THE AXIS UNSEEN
- Scott Millard
- May 14, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 18, 2025
Coming Soon to Xbox and PlayStation
A Heavy Metal Horror Hunt Begins - From one of the developers of Skyrim and Fallout, The Axis Unseen is a visceral open-world horror game where ancient creatures stalk a world lost to time—and you're the only one who can stop them. Track monsters from folklore using enhanced senses, elemental arrows, and primal magic. Hunt... or be hunted.
Your village of Hunters has been slaughtered. Ancient beasts are breaking through the veil into our world. Armed with only your bow, your instincts, and the powers you steal from the monsters themselves, you must uncover the secrets of a realm that exists outside of time—and stop the creatures from escaping.
🌲 Open World Hunting Horror – Explore a vast, atmospheric world filled with terrifying creatures pulled from forgotten folklore.
🧠 Enhanced Sense Powers – Gain supernatural abilities like scent tracking, heat detection, and color perception beyond human limits.
🏹 Elemental Arrows & Magic – Craft and unleash fire, lightning, and shadow-infused arrows. Use the beasts’ own powers against them.
🔥 Diegetic Immersion – No floating HUD. Your gear, tattoos, and surroundings display everything you need to know.
📜 Uncover the Past – Discover journals from those who came before you, and create your own as you explore and survive.
Key Features
🎮 Console-Ready Deep Gameplay – Supports stealth, full-action combat, and even a non-violent mode. Tune difficulty to your preference, including permadeath for the bold.
🎵 Dynamic Heavy Metal Soundtrack – Featuring original music by Clifford Meyer (ISIS, Red Sparowes), blending atmospheric textures and brutal riffs that react to your gameplay.
🧭 Immersive Systems – Track by scent, wind, footprints, and blood trails. Creatures will hunt you using sight, sound, and smell.
📷 Photo Mode Alternative – A pacifist option lets players document monsters instead of fighting them.
ABOUT THE DEVELOPER: NATE PURKEYPILE
From Building Iconic Worlds at Bethesda to Creating an Entire One Alone
Nate Purkeypile is the founder of Just Purkey Games and the solo creator of The Axis Unseen. Before going indie, Nate spent 14 years at Bethesda Game Studios, contributing to some of the most celebrated RPGs of all time.
His credits include:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Fallout 3 (including The Pitt & Point Lookout DLCs)
Fallout 4
Fallout 76 (Lead Artist)
Starfield (Lead/Lighting roles)
His unmistakable worldbuilding style is seen in iconic locations such as Diamond City, Blackreach, and Little Lamplight, areas praised for their atmosphere and memorability.
A One-Man Open-World Project
In 2021, Nate left Bethesda to “get back to making games with his own hands.” Over the next three years, he built an entire open world alone, designing the monsters, crafting the systems, coding the gameplay, composing the environments, and shaping the game’s distinctive identity.
Along the way, he developed a new musical direction: “primitive metal,” a collaboration with Clifford Meyer featuring over 90 minutes of adaptive sound that reacts to gameplay.
Supporting facts from Nate’s career include:
Early work on BloodRayne 2, Æon Flux, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Valedictorian graduate of DigiPen Institute of Technology
Post-launch of The Axis Unseen on PC in 2024, Nate began ideating his next project while traveling cross-country in an RV
The PC release in 2024 earned strong praise from players and critics for its atmosphere, world design, and tense predator-prey gameplay loop.
CRITICAL PRAISE
From Escapist Magazine:
“The Axis Unseen is the most Skyrim-like game I’ve played since Skyrim… filtered through the likes of Elden Ring and Praey for the Gods.” (The Escapist)
From TechRaptor:
“It combines horror, hunting and shooting, with heavy metal music to carve out a place among competing titles.” (techraptor.net)
From Shacknews:
“You’re off the edge of the map… Here be dragons. But if you play it right, the scariest thing in this world might just be you.” (Shacknews)
“Just Purkey Games has made something special… You’re off the edge of the map. Here be dragons. But if you play it right, the scariest thing in this world might just be you.” — Shacknews (https://www.shacknews.com/article/141775/the-axis-unseen-review-here-be-dragons)
From FandomWire:
“Its visuals and sound design are remarkably impressive….” (FandomWire)
From PC Gamer
“It’s arguably … a completely different genre than the Bethesda RPGs creator Nate Purkeypile formerly worked on, but it feels like an elaboration on a very specific way of playing those games. … The Axis Unseen’s stealth frequently resulted in these great cat and mouse duels between me and the wildlife.” — PC Gamer PC Gamernseen/
STORE LINK:
STUDIO: Just Purkey Games - https://www.justpurkeygames.com/
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