Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Loading screen in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

Towerborne Early Access Review – A Ghibli ARPG That Doesn’t Get Lost in the Clouds

This game may be Stoic's "tower"-ing achievement

When you initially think about the essence of a traditional ARPG, the first descriptors that come to mind may not necessarily be “charming” or “cozy”. Such games typically opt for fast-paced action with a good dose of dramatic flair. However, Towerborne is a new IP that seeks to bring a whimsical and approachable dynamic to the subgenre that we haven’t seen in some time.

Recommended Videos

After its decorated history with the classic Banner Saga series, Stoic is returning in true form with Towerborne. With gameplay honorably reminiscent of that franchise and undeniably endearing (and surprising) aesthetic inspiration from Studio Ghibli, Towerborne is a vibrantly delightful adventure that is honestly hard to put down for many reasons.

The premise of the game brings players into a world where the biggest human civilizations, including the City of Numbers, have been ravaged and overrun by a mysterious plague of monsters called Gobos. The last bastion of safety for survivors is the Belfry, a gigantic windmill tower that stretches high into the clouds. Its walls are encased with actual houses and buildings, forming a city all its own that looks straight out of a Ghibli film. From a creative standpoint, this visual feature is an achievement in itself.

Character customization in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

The game kicks things off with an impressive character customization system that’s got an incredible amount of options to select from. Given Towerborne’s overall aesthetic, the options are clearly heavily influenced by anime stylizations, from the classic to the eccentric. So if you’re into that kind of style, you’re definitely in luck with this one.

One very small quip I had was the inability to rotate my character while customizing them, meaning you have to rely entirely on what the icons show for things like hairstyles. Given that most character creators in games allow you to rotate and see the full visage of your creation, this was a bit surprising to me, especially with the amount of detail the creator has otherwise. A future update could easily fix that, however. Also, you can easily change your character’s look as often as you want at no cost from the Facewright found at the Belfry.

The player takes the role of a character known as an Ace, a league of specialized fighters who can be brought back to life from the spirit realm to battle another day. The game begins with us being revived as well, though our memories of our past life are strangely gone. Comrades such as Courage and Paloma, the founder of the Aces, help our character get back on their feet and into the sword swing of things.

Dialogue with Paloma NPC in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

A handy tour of the Belfry gets us acquainted with various resources such as the Forge, the World Map, the Job Board, Danger License Trials, and other NPCs that help further establish worldbuilding. The story itself takes a bit of time to really get going, as the start of the game focuses on you exploring the world around the Belfry and unlocking more of it by completing missions in each “tile” quadrant. The more tiles you complete, the more your character levels up while obtaining piles of loot that consist mostly of gear and weapons and special items such as aspects.

When it comes to combat, there are four unique offensive classes to choose from. Sentinel is a classic sword-and-shield class that is probably the easiest to pick up first. Another is Pyroclast which wields a giant warclub that harnesses the power of fire in various ways. This class can feel a bit cumbersome at times, and while still satisfying to play, it does take practice and I’d recommend trying it after you get a good feel for the game’s combat.

Sentinel class in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

Rockbreaker is probably the most fun of the four, as you get to wield giant fist gauntlets and give any Gobos you run into some devastating sucker punches. It’s not only effective against big groups of enemies but also bosses with plenty of HP to burn. The fourth and final class is Shadowstriker, which is essentially the game’s Rogue (or Ninja) class. Brandishing dual daggers, this class opts for stealth and swift consecutive strikes and prioritizes agility as its means of defense.

While playing through Towerborne, you can easily switch between these classes as often as you want, allowing you to level them simultaneously. You’re not required to do so, however, if you’d rather focus on just one that you feel most comfortable with. It may seem a bit strange that there are only four physical attack classes to choose from, and that they don’t include one that harnesses magic or focuses on healing. While Early Access is starting with these options, Stoic has assured that plenty more classes will be added to the roster down the road.

Combat gameplay in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

When diving into a tile mission and taking on hordes of Gobos and other creatures, the combat is gratefully satisfying in many ways. It functions in a “left to right” fashion with inspiration from other sidescrolling indie classics like Castle Crashers. It can take a bit of time to get used to recognizing the hitboxes of enemies and making sure you land your combos. If you’re angled too “high” or “low” from the enemy’s lane of attack, your hits may miss entirely. That’s honestly the most challenging aspect of Towerborne’s combat.

Otherwise, beating up those pesky Gobos comes relatively easy, and Stoic prioritized making the game as approachable as possible. Whether you’ve seldom picked up a videogame or you play on a daily basis, Towerborne is intended to be easy for anyone to dive into, regardless of skill, and that’s commendable for this new installment in the ARPG genre.

World map in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

This is further emphasized by how the game’s difficulty scaling functions, as each new combat tile you unlock has different levels you can choose, depending on your overall gear level. While the best rewards lie in the higher tiers of difficulty, if you want to keep things as easy as possible, you can absolutely do so.

On top of all that, Towerborne includes a multiplayer feature that allows you to invite up to three friends to come along on your adventures. Each party member can go as a different class to fully diversify your group’s abilities, or if you all want to be Rockbreakers and punch everything, that’s totally doable too.

As you level your desired class, you can thoroughly customize your character’s loadout with an incredible variety of unique gear pieces that each have different traits and equipped abilities. What’s more, you can augment them with special stones called Aspects, that provide further beneficial buffs to your character. Perhaps the most adorable feature of all, however, are Umbras.

Umbra selection menu in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

These special little floating creatures act as powerful companions that you can wield in combat with different abilities. The game starts you off with the so-called “cat ball” named Iska (seen above), and you can unlock numerous other Umbras found at Umbra Shrines around the World Map. Not only are they fun to simply collect, they can help you turn the tide of battle.

Towerborne definitely has many, many positive elements going for it so far during Early Access, but I’m just as anxious to see how it intends to grow going forward, and how certain things can be adjusted. For instance, while it’s very responsive and implemented well, the character UI and HUD during combat could still use a few improvements. The ability gauges displayed under a character’s name aren’t entirely distinct and can be easily confused, particularly during the first hours of gameplay.

The ability icons in the top left corner are evidently meant to help distinguish which ability is which, but there’s no text or (better yet) color coding that coincides with the ability gauges to help verify that. Telling us what the controls are for them helps, but implementing clear visual cues is what actually helps the player gain confidence in memorizing and familiarizing those controls and ultimately improving their combat skills as they reach more challenging areas of the map. To bolster the game’s commitment to approachability, this is fundamentally important.

Area of the Belfry in Towerborne
Image Source: Stoic via Twinfinite

Aside from those technical points of note, there is still more than plenty to appreciate about what Towerborne has accomplished and what it desires to provide to the player community going forward. An undeniably charming ARPG that adheres to the allure of mystical adventure while paying abundant respect to the one-of-a-kind visual marvels of Studio Ghibli.

As Towerborne finds its home among the clouds while protecting the remnants of humanity, it has done well so far not to get lost in them and holds plenty of potential that I personally can’t wait to see unfold.


Twinfinite is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission.Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Stephanie Watel
Stephanie Watel
Stephanie Watel is a freelance writer for Twinfinite. Stephanie has been with the site for a few months, and in the games media industry for about a year. Stephanie typically covers the latest news and a variety of gaming guides for the site, and loves gardening and being the bird lady of the neighborhood. She has a BA in Writing from Pace University in NY.
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
soxtry.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
maw-pr.com
zaaksen.com
ypxsptbfd7.com
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
onlinenewsofindia.com
worldgraphic-team.com
bnsrz.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
webmanicura.com
osostore.com
softsmob.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
odskc.com
inzziln.info
leaiiln.info
cq-oa.com
dqtianshun.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
bartoysdirect.com
taquerialoscompadresdc.com
aaoodln.info
amcckln.info
drvrnln.info
dwabmln.info
fcsjoln.info
hlonxln.info
kcmeiln.info
kplrrln.info
fatcatoons.com
91guoys.com
signupforfreehosting.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
topsedu.xyz
xmxm7.com
x332.xyz
sportstrainingblog.com
autopartspares.com
readguy.net
soniasegreto.com
bobbygdavis.com
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
qazwsxedcokmijn.com
parabis.net
terriesandelin.com
luxuryhomme.com
studyexpanse.com
ronoom.com
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
snn01.com
hope-kelley.com
bancodeprofissionais.com
zjccp99.com
liturgycreator.com
weedsmj.com
majorelenco.com
colcollect.com
androidnews-jp.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
nova-click.com
abeautifulcrazylife.com
diggmobile.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
sizam-design.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
bamthemes.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com
avgo.top