smooth, even during intense gameplay moments.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the game shows potential for high replayability, many users find it frustratingly close to greatness, suggesting that it could benefit from enhancements to make it more engaging and enjoyable for repeated playthroughs.
“This game offers a variety of choices that make each playthrough feel unique and engaging.”
“The different character paths and outcomes encourage me to replay the game multiple times.”
“With its dynamic world and branching storylines, I find myself coming back for more every time.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of time akin to having a second life to fully engage with it.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The grinding feels endless and tedious.”
“Grinding takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
