TowerbornePublisher: Stoic StudiosDeveloper: Xbox Game StudiosAvailability: Early access 10th September 2024Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC (Steam)
Towerborne was first revealed at last summer’s Xbox Games Showcase, but little has been shared of the game since so you’d be forgiven for not being up to speed.
However, the game launches in early access on PC today, with a game preview and full release expected on Xbox (and Game Pass) next year. Indeed, early access is a major strategy as part of the game’s launch, following in the footsteps of Baldur’s Gate 3, Hades, and more. It’s Diablo 4, though, that Towerborne is most readily aping.
To take a step back, Towerborne is part ARPG and part beat ’em up from Stoic Studios, the team behind the gritty yet beautifully animated Banner Saga tactics games. It’s a change of pace, then, though it’s similarly colourful and cartoonish. Away from the poignant storytelling, this is something charming that satisfies on a simpler level.
Outside of the game’s central city for the typical suite of character customisation and management, the world map consists of hexagonal tiles that gradually widen out through exploration. Tiles represent battles, bosses, collectible items and more, and are labelled with a danger level from one to four (at least in early access, this could range higher at release) to allow players to balance difficulty and reward.
Inside those levels, the game shifts to a side-scrolling 2.5D beat ’em up that can be played solo or with up to four players in co-op (couch co-op is also on the way next year, so won’t be in early access, and crossplay is also planned). There are beasts and creatures to smack in a pleasingly old school way: the camera holds players in place until all enemies are defeated and they move on to the next skirmish. Light and heavy attacks, special abilities, and magical companions (Umbras) are all present to give plenty of options combined with dodges and jumps. It scratches a somewhat mindless itch and I can see players settling in against the hordes in a similar manner to Diablo 4, though this preview didn’t include any narrative.