The Axis Unseen

About

In "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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+12

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 190 reviews

gameplay24 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The Axis Unseen features a captivating atmosphere and immersive world design, drawing players into its eerie and mysterious environment.
The gameplay emphasizes exploration and stealth mechanics, allowing players to approach encounters with various strategies and abilities.
The game is a remarkable achievement for a solo developer, showcasing impressive graphics, sound design, and a unique art style.

The AI behavior can be inconsistent, leading to frustrating encounters where enemies may get stuck or behave unpredictably.
The lack of a map or clear direction can make navigation challenging, resulting in players getting lost or backtracking unnecessarily.
Some players may find the combat mechanics repetitive, with a focus on bow and arrow gameplay that may not appeal to everyone.

gameplay
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
67%
5%
The gameplay in "The Axis Unseen" emphasizes exploration and narrative over traditional combat and puzzles, creating an immersive experience for fans of psychological thrillers. While the bow mechanics and stealth elements are generally well-received, some players find the enemy AI and overall mechanics lacking, leading to a mixed reception regarding the game's engagement and challenge. The atmosphere and unique world design are praised, but many feel that the gameplay could benefit from further refinement and polish.
- “Its focus on exploration and narrative-driven gameplay makes it a must-play for fans of psychological thrillers and immersive experiences.”
- “The core gameplay is this mix of open-world exploration, stealth mechanics, and archery-based combat.”
- “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 concept and world at its core has a lot going for it, but the gameplay simply does not hold my attention.”
- “My first impression of The Axis Unseen was that it was a gorgeous game, with exceptional sound design and music, that has boring, basic gameplay (and some jank).”
- “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).”
music
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
48%
6%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the heavy metal soundtrack for enhancing immersion and complementing the gameplay, while others find it repetitive or not truly representative of heavy metal. Some players appreciate the unique atmosphere created by the sound design, though a few criticize the mixing and overall quality of the music. Overall, the soundtrack is a significant aspect of the game, appealing particularly to fans of metal, but opinions vary on its execution and impact.
- “The sound design is equally effective, with a haunting soundtrack and ambient noises that keep the tension high throughout the 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!”
- “The music is mediocre and nothing special; the set pieces, while cool, are unpolished, and the whole experience feels like something just launched into early access with tools from the marketplace thrown together with custom artwork.”
- “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.”
- “I'm not sure if the music is being properly mixed into the game, or if there are some other considerations that were missed when integrating it, because I don't think it hits quite like it should.”
atmosphere
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
47%
7%
The atmosphere in "The Axis Unseen" is widely praised for its immersive and eerie qualities, effectively creating a sense of dread and tension that enhances the psychological thriller experience. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to engage players through its captivating world design, soundscapes, and a focus on exploration rather than action, making it a standout in atmospheric storytelling. While some critiques mention gameplay mechanics, the overall ambiance and visual style are considered its greatest strengths, appealing to fans of atmospheric and survival-focused games.
- “The atmosphere, graphic style, and sound design of this game are incredible.”
- “The sheer atmosphere of it is just hard to describe.”
- “The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the game does a remarkable job of keeping you on edge without resorting to cheap scares.”
- “While the dark atmosphere is effective in setting the mood, a brightness adjustment or a way to illuminate surroundings would make it more enjoyable without compromising the ambiance.”
- “Tl;dr: visual style and atmosphere superb, gameplay lacking.”
graphics
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
49%
7%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their stunning visuals, unique art style, and effective use of lighting to create atmosphere, though opinions vary on optimization and performance. While many players appreciate the bold aesthetic and immersive environments, some report issues with frame rates and crashes, particularly on higher settings. Overall, the visuals are seen as a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The atmosphere, graphic style, and sound design of this game are incredible.”
- “Absolutely love the visuals and scale of everything -- very atmospheric and unnerving.”
- “The amount of content you will find in this game is truly impressive, especially for having been developed mostly by one person. The graphics and visual fidelity are completely astounding, especially the lighting.”
- “The music is mediocre and nothing special; the set pieces, while cool, are unpolished, and the whole experience feels like something just launched into early access with tools from the marketplace thrown together with custom artwork.”
- “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.”
story
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
77%
12%
The story in "The Axis Unseen" is a compelling blend of tension and mystery, deeply woven into its atmospheric world, where players uncover lore through exploration and environmental interactions. While the narrative may seem simple at first, the game offers rich storytelling through journals and subtle details, encouraging players to piece together the overarching tale at their own pace. Overall, the game excels in creating an immersive experience that prioritizes atmosphere and personal discovery over traditional quest structures.
- “It's a game that thrives on tension, mystery, and storytelling, pulling you into a world that constantly keeps you on edge.”
- “The story’s eerie tone, combined with its strong sense of isolation, makes every moment feel significant.”
- “Even the in-game journals showcase some brilliant storytelling.”
- “The story is peppered throughout, but it feels like existing lore without any actual utilization of a coherent narrative.”
- “It's much more gameplay focused, with a story that's mostly told indirectly and secondhand.”
- “There's no map, no UI, and no mission, which leaves the player feeling lost in a world that lacks a clear narrative direction.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, including frequent crashes and low frame rates, even on high-end systems. While some users report smoother performance after adjustments and commend the graphics and design, others highlight major flaws in the graphics menu that lead to conflicts and crashes. The game shows potential for improvement, but current optimization problems detract from the overall experience.
- “The scenery looks great and seems well optimized, the enemy designs are perfect for what the game is going for, the sound design is great at building tension, unique bow mechanics, scarce hand-holding, AI is able to track your footsteps and smell depending on wind direction and walking on dirt vs rock, which I find perfect for this game.”
- “I had some performance issues early on but now it runs pretty smooth. I would recommend having more RAM than 16 GB as I noticed choppier frame timings with 32 GB. Even if I crank the max settings and it's running in the 40 FPS range, it feels like a smoother and more fluid experience.”
- “Performance has been excellent for me thus far, and the graphics have a cool stylized look to them without veering into cartoonish.”
- “I do, however, find there to be some optimization issues regarding the graphics menu, as you can enable some conflicting settings that cause crashes on launch.”
- “This game is horribly unoptimized and feels terrible to play if you do get it to work.”
- “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 due to fatal errors in the game engine (max settings, potato mode doesn't matter) about every 10-20 minutes.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Overall, the game's stability is generally positive, with some users reporting minor glitches reminiscent of Bethesda titles, while others have experienced no issues at all. The developer is responsive to player concerns, and the game runs well on various platforms, including high-end PCs and the Steam Deck.
- “I have seen no glitches, bugs, or crashes; I have not fallen into the void, discovered any floating rocks, or encountered hollow mountains. Everything is running smoothly so far.”
- “Overall a great experience; it runs well on the Steam Deck as well, especially considering it's a UE5 game. I would easily recommend it to anyone who is a fan of hunting games or open worlds.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous and the game runs great on a 3060.”
- “There are a few frustrating glitches here and there, but the developer is really helpful and actively responds to players with questions.”
- “Some jankiness: it's a bit hilarious that a former dev on Skyrim and Fallout under Bethesda, a company almost renowned for their buggy releases, would have some of their own Bethesda-style bugs show up in their game.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often derived from its janky mechanics, reminiscent of Bethesda's notorious bugs, which can lead to comically frustrating situations, such as respawning directly into danger. Players find amusement in the quirky design choices and the absurdity of certain gameplay moments, likening the experience to a humorous blend of Skyrim's thief-class antics and cryptozoological hunting. Overall, the humor is characterized by a mix of intentional and unintentional comedic elements that enhance the gaming experience.
- “It's a bit hilarious that a former dev on Skyrim and Fallout under Bethesda, a company almost renowned for their buggy releases, would have some of their own Bethesda-style bugs show up in their game.”
- “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.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
The replayability of "The Axis Unseen" is bolstered by its eerie world and intriguing narrative, encouraging players to revisit despite its relatively short length. However, some users express frustration, feeling that the game falls just short of being truly engaging and endlessly replayable.
- “Replayability: While The Axis Unseen isn’t a long game, its eerie world and intriguing narrative offer a compelling reason to revisit.”
- “Overall good, but it's frustrating at times how close this game is to being something great that could be endlessly replayable and more engaging.”
- “Replayability: while The Axis Unseen isn’t a long game, its eerie world and intriguing narrative offer a compelling reason to revisit.”
- “Replayability is lacking; once you finish the game, there’s little incentive to go back and experience it again.”
- “The game feels repetitive on subsequent playthroughs, making it hard to justify replaying.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious due to the lack of a map or compass, making it easy to overlook necessary items in the expansive environment. This has led to comments about the excessive time required for grinding, with some humorously suggesting it feels like needing a second life to complete it.
- “It's very easy to miss the things you need to collect as there is no map. Fair enough, they want you to explore this massive world as part of the game, but not even a compass or anything similar makes it very tedious.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”