My first steps in The Axis Unseen are tentative ones. I spawn in the middle of a vast forest with a bow clutched in hand, and no recollection of this place or who I am. The slow chug of an electric guitar seems to match my heartrate beat for beat as I grapple with my new surroundings. Firing a spirit arrow lets me scout ahead for danger, its otherworldly blue light flooding the dark terrain in a cool blanket of magic. I place a glowing marker on some suspicious-looking structure a few hundred feet away, and suddenly, I’m torn away from my recon mission with a heavy thump. I’m being attacked by an antlered beast and what looks like Bigfoot, and as I quickly flick my mouse wheel to swap to wooden arrows, the atmospheric guitar music suddenly launches into a full-fledged metal banger.
Such is a regular day in the mystical, unforgiving world of The Axis Unseen. An indie project from Just Purkey Games, spearheaded by ex-Skyrim and Fallout developer, the game pits players against an expansive world of hostile creatures intent on sniffing you out. I’ve yet to experience all the twists of turns of the nameless Hunter’s story, but there is one thing I can do: hunt my prey in search of energy sources to power my weapons, magic, and a nascent set of helpful skills – which will hopefully get me out of sticky situations as fast as I seem to find myself in them.
Sharpshooter
Perhaps my favorite thing about Axis Unseen so far is the vicious blend of survival gameplay and heart-pounding moments of genuine terror. Bolstered by the ever-present ebb and flow of music, quickening or slowing in line with imminent dangers or combat encounters, the experience is a uniquely sensory one that demands my full attention.
There doesn’t seem like much to look at to start off with. Endless rolling dirt hills with an odd smattering of pale white rocks form the average terrain of each level, accessed by passing through shimmering doorways from a safe hub area. But a quick glance up at the horizon reveals gargantuan skeletal remains, bringing to mind images of long-dead monsters that once roamed these lands. Thankfully, the creatures lurking here now are far smaller – but they still pack a mean punch.
Sneaking up on prey is something the game pushes me to do a lot, but unfortunately for The Axis Unseen, I just don’t swing that way. “Don’t sprint,” on-screen text tells me far too late, “you’ll die if you keep sprinting.” My thunderous footfall can be heard by creatures some many yards away, as indicated by the noise gauge I choose to ignore. It’s much easier to plant an arrow between two eyeballs if I can see them staring at me. With only five projectiles in my quiver at a given time, landing a one-shot kill is pretty crucial out in this brutal wilderness unless I fancy doing laps to pick them up again. Of course, there’s always my trusty knife for close encounters should I accidentally go into spray-and-pray mode, but I like to keep those moments few and far between. That’s because the game can sense my panic and uses it against me.
Fear prevents me from harnessing my primary and secondary magical gifts, leaving nothing but bows, arrows, and blades to defend myself should I respond to events too rashly. I’m playing a hunter, after all; cool, calm, patient. But again, that just isn’t me, which in turn means that I frequently forget that The Axis Unseen features both magic and melee combat.
The most useful bit of magic I’ve come across is a rune on my hand that glows purple when I enter close enough proximity to a nearby creature. If just the top section of the rune lights up, that indicates the monster is of a smaller or weaker stature. But if that thing flickers into action fully? Yeah, I’m backtracking for the time being. Knowing when and how to choose your quarry is vital for survival, as in a similar vein to FromSoftware games like Elden Ring, dying in the world causes me to drop any unsealed energy at the point of death. This is a huge nuisance – I need that energy to upgrade my powers and health reserves, damn it, and I can only do that from the hub area where I respawn.
All of this just adds to the unique blend of gameplay mechanics and genres employed by Just Purkey Games to create The Axis Unseen’s unpredictability. Frustrating as some of them might be, especially compounded by the charmingly outdated Skyrim-esque graphical jank, the combination certainly does its job. Pure stubbornness sends me back into the fray head-first, and I make a point of racing past all other monsters on the tail of my killer. Vengeance, energy, and thin wisps of story will be mine if it kills me – and in The Axis Unseen, it almost certainly will
The Axis Unseen is out now on PC. For more recommendations, head on over to our Indie Spotlight series.