I am having a real hard time deciding between Axion Verge and Mummy Demastered

Games Video Games
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For some reason I felt when it came out that a lot of people were pretty down on Axiom. But now that and Mummy are on the Switch I look around and see a fair bit of love for both games.

From what I can tell, they are actually pretty similar? I am seeing reports of performance issues for the Mummy but outside of that a lot of people seem to dig both games.

Has anyone played both? I can only afford one really, as just about to finish Odyssey (well finish it as my main focus game) and still intend to get Xenoblade in a month.

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take my opinion with a grain of salt, since I’m mostly familiar with both via watching them, but id get Axiom Verge. it does more ambitious things with the format and is aesthetically stronger. Mummy looks nice but is pretty by the numbers and might entertain you but will probably hit very familiar beats

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That certainly helps. It’s a genre I am pretty unfamiliar with so I am going in blind really.

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I played Axiom and had a lot of fun with it, though the bosses are quite bullet spongey and it drags a bit by the end. It’s definitely a good Metroidvania and the aesthetic is solid.

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it’s not really my favorite genre but I’ve played so many at this point it’s pretty easy for me to recognize what I personally appreciate about it. have you had any interest in The Dragon’s Trap? that’s kind of an alternate style of the genre but I personally really liked it and it has a great look.

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It is on my shortlist, along with Morphite and Graceful Explosion Machine. How tricky is it? I got Shantae a few months back and gave up halfway through as I sucked at the game. My reflexes are not what they once were, sadly.

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I’ve only played Axiom Verge out of the two, but my two cents would be that it depends on how much experience “you have with the genre”? If you’ve played a bunch of metroidvania’s I’d say, go with whatever your gut tells you. Otherwise The Mummy. From what I can tell The Mummy is a really well made but still kinda straight forward metroidvania game.
A big part of why a lot of people went bananas over Axiom Verge was because of how it subverts expectations and plays around with the tropes of the genre, so I reckon you might get more enjoyment out of it after having played through something similar before :slight_smile:

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it’ll take a while to get used to the movement and combat. its from the Master System days so it requires good timing for sure. Normal mode was just tough enough for me, though a bit rougher at the start than I like. Fortunately it also has an easier mode that makes it more forgiving, which makes it a lot more chill.

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As someone who really enjoys Metroidvanias/2D “single area exploration” games, I’d have to give the preference to Axiom Verge (I played it on PC and Vita, and the Mummy on Switch, so if there are issues with Axiom on Switch, I’m not aware). I had a number of issues with Mummy (slowdown in the later areas dropping framerate to almost single digits, and the final boss’s AI stopping altogether midfight, making for an anticlimactic end - but I believe those issues have been patched since release)

Both are very good and interesting in their own right, but I find Mummy to be a lot more derivative, both aesthetically and mechanically (no power up is something we haven’t seen before, and most additional movement options are essentially lock and key design, not tools that you can creatively use to better traverse the game’s space). Since you’re not familiar with the genre, however, that might be a positive for you, and as Gustaf said above, an interesting part of Axiom Verge is how it subverts expectations relative to the genre.

With that said, I find Mummy also a lot harder for the wrong reasons (enemies hit very hard, initial damage knockback is very reminiscent of the earliest Castlevania games but the level design isn’t built around that kind of knockback, making you fall without a way to climb back up far too often), and the overall level design doesn’t really encourage exploration (you’re guided by narration given signposts, rather than by organic clues in the levels themselves).

I believe Axiom is a tighter and more mechanically satisfying experience that showcases the strengths of the genre well (subvertion or no), but Mummy wouldn’t be a wrong choice either, and if at all possible, I’d ultimately recommend both! (additionally, keep a look out for Hollow Knight, still supposed to release on Switch eventually - as far as Metroidvania goes, I feel it’s one of the better modern takes on the genre!)

As a side note, I also very much enjoyed Dragon’s Trap, but I’d recommend any of the other two for a “metroidvania” experience, as Dragon’s Trap has a slightly different design going for it. But it’s an excellent game in its own right (though be sure to adjust your expectations and sensibilities for a late 80’s platformer :smiley: ), and well worth your time, too :smiley:

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Thanks guys, all of this is very helpful. I had read in a few places Mummy gets pretty spotty towards the end with lots on screen. I would hope/assume they fix it soon. I also keep hearing about Hollow Knight so will add that to my Watch list (supposedly out before the end of this year).

I think I am leaning towards Axiom, but by the sounds of it I can’t really go wrong with either of them (and keep Trap on the list for a Sale).

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Axiom Verge is GOAT material for me, I wrote a lot of words about why I love Axiom so much here if you want:
http://hg101.kontek.net/axiomverge/axiomverge.htm

I’m not a fan of this type of game when the only “power ups” you get are basically new keys rather than things that make you reevaluate the game’s environments. Like as obtuse as it can be I’d even prefer wandering around aimlessly in Legacy of the Wizard to that because it has so much going on in it with how the different characters move and what they can do.

I don’t think that makes Axiom Verge less accessible to a newcomer though, it makes it even more worthy of being played. I don’t think familiarity with the genre is needed to appreciate all the cool things it does. The boss fights really are its weakness though.

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Great write-up, thanks very much. Just going to see if I can find anything about Switch performance but outside of that I think Axiom is the way to go.

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Unpopular opinion: I think Axiom Verge just isn’t a very good game. It’s good, but not very good. Just felt like a less-good Super Metroid. I know I’ll get hate but I really didn’t find the story, level design, combat design, boss fights, etc. etc. etc. anything out of the ordinary or special.

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Axiom Verge. I don’t think either game is particularly great, but Axiom Verge is a far more interesting and ambitious game than Mummy Demastered.

If you’re looking for a great metroidvania for switch, I’d recommend Hollow Knight over either of these games.

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I have Hollow on my Watch list but don’t think they have given a release date as yet? Will be “finishing” Mario later today so then gonna get one of these two.

Edit - In fact, looking around, the Hollow Knight dev’s seem to have been super quiet about the Switch version for a while now.

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Don’t know much about The Mummy, the movie was terrible but it’s kind of cool that they made a decent contra-style shooter out of the license. Having said that, I played Axion Verge on the Vita, and I really liked it. Didn’t half make me feel icky though. It’s like Metroid with the H.R Giger turned up to 11.

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Hi! Just wanted to say I really liked what you wrote here. I have been eyeing The Mummy for a while now but after reading your comments I’m leaning towards Axiom now.

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I liked the Mummy better but the music and graphics of Axiom Verge were a big turn off, I also didn’t like how many hits it took to kill basic enemies in AV.

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I felt a bit of a plum posting a “what should I buy” thread on here, but it does actually seem like a pretty even split. Quite glad Hollow Knight isn’t out yet as at least I only have two games to decide between.

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Finally “finished” Odyssey so am going for Axiom. Developers of Hollow Knight have said today that the game won’t ship until 2018, so that helped make the decision a bit easier.

Mummy still on the Watch list mind you.

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