The Axis Unseen channels years of Skyrim design experience into a spooky, open world hunting game

We play ex-Bethesda developer Nate Purkeypile’s first indie game

Image credit:Just Purkey Games

A heaving expo floor is not a great place to sample a first-person open world hunting game that wants you to monitor your own heartbeat, but The Axis Unseen manages to be pretty atmospheric regardless. It helps that I’m hunting Bigfoot. Hefting my magical bow, I peer around a tree trunk at the creature as he wanders down a slope of vivid orange grass sprinkled with pale blue rock. I only have a couple of arrows in my quiver, which doesn’t feel like nearly enough, so I edge across the hillside to another tree trunk, where I can hopefully line up a headshot.

Whether due to the rattle of my feet on stone or the wind carrying my scent, Bigfoot notices my presence immediately. He starts to amble towards me, the thump of his strides registering through the controller. I panic, draw an arrow, and send it flying into his shoulder. Bigfoot doesn’t like that. He’s so angry he gets himself stuck on the geography. But he frees himself after a second or two’s moonwalking, then gallops over the intervening ground and wallops me into the air. In a miserable failed imitation of Doom Eternal, I fire off the second arrow while I’m airborne and miss completely. Bigfoot chases me into the forest, and the demo ends soon after.

Image credit:Just Purkey Games

Pencilled in for release later this year, The Axis Unseen unfolds in a bizarre alternate dimension that takes inspiration from real world simulations like theHunter: Call of the Wild , while also incorporating heavy metal fantasy. It’s not clear who you play as yet, but the star of the show is very much that bow - a twist of enchanted wood that is also the game’s main UI element. It’s got a strip of glowing lines that function like a sound monitor, icons for the player’s stance, and reservoirs of energy. It’s reminiscent of a modern phone interface, but there are many features I don’t understand, and developer Nathan Purkeypile - a former Skyrim , Fallout and Starfield designer who left Bethesda in 2021 - isn’t hurrying to fill in the picture. “I want it to be slightly mysterious, but then it clicks as you play,” he tells me. Some of the bow’s UI flourishes are more prosaic: you can detect the wind’s direction by watching the fluttering of feathers in your quiver.

Putting so much emphasis on the bow reflects Purkeypile’s desire to get away from the overbearing interfacial elements that encumber other open world games . “[There are] a lot of games where you just sometimes feel like you’re playing the menu, and are overwhelmed by all these UI elements,” he says. “I really wanted to bring it in and have a tactile in-world feel. So it just made sense to me to solve it that way. And [user interface elements] can be kind of a crutch, sometimes, when you’re designing a game - people are just like, oh, you just follow the marker, and you don’t pay attention. I can be a little bit more deliberate about the design of the world, where the landmarks are, and where you need to go without relying on a minimap. And then it feels more like you’re actually exploring.”

The world itself is a full of strange triangular totems and ritual sites surrounded by gesturing statues. Purkeypile’s time at Bethesda comes across in the profusion of tempting silhouettes on the horizon, though the visual direction is rather less picturesque. See that colossal skeleton? You can go there. “It’s kind of the structure where I’m heading to this thing, but ‘oh what’s this other thing over here that I want to get distracted by?’” he says. “It’s not just an open empty area; there’s places to go and things to find and unlocks off to the side.”

In addition to skeletons bigger than buildings, The Axis Unseen harbours a few Skyrim-esque smaller boneheads that, who knows, might indicate the position of a lore titbit or useful item of some kind. |Image credit:Just Purkey Games

Among the things the game doesn’t share with Skyrim et al are dungeons. “It’s all out in the open,” Purkeypile says. “Part of that is I have some very, very big creatures, and that’s harder when you have dungeons. I want to say the tallest one is like ten storeys tall. I kind of need that breathing room for these characters. I’m a solo dev - I think a game that’s already five times the size of Skyrim is probably enough play space!”

Possibly and not unreasonably anticipating a headline like ‘Skyrim designer’s next game is five times the size of Skyrim’, he swiftly adds that the old Bethesda games “have different focuses for why that would be”. As Purkeypile sees it, “Skyrim is about going to a dungeon and exploring the dungeon. This is a hunting game. I actually tried a smaller world, and it doesn’t play right - you need wilderness to create breathing room between the spaces. Otherwise, it just feels like Disneyland, which can work well for some games but doesn’t work well for a hunting game.”

The world of The Axis Unseen is also, to some degree, an extension of the interface, even before you get access to sensory power-ups that, for example, highlight particles of scent on the breeze. In the biome I visit during my demo, the environmental colour scheme is carefully broken up to aid navigation and planning. If you’re still recovering from recent debates about developers marking interactive fixtures with yellow paint, you might find this ‘UI-fication’ of the landscape displeasing, but it suits the game’s mildly addled cosmic vibe - and there are basic production considerations, too.

“It’s this sort of exaggerated style, where it’s mostly flat colours with tonnes of detail, because it does matter a lot whether you’re walking on rocks versus dirt, because you’re louder in the process,” Purkeypile goes on. “So it’s really important that the player knows that, but also for a solo indie dev, it’s easier to complete the game this way, because I don’t have to do as much texture. So like, it plays better, it looks better - it looks more distinct.”

Purkeypile says he gave the writers relatively little guidance beyond asking them to spread their tales out across the game’s six regions. “Those stories are essentially their own. Folklore is about telling stories. And if I don’t have like a specific gameplay thing that I need to tell people through those journals, I think it’s more interesting to just have it be about like world-building and expanding that, and things having their own voice that way, too. Not just me writing a bunch of stuff.”

The Axis Unseen does have a lore bible that explains certain fundamentals, but Purkeypile was keen that its setting be a mystery even to the writers, who are, after all, penning records left by characters who are only just discovering the setting themselves. “If you’re writing a story about someone that got brought into this world, they don’t know what the truth is, right? They’ll have their own interpretation which could be completely off-base, but they would still write it. That’s a much more realistic way to tell a story versus ‘here is the lore’.”

The lore books will also clue you in on the behaviours of the game’s monsters, who range from the merely threatening, such as Bigfoot, to creatures that are straight out of a ‘proper’ horror game . There’s a deer-type creatures with grotesquely overgrown antlers that will charge at you then run away, and werewolves who will actively stalk you. “It gets weirder and weirder as you get later in the game,” Purkeypile says. “There’s this area of cloaked in darkness, with all this fog everywhere. And you have this tattoo that [lights up] when something moves, but there’s a creature that only moves when you’re not looking at it. So you’re like, I know something’s moving. But every time I look around, I don’t know where it is.”

Image credit:Just Purkey Games

To bring down such horrors, you’ll probably need posher ammunition. There are arrows that affect the wind, set things on fire, slow time and create remote viewing points for scouting. There are also non-arrow-based spells to cast, and power-ups that, say, stop your heartbeat growing so loud that you can’t hear creatures approaching you from behind.

The monsters are, alas, probably the aspect of The Axis Unseen that needs most work right now. Their animations are wooden and unconvincing, more suggestive of dads dressed in munster suits for somebody’s birthday than beasts out of myth, and as my brief encounter with Bigfoot reveals, they have a tendency to get stuck on the scenery. Nonetheless, I’m excited to play more of the game, which feels both like a continuation of certain approaches from Purkeypile’s Elder Scrolls days and the work of a seasoned fantasy geographer now free to do things those games didn’t allow for. Is this a fair characterisation, I ask Purkeypile in closing?

“Yeah, I think that’s accurate,” he says. “Some people are like, ‘Oh, you’re making Stealth Archer: The Game’. But then it is within my own trappings of what I’m going to do with that combat and that experience of building an open world. It all works out pretty well for what kind of indie game I think I can make, having made boatloads of games like that.”

The Axis Unseen

PC

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.