All Articles: Axiom Verge

Axiom Verge will be released for PC on May 14

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After debuting to nearly unanimous praise after its late March launch on the PS4 (Warp Zoned’s Mike Ryan said it was “astonishing“), developer Tom Happ has announced Axiom Verge will be released for the PC on May 14 through Steam and the Humble Store.

The PC version of Axiom Verge will include all the retro-inspired side-scrolling its already famous for and add Steam Cloud Saves and Steam Trading Cards as well.

A Vita release of Axiom Verge is also planned for later this year. The handheld release will be Cross-Buy compatible with the already-available PS4 version.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Insert Quarter: Axiom Verge’s Creator Talks About the Journey From Idea to Finished Game

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Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.

Axiom Verge is Tom Happ’s baby. The developer is the Programmer/Artist/Designer/Composer on the title and he essentially put the whole thing together by himself over the last five years. Happ’s persistence paid off as the PS4 launch earlier this week was met with enthusiastic reviews (including our own) and great sales. But what was the journey from scrap of an idea to finished game like? Happ wrote about this recently on the PlayStation Blog:

I didn’t start off with Axiom Verge fully designed in my head. It really more started off as an exercise in game design. I wanted to deconstruct my favorite games from my youth and see what would happen if I took the best elements of each and put them together. The Yo-Yo weapon of Rygar and the grapple hook of Bionic Commando in the setting of Blaster Master and Shatterhand. What would fit together? What wouldn’t work?

The full article is available for your perusal at the PlayStation Blog.

Posted in Insert Quarter, PC, PS4, Vita | Tagged

PS Store Today: Axiom Verge, MLB 15: The Show, RBI Baseball 15, more

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It’s another big week for the PlayStation Store as Sony’s Spring Fever promotion continues to roll on with Axiom Verge, a “Metroidvania” that was created by a single developer (Tom Happ) over the course of the last five years.

The side-scrolling adventure game is joined this week by a pair of baseball games: Sony’s more modern MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS4, Vita) and MLB Advanced Media’s retro-styled RBI Baseball 15 (PS4).

Also available today is Toukiden: Kiwami, a new monster-hunting game for the PS4 and Vita. It’s developed by Omega Force (the Dynasty Warriors people) and it’s published by Koei Tecmo. Toukiden: Kiwami is actually an enhanced re-release of Toukiden: The Age of Demons, which was released for the Vita last year.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita | Tagged , , ,

Axiom Verge Review: Hack to the Future

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Each generation of video game consoles has that one defining characteristic, that one aspect that changes the paradigm of gaming as we know it. The Nintendo 64 / PlayStation era introduced us to the analog stick and disc-based media. The joys of online play were introduced in the Xbox / PS2 era. And the Xbox 360 / PS3 generation expanded on what it meant to be an “entertainment system.” That, and we were subjected to microtransactions galore. Well, some distinctions are better than others.

I believe it’s fair to say that the significant shift in this current generation is the quality of indie titles, games made by small groups of talented developers who understand that a game doesn’t have to be a Michael Bay-esque explosion-fest in order to be enjoyed. Granted, there were a lot of fantastic indie games last gen, but the scene has grown tremendously over the past few years. These dedicated folks make games that they themselves want to play. And we love them for it, because the love and enthusiasm poured into these games are evident in both the art and quality. Additionally, they offer a breath of fresh air to otherwise stagnant genres. And every so often, a game is released that’s pieced together so lovingly it reminds even the most jaded gamer why they got into this hobby in the first place. Axiom Verge is one of those games; a true masterpiece. (more…)

Posted in PC, PS4, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

The PAXpocalypse List: The Best of PAX East 2015

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Most of the big publishers chose to skip the 2015 edition of PAX East and even those that did attend (like Nintendo and Microsoft) kept their most anticipated projects home. But that didn’t stop a wide variety of indie developers from setting up shop in the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center to wow the assembled masses. These developers set the tone for this year’s expo, which featured a heavy focus on games that attempted to reinterpret classic gameplay concepts for a new generation of players. And the crazy thing is that many of the developers hyping these games looked like they would have been in diapers the first time I fired up an SNES.

It was a welcome sight with the rest of the industry pivoting away from those types of games and towards a competition to see who can push the most polygons. So if you were a fan of gaming in the NES, Super NES, and Genesis days, this PAXpocalypse List is for you. Because these are the games we would have played over and over again if some horrible snow storm had trapped us inside the convention center beyond the last day of the expo. (more…)

Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Tabletop Games, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sony’s Spring Fever 2015 includes Hotline Miami 2, Shovel Knight, Titan Souls, five more

This Winter has been absolutely brutal for people all across the United States, but Sony wants to remind us that Spring is almost here with their announcement of a double-size Spring Fever promotion. Beginning March 3 (take that, Punxsutawney Phil!), the promotion will run for eight weeks and include some of the most anticipated PlayStation Store releases across the PS3, PS4, and Vita.

Helldivers, a top-down shooter for the PS3, PS4, and Vita, will kick things off on Tuesday and the whole thing will wrap up on April 21 with Shovel Knight‘s PS3/PS4/Vita debut. In between, gamers will get a chance to test out six more great titles (and PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive a 10% discount on each game during its launch week):

  • 3/3 – Helldivers (PS4/PS3/PS Vita Cross-Buy)
  • 3/10 – Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4/PS3/PS Vita Cross-Buy)
  • 3/17 – Jamestown Plus (PS4)
  • 3/24 – Metal Slug 3 (PS4/PS3/PS Vita Cross-Buy)
  • 3/31 – Axiom Verge (PS4)
  • 4/7 – Bastion (PS4)
  • 4/14 – Titan Souls (PS4/PS Vita Cross-Buy)
  • 4/21 – Shovel Knight (PS4/PS3/PS Vita Cross-Buy)

Bastion and Axiom Verge will also launch for the PS Vita at some future date. As with the other Spring Fever releases, both will be Cross-Buy compatible.

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita | Tagged , , , , , ,

Axiom Verge will be released for PS4 on March 31

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Tom Happ, the sole Programmer, Artist, Designer, and Composer at Thomas Happ Games, has announced that Axiom Verge will be released for the PS4 on March 31.

If you’re unfamiliar with Axiom Verge, Happ wants you to know that it takes after a variety of classic side-scrollers like “Super Metroid, Contra, Blaster Master, and others.” You can definitely see the influence that Metroid had on Axiom Verge’s development in the new screenshots available at the PlayStation Blog. Happ also uses the PlayStation Blog platform to delve into more detail on some of the powerups and weapons featured in the game.

Axiom Verge is also in development for the Vita, but the handheld version needs a bit more time to cook. Don’t worry though, everyone who purchases the PS4 version will receive a free copy of the Vita version when its ready thanks to Sony’s Cross-Buy program.

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