Towerborne Early Access First Impressions

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Developer Stoic aims to take control of the nostalgic side-scrolling video game genre in 2025, but with the sensibilities and enjoyment factor of the 1990s. Resultantly, Towerborne comes across as the perfect retro title with all the RPG bells and whistles that people expect from modern games. While it’s still a little barebones (after all, it’s in the early access phase), it shows promise that this could be a fun and entertaining game to play on its own and with friends in the future.

Designed to look like an animated film, Towerborne welcomes players into a fantasy world where heroes known as Aces need to reclaim the land from evil forces – you know, the general fantasy adventure spiel. The Belfry acts as the homebase where players interact with other NPCs and the world, upgrade their Ace’s talents and gears, and have the ability to discover their next mission on the World Map.

The ability to refine the Ace lies in the player’s hand as they decide which class to choose from: Pyroclast (warclubs), Sentinel (sword and shield), Rockbreaker (gauntlets), and Shadowstriker (daggers). There’s the opportunity to swap and change between classes in an effort to figure out which playing style suits the player best, but it’s recommended that this is done earlier rather than later – or the Ace could become unbalanced through choices made to enhance the previous class. Simultaneously, players can add spirit companions known as Umbras to their arsenal. These little tykes assist in battle and prove to be valuable when Aces find themselves in a pickle.

Fast-paced and bubbling with danger at every corner, Towerborne follows the simple hack-and-slash formula. Find the enemy and destroy (also, don’t be a fool – learn how to roll away and block blows or the Aces go to heaven). However, the game becomes more complex once the player progresses past the early missions and into wilder lands, as enemies grow in significant numbers and harbor specific shields and defense mechanisms that are