Former Skyrim and Fallout dev says his heavy metal horror game has hit Alpha

The Axis Unseen, a self-styled heavy metal horror game from a former Fallout and Skyrim developer, has hit Alpha.

Nate Purkeypile, who worked as a world artist at Bethesda Game Studios from 2007 to 2021, gave the first update on the intriguing project since its trailer at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase in March 2023.

According to Purkeypile, The Axis Unseen is officially in the Alpha stage and is progressing quite nicely. The developer revealed that he'd recently played through the game in 20 hours, but clarified that his runtime would likely be shorter than average because he took the "'golden path' not doing a lot of side stuff." Purkeypile said he expects your playthroughs to take "at least" 30 hours.

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So I completed a full playthrough of The Axis Unseen now that it's Alpha.-It took me about 20 hours. This was the "golden path" not doing a lot of side stuff. I'd expect most people to take at least 30 hours.🤘-I only crashed twice and I know why#screenshotsaturday #gamedev pic.twitter.com/iyDFYqne1EDecember 9, 2023

Encouragingly, he also said he only encountered two crashes, adding, "I know why."

We first learned about The Axis Unseen back in July 2022 when Purkeypile revealed he'd been making the game on the road in a camper trailer. Featured prominently in trailers are all sorts folkoric abominations like a giant tree monster and a mutated moose, which you'll be able to fight off using your bow and upgradeable features like fire and wind arrows. You'll also be able to improve your own senses to detect various scenes in the wind and "see colors that no human has ever seen."

The game features a "primitive" soundtrack from ex-Red Sparowes member Clifford Meyer, and it'll adjust dynamically to the action on-screen, amping you up in fight scenes and settling down during quieter, exploration-driven sequences.

Here are the best horror games to play today.

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.