Axiom Verge, released in 2015, is a 2D Metroidvania platform shooter centered around the protagonist Trace, a scientist who, after an experiment gone wrong, finds himself on the world of Sudra, separated from Earth by a deadly void called the Breach. By the time Trace arrives on Sudra he finds both the world and its civilization collapsed due to the release of a certain pathogen in the act of biological warfare. With the help of the Rusalki — giant war machines that guard this world — Trace has to uncover the truth behind the fall of Sudra, confront the perpetrator behind it, and return back to his home world across the Breach.

The game takes heavy inspiration from early Metroid games and some other platformers of the era and employs a number of unconventional — and at times very creative! — storytelling and gameplay design decisions, and is all-around well-made and received accordingly. If you enjoy action platformers or exploration-driven games with a solid sci-fi plot, playing through Axiom Verge is highly recommended before watching the TAS, especially considering the latter 1/4 of it (as well as the 4th boss fight, which is a major mindscrew moment in the story) might become incomprehensible otherwise.

keylie rushes through the game's speedrun mode (which shows an in-game timer and disables all cutscenes) in 28:05.59 by the in-game timer, picking up 15% of items. Boss times: 02:26.52 (Xedur), 05:39.17 (Telal), 11:06.27 (Uruku), 18:25.55 (Vision), 21:09.20 (Ukhu), 26:27.07 (Sentinel).