Microsoft's release schedule for 2024 might no longer include a certain action role-playing game (we’re looking at you Avowed), but thankfully there are other titles under this same genre to fill the void. One of these happens to be the beat ‘em up-style game, Towerborne, although admittedly the release model here is slightly different to your average Xbox Game Studios launch. Not only is it limited to just PC for now, but it’s also exclusively launching in early access on Valve's Steam service. This rollout is to allow the community to be part of the “building process”, according to developer Stoic. So, for this preview, we’ve obviously been playing the game on PC – fortunately, we were able to plug in an Xbox controller, so when it does eventually show up on Xbox Series X|S in 2025, we should have no problem jumping back in.
Right, with all of this in mind, Towerborne is a brand-new IP from the talented development team at Stoic – an Austin, Texas-based studio who previously worked on the beautifully crafted tactical role-playing series The Banner Saga, pumping out three major entries over a five-year period. Its new game Towerborne was originally a surprise announcement during the Xbox Games Showcase in 2023, and up until recent months, it hasn’t really been in the spotlight like Xbox's other upcoming releases. This preview has given us the best opportunity yet to learn more about the new title, so how does it hold up?
As the player, you’re immediately thrown into a world filled with chaos and turmoil where humanity has been overrun by monsters. Fortunately, there’s one last bastion known as ‘The Belfry’ – a huge tower-like structure where special individuals known as ‘Ace’ (born anew from “the spirit realm with special skills, grit and determination”) unite to defend and reclaim the land. After a brief intro cinematic, you’re presented with a lovely art style which looks something straight out of a vintage Disney production, and there’s a soundtrack that perfectly matches the mood of each scene playing out on screen.
During our brief time with the preview of Towerborne, we were given the chance to familiarise ourselves with ‘The Belfry’ which acts as a hub zone, where you – the hero – can equip new gear, level items, hand in missions, take on new assignments or simply take a break and hang out with your fellow adventurers. The majority of the action unfolds on the world map, and while it felt like we really only scratched the surface during our time with the “pre-early access” hands on, the general gameplay loop requires players to brawl through a side-scrolling level, taking down waves of enemies (either solo or in a party), level up, unlock new gear and then rinse and repeat this process on a new tile on the overworld. Thrown into the mix is all sorts of customisation and randomisation to keep things feeling fresh, along with a variety of mobs and bosses.
As for your hero, you’re not actually locked into one class – we had access to four different classes made up of a brawler, a Sentinel (equipped with a sword and shield), a pyro-like club class, and a ninja-inspired character wielding dual blades. You can swap between and level these individual classes each run, and early on there’s a mission which requires you to try them all out, which might even make you reconsider your main. Each character also comes equipped with their own special moveset – with attacks to mow down mobs, break an enemy’s guard and even some aerial manoeuvres. Certain attacks like sword spins are also handy at crowd control when you’re surrounded. The Xbox controls do a good job managing all of the action as well.
In addition to your character's abilities, you also have special companions known as Umbra, which can be swapped in and out of battle – granting your Ace all sorts of powerful attacks. Combined, all of the levelling, gear unlocks and progression creates an addictive cycle, as long as you don’t mind the typical ARPG grind – with items drops broken up into different tiers (like uncommon and rare) and loot that can be equipped to other classes. If you’ve played a game like Diablo before, you should know what you’re signing up for.
The battles in each stage will naturally become more difficult as you progress, and there are harder difficulties which can be unlocked through special trials. We found additional party members (aka players) gave us the edge in battle, and also speed each run up when you can team up against monsters, and generally just coordinate attacks to give you an upper hand against bosses or harder challenges. Higher level players can also effectively carry lower level ones, resulting in some big XP boosts, and less of a grind. About the only major issues we did encounter during cooperative play were regular disconnects, but this was "pre-early access".
One other thing worth mentioning is the DLC in the form of a founder's pack, which unlocks some extra goodies for early sign ups. How much DLC and the free-to-play model could impact the game in the future is unclear at this early stage. However, Stoic has reiterated in an interview earlier this year how Towerborne has been designed to include “highly-modifiable” systems to respond to player feedback on the fly. So, if there are any major concerns raised during the early access period, there’s a possibility mechanics and certain aspects of the gameplay and design could be overhauled. One other feature we’re yet to really see is the evolving narrative, which will apparently lead to episodic content.
We already knew developer Stoic was able to deliver a quality product given its history with The Banner Saga trilogy, and Towerborne is shaping up to be just as promising with its fun and addictive ARPG formula, colourful artwork and friendly multiplayer design. We can’t wait to return to this world when early access goes live on Steam this week.