The Axis Unseen

The Axis Unseen is a heavy metal horror game set in a mysterious open world. After the creatures slaughter your entire village of Hunters, you track them and try to stop them from escaping into our world. You can approach the hunt through stealth or intense action, and the creatures can also hunt you.

Hunt the creatures

Follow tracks and blood trails, and watch the wind so the creatures cannot smell you approaching. They track you by sight, sound and smell, and each has specific weaknesses. Combat and hunting rely on your bow and arrows: you can upgrade your bow, find different arrow types and experiment with how they interact. Fire, wind-controlling and time-distorting arrows are among the types you can find; wind arrows can make fire spread faster.

You can change the difficulty at any time. Pacifist mode lets you photograph creatures to unlock things, while permadeath mode adds an extra challenge.

Powers and equipment

You gain powers by upgrading your senses with the creatures' abilities. These let you see scent particles, feel the warmth left on their tracks and perceive colors no human has seen. Your bow displays how much noise you are making, how much magic remains and how visible you are. Check your quiver to see how many arrows you have, and watch the tattoos on your hand for your health and active powers.

The world and its history

Find journals left by the Hunters and other visitors to learn what happened to them, what they discovered and where this world came from. As you explore, you make your own journal entries and drawings about the monsters, powers and equipment you find. Almost all of the UI exists within the world itself.

A safe area displays sculptures of the monsters, powers, magic, equipment and map sections you discover, along with a 3D map to help you navigate. You can also use this area to fast travel around the world without opening a menu.

Music

The original music by Clifford Meyer, formerly of ISIS and Red Sparowes, combines heavy metal with primitive instruments. It adjusts dynamically to the action, shifting between atmospheric music and intense metal.