Tower of Guns Review (Xbox One)

good
key review info
  • Game: Tower of Gunss
  • Platform: Xbox One
  • Show system requirements
  • Reviewed on:
Tower of Guns review on Xbox One

Rogue-like games are quite popular nowadays, particularly when it comes to puzzle platformers, while quite a few other independent developers are trying to recreate old-school first-person shooter experiences from the past, such as Doom, Painkiller, or Unreal Tournament.

Developer Terrible Posture has decided to bring together these two pretty different genres with its latest project, Tower of Guns, which is a first-person shooter that uses the randomized levels from rogue-like titles to provide endless fun for those looking to relive titles like Doom or Duke Nukem.

Does this fresh shooter manage to put together a great hybrid or should we take down the tower? Let's find out.

Story

While old-school shooters and newer rogue-like titles don't exactly emphasize story, Tower of Guns does try to offer bite-sized exposition for what's happening. Fortunately, this is all delivered through some silly dialog between randomized characters. You can be a loveable thief infiltrating the tower, or a Bilbo-like adventurer, while interacting with robot butlers that aren't that interested in video games.

These dialogs all happen through text pop-ups and are quite entertaining. However, if you just want to shoot things without the minimum of distractions, you can turn them off from the settings.

They are quite fun and each combination provides a different conclusion to their interaction at the end of the regular mode. However, given the rogue-like experience, you might not always reach the end with your favorite plot line.

Watch out for lava and enemies in Tower of Guns
Watch out for lava and enemies in Tower of Guns

Gameplay

Tower of Guns, like any good rogue-like and any interesting shooter, lives and dies based on its gameplay. Fortunately, the independent title performs quite well in this regard, offering an old-school experience that is both sufficiently random and pretty challenging.

You progress through rooms whose layout doesn’t change, but the number and type of enemies and obstacles get switched up every time. You can face just a few floating robots one time, but in the next playthrough you can be met with huge cannons or guns that pummel you from all sorts of directions.

At the start of a game, you can pick from your unlocked items. You choose a weapon and a perk, which can make a pretty big difference. Throughout your adventure, you also find items that can be equipped for various effects. These range from vampiric attacks that heal you, to portable ion cannons and many other things.

The actual weapons are quite varied but some feel much better than others, so you'll soon find favorites or those that fit your preferred play style. You start with two guns but completing various objectives unlocks more of them that can be selected at the beginning of a game.

Getting hurt in Tower of Guns doesn't just mean that you health drops, but it also lowers the power of your weapon. While you can sprint through rooms as fast as possible until you reach the exit, you can augment your weapon by killing enemies and ensure that later boss fights aren't that hard to take down.

Speaking of boss fights, these are quite impressive and almost always epic in scale. However, they mostly boil down to the same gameplay recipe, as you keep firing at the giant enemy, while strafing and staying on the move.

Actually, moving around feels relatively nice but jumping doesn't exact feel all that good, meaning double or triple jumps don't carry the same change in momentum. In other words, reaching certain areas or walking on tight paths is a bit hard.

Enemies drop various orbs and items that improve your gun or refill your health. You can also obtain coins from fallen foes, which are spent on getting new items found in random parts of a level behind glass domes.

Secrets, a classic feature of old-school shooters, are in bountiful supply right here, as Tower of Guns features a huge number of hidden zones filled with surprises. At the end of a zone, you're greeted with a screen that highlights just how many secrets you've found, and even if you've scoured every nook and cranny, you might miss a few of them.

Watch out for projectiles in Tower of Guns
Watch out for projectiles in Tower of Guns

Visuals and sound

The visuals in Tower of Guns look pretty good and are quite reminiscent of the cel-shaded style employed by Gearbox Software in its Borderlands series. The actual design isn't that out of the ordinary, but enemies are quite varied and all work rather well. The framerate is smooth enough to guarantee a stable experience but some effects don't look all that well.

Unfortunately, you'll find quite a lot of clipping when it comes to enemies and even your playable character, so be careful when getting close to walls.

The soundtrack is a bit repetitive, but thankfully, it changes upon entering a new stage, so things remain pretty fresh provided you don't linger too long in the same zone.


The Good

  • Great concept of rogue-like shooter
  • Intense gameplay and battles
  • Some truly sprawling maps
  • Lots of hilarious dialog

The Bad

  • Visuals don't look all that great
  • Some items and perks are a bit too powerful
  • Soundtrack can wear on your nerves
  • Losing weapon power when getting hit becomes aggravating
  • Movement system isn't that precise

Conclusion

Tower of Guns is a pretty fun rogue-like first-person shooter that manages to blend these two different genres together for an entertaining experience. However, it's best served as a palate cleanser between different games, as going through the title too often brings into question its repetitive gameplay and level design.
story 7
gameplay 8
concept 9
graphics 7
audio 7
multiplayer 0
final rating 7.5
Editor's review
good
 
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Tower of Guns Xbox One Screenshots (14 Images)

Tower of Guns review on Xbox OneShoot big guns in Tower of GunsUnlock items in Tower of GunsWatch out for lava and enemies in Tower of GunsBattle big bosses in Tower of Guns
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