A co-op action RPG with strong beat ’em up roots

One part belt-scroller beat ’em up, one part loot-based action RPG. It’s not an ordinary pairing, however Towerbornes early access show makes the combination work. Developer Stoic from The Banner Saga Fame follows up its critically acclaimed SRPG trilogy with an entirely new genre, though it’s a risk tempered by its F2P trappings and the publishing power of Xbox Game Studios behind it. Considering what happened before, TowerborneIts stunning visual presentation is hardly a surprise, but it combines an addictive grind and solid fundamentals that may attract players who normally wouldn’t turn to a freemium option for their beat ’em fix..

For online RPG beat ’em ups, people might think of each MapleStory – itself more of an action-platform-RPG MMO – or possibly Dungeon Fighter Online’s class-based gameA long-running fantasy action RPG belt-scroller approaching its 20th anniversary. In the case of the latter, DFO Uses the beat ’em up genre primarily as a hook for a gritty gotcha, though it looks a lot like the belt-scrollers of yesteryear.

When it comes to TowerborneStoic’s genre inspirations are abundantly clear and represented to a tee, despite the more online freemium aspects that live under the hood. THat means that it brings some of the tech-oriented fighter depth of Treasure’s classic Guardian HeroesBut it molds around a much slower, more cautious style, with no cartoonish endless wall-juggling or one-button room clears. All in all, his truest test will be whether genre fans come to terms with his numbers and systems, but ours Towerborne Preview felt like a nice entry into the concept, with what seems like little in the way of FOMO F2P shenanigans.

A new beautiful aesthetic distinct from the Banner Saga

if anything, Banner Saga Fans will probably arrive first for the story, so it’s unfortunate Towerborne‘s narrative aspects, while competent, offer very little comparison thus far. It is still a decent tale with a unique backdrop centered on the Belfry, a massive tower fortress where the last vestiges of humanity make their stand, welcoming any refugees escaping the surrounding monster hordes. The belfry presents a powerful image, the gargantuan windmill with clusters of houses welded to its walls.

On that note, fans of The Banner SagaThe unique visuals will find a completely different but no less beautiful aesthetic Towerborne. It’s a mix of painted textures, 3D architecture and cel-shaded-like animated characters, invoking Breath of the wild And Studio Ghibli films in equal measure, with even a faint whiff of vanillaware. One would be hard-pressed to find any beat ’em up whose graphics can easily compare.

The story itself falls into some standard MMO tropes, with players taking on the role of ​​a budding mouse, one of many guardian adventurers with special abilities who promise to protect what remains of the population from the dangers beyond the Belfry. At least the player character is not a mute protagonist and occasionally has something to say Towerbornes cast of characters, most of them represent knowledge, chitchat, tasks and challenges to complete, all intended to better prepare them for the heroic objectives.

Designing your own new towerborne mouse

TowerborneThe character creator works well enough, offering various physical traits to choose from and a few sliders here and there, while a mirror in the belfry allows touching apps. More importantly, every piece of gear in the game is always clearly visible on a player’s toe, and there is obviously a huge amount of work to make sure the pieces match and interlock effectively. Anyone who prioritizes the fashion aspects of MMOs will adore it, and gear upgrades can help maintain the viability of favored armor from earlier stages.

The game features many familiar action-RPG/MMO genre qualities, including colored rarities, randomized special attributes, set bonuses, gem slots (Towerborne refers to these as “aspects”), and cosmetic/transmog options; The latter is fueled by Scrip, a limited currency that affects the game’s premium cosmetic content. The hard cap of 80 weapons and 80 gear slots could indicate larger storage options for sale in the future, but that’s just speculation at this point.

After generating a mouse, players run through some basic tutorial missions before being set free on the extensive hex-based map. Here, they stop at each hex tile to play a level, digging their way forward to further reaches and clearing fogs of war, eventually engaging “ventures,” the game’s larger raid-like skirmishes.

Four weapon-based classes to choose from

Individual levels in Towerborne They are short and sweet, most of them taking no more than six or seven minutes to complete. Ventures usually take a little longer than that, but everything we experienced in the game felt focused, low on downtime, and with enough randomization to not make mission replays feel like a chore.

At first, combat appears deceptively simple. There is a light attack, heavy attack, jump and dodge, with special skills linked to the individual weapons of the four current classes, activated with left trigger and right bumper on controller. Attacks can be interrupted and overpowered, so players need to check enemies for stories, super armor and other familiar hit them up call-outs.

In terms of the classes, they are similar to Monster Hunters weapons-based roles. The Sentinel is a defensive sword-and-board, the Rockbreaker is heavy duty with giant gauntlets, the Pyroclast is a kind of wide-swinging warrior with a fiery club, and the Shadowstrike is an agile rogue class. There are no direct support or off-classes – this Is A beat them up, after all, so DPS is the name of the game – but Each of the four roles is distinct enough, and players can freely switch between them after missions, although they can only level them up one at a time..

Apart from the early training sequences, there is nothing to prevent a player from only focusing in one class, although the time eventually becomes wider. Loot drops will always include weapons for all four classes at random, regardless of an Ace’s current role, but with only four classes available at the moment, chances are good that a preferred class weapon will drop soon enough.

Drive into the danger zone

These classes would be wasted if the game’s supporting combat systems weren’t as strong as they proved to be. Even though the very early game is an outright cakewalk, difficulty spikes appear right on schedule. Niha, None of the amount to just spongier HP bars, like Towerborne Skip the all-too-common mainstay and replace it with weirder and deadlier mobs with greater attack varietyTied to a unique system known as the “Danger Level.”

Essentially, Danger Levels limit the areas of the map and can be swapped for individual missions, requiring special trial challenges in the Belfry to increase their range. They present as something of a gear/dps/skill check, and the short tests are a smart way to ensure that players don’t just ram their faces against a challenge wall before they’re ready. Four distinct danger levels will be unlocked during Early Access, with the map already setting up its boundaries in preparation for more.

According to danger level 3, TowerborneThe basic action becomes much faster and more enjoyable. Each gorgeously animated enemy has their own behaviors and skills, including bow-wielding lupine archers, cloud frogmen, dive-bombing falcons, explosive fungi and many more. Further biomes expand the enemy assortment, although many will be saved at any given level, matching shielded barbarians with archers, rat rogues and spear goblins, with larger hordes becoming more common at higher danger levels.

There are super armor mechanics, recovery actions, and shield-breaking to contend with, aided by special gear specs for aces that have HP regen, heal on hit, poison, fire, and other status effects. It’s a healthy group of systems to build a competent mouse around – although, to be clear, even more would be great – and enemies mostly use comparable buffs and perks as well, especially the harder Venture bosses and elite variants that appear later.

Final thoughts on the Towerborne preview

Once upon a time Towerborne Opening up, most beat ’em up fans – even those normally averse to MMOs or action-RPG math – will likely find themselves immersed in the crunchier systemic stuff at hand. This speaks volumes to the game’s generous content and adaptability at this early stage, especially in a genre where complexity doesn’t always translate to fun minute-to-minute gameplay. In other words: Great gear And Good combat sense feels equally vital, and beat them up veterans with time-tested spacing instincts and reflexes will feel well served by the game’s tougher battles.

A great thing about beat ’em ups is their general appeal-and-play appeal, somewhat at odds with the cavernous lore requirements of most loot-based action RPGs. What is unique about this new hybrid genre is how it manages to climb a lot a few shades above casual, but absent of any gotcha elements and hardcore meta focus (at least by Danger Level 4).

Stoic claims to be listening to their community closely and pledges to modify and support their F2P title after the EA launch, and further to its eventual deployment on consoles. Discussing multiplayer Early Access games is always a tricky gambit, but our preview experience was surprisingly strong for a first go, and we’re still optimistic about upcoming additions.

Towerborne Could make an excellent gateway experience for fans who don’t normally dabble in the co-op action RPG space. The fighting style of each class features many combos, and learning how to fight the more intimidating squads in Danger Level 4 was an inarguably satisfying hook. Towerbornes early access delivers a unique addictive prospect: an action RPG that is not all about the numbers, and a beat them up that is not all about the repetition. For MMO and Action RPG fans who like to keep a low-stakes “mini-MMO” in their pocket, Towerborne Could prove the perfect fit.

Source: Xbox / YouTube