Tower of Guns review

With April came a fresh batch of PlayStation plus games, and I've got to say its a good thing this was on there for the PS4 because the idea of "don't judge a book by its cover" is right at home with this one on multiple accounts. Its not what you'd think of with a name like that. Instead of another generic tower defense indie game cashing in on a dead fad, its another generic rogue-like indie game during a living fad for that sort of thing. However there's a bit more to that, otherwise this review wouldn't really be here.

The first thing you notice is the presentation. From the very main menu I loved ToG's music choice. The central theme is this slow electric guitar piece kicking in with a steady industrial beat at the undertone. A lot of the core music takes a similar tone, which works with the industrial looking setting (even if its a rather cartoony one). The game's visual design is sort of a loosely cell shaded look, kind of like borderlands if you took out some of the black lines and just designed a world that was better used for the style. Its not exactly breaking any record or trying to look too stylish, and honestly even feels like it could work as you see it on the PS3, but everything has a solid and consistent look to it that turns out well. The one thing that isn't consistent is the performance, which is a big deal here. In the middle of all the hectic combat, you'll be faced with random slow downs and stutters that can mess with your movement. The game shouldn't be very taxing considering it looks like a PS3 game running on a PS4 system and has little going on other than just lots of guns (the rooms are bare and textures fairly flat). That's not to say it looks bad, just that it should be running efficiently.

In Tower of Guns your main goal is to progress through stages and take on insane automatic defenses within the tower facility. You have one fairly crazy gun yourself that works on a small scale leveling system (and de-levels under too much damage), and you run through these stages collecting loot, blasting things, and moving on. The game is actually more about platforming than it is shooting. The turret guns work in a mostly projectile way more so than the usual hitscan style you'd take in a modern shooter. You have sometimes entire rows of guns all shooting slow moving cannon shells at you at one time, and you'll find yourself dodging them and either firing back or fleeing given the proper timing and precision. However that's just the common type as your enemies come in at all types, so you'll be worried about different ammo types, mini-drones chasing you, laser walls, flame throwers, etc. On top of that you're worried about minor level details, sometimes total hazards like lava floors, and other times just about how you're maneuvering. Meanwhile your own way of shooting matters very little. You have 1 gun you pick at the start, and that gun shoots as advertised with no other distractions (not even ammo). Its just pull the trigger and aim with the gun you choose. That's not a bad thing, just a warning that this isn't the FPS rogue-like you might be looking for if you want it to specialize on the "FPS" thing. You'll be thinking with full platformer mentality: timing and reflex instead of resources or enemy balance, its just that you so happen to have a gun which helps you destroy your platforming hazards. Personally though my strange love of 1st person platforming felt right at home here, and its a blast.

What about the rogue-like/lite/whatever part? Well you see once you die, you're dead for good and pushed to the main menu to start the game clean again. Each run you make is a randomly generated run where rooms, bosses, and the way turrets and items pop in are all different. Even the story is different every time, as there is a pool of really sill stuff it chooses from to contextualize your trip through the stages. That can range from a burglar breaking into the tower with his dog, to a hobbit spoof, to name just two examples. Back to the gameplay though, there thankfully isn't a lot of luck in the rogue-like system. Your luck set depends on the pick-ups you run into, like whether or not you find 8 health upgrades on one run. You'll also frequently see difficulty themed pick-ups and might accidentally stumble into a run where you beef the difficulty up an insane amount. That's where most of the luck is though, and as long as you avoid the bad pick-ups you can usually have a good run with the luck given to you. It can also help or hurt you to get good active powers, or the right gun enhancements, but that's just an extension of the power-up system. As you have the common sense to say "no" to the ones that are worse, you'll be fine. If you really want a more luck based game for some reason, try dice roll mode where ever room throws a random (usually painful) effect at you. The level design shouldn't screw you over in the general game either, as while its supposedly random it keeps things possible. I'd even almost argue its a little too safe; while I'm glad the levels always work (Just don't run into this hole), I've run into times where the levels were identical, even in jump pad placement.

The consistency is within the general format. You go through about 2-3 rooms, the boss stage, then the visual level theme changes slightly. Some story then drops during the before & after stage sequences, and you move on. You have secrets that can be found hidden away in tight corners, or invisible walls. Moving up in the game and accomplishing certain tasks will unlock guns and starting perks for the next run, though personally I'd strongly recommend just keeping the perk at the default starting one. Having the ability to triple jump at the start of the game is amazing! However whatever perks you don't go with, can pretty much be earned as pick-ups later in the game. Sadly when you look to shake this general scheme up a bit, you wont go far. You've got normal mode, dice roll, and endless mode, and that's it. Those are essentially the same modes where you'll be doing the exact same thing with just a tiny alteration on the outcome. The entire game cycles around you shooting and platforming through hazards, and you'll soon start to look for a good tweak where there simply isn't one, so things are just forced to blur together into an overly simple game. It doesn't help when you consider again that the levels kind of feel samey after a while. On top of that, you may want to start a run only to become tired with it half-way and then realize there's no way to back down peacefully. Quit game is labeled "give up" and there's no such thing as a save. You're either playing the game for at least an hour to try a single run, or not playing it at all because you know it wont save anything. Playing the PS4 version means you can suspend the game console, but that's no good if you just wanted to switch to a bigger game. Its up to you to decide whether or not that's okay, but personally speaking I'd have felt a bit cheated if I put down the $15 for a game this simple.

Final thoughts & Verdict



Originally I made plans to review Never Alone, but screw that game. Its not absolutely terrible, but it was a frustrating chore to tell myself to experience it, and then I decided "lets give this 'Tower of Guns' freebie" a try. Never Alone hasn't been played since (although I'll force myself through the rest of it eventually).

I really enjoyed the 1st person platforming nature of this game, dodging through so many crazy traps and weapons only to blast them to bits when I get the chance. I also enjoyed finding power-ups that modified my own guns into some crazy stuff. Its a very simplistic game, but one that kept a smile on my face for a while (especially with the shotgun unlocked). Unlike most rogue-likes, luck isn't the gameplay, instead its the spice to the gameplay, and that gameplay is great fun which is what keeps it above the rest. However its still very simple. You can only blast and jump but so much before you just get tired and wander onto something else, and that's when the game just falls down a bit. Your best bet for extending the game beyond simple runs is to look up obscure secrets online and try them for yourself during the normal runs. I really want to love this game because it can be a lot of fun, but at the end of the day I can't say it does much. Its one of those games that is just perfect for killing some time doing runs while listening to a podcast in the background. After your very first few runs with the game, it serves almost exclusively that sole purpose. Its a great little escapist game you play in between your other games, and if you embrace it as just that then maybe I'd also add that its one of the best rogue-likes available. However its not anything greater, and just gets by with a decent rating. Its right at home as a free PS+ game, but otherwise I'd recommend at least a 30% off sale.

I should probably go finish Never Alone, but these hugbuts wont let me.