Scarlet Tower

About

"Scarlet Tower" is a rogue-lite action adventure game where you climb a cursed tower to defeat an evil sorcerer. Gather resources, upgrade your equipment, and make decisions that affect your journey in this procedurally generated world. Battle a variety of enemies and powerful bosses using melee combat and magic abilities. Can you survive the dangers of the Scarlet Tower and save the worldscope?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 876 reviews

graphics75 positive mentions

grinding66 negative mentions

Visually stunning with beautiful pixel art and effects.
Engaging gameplay with a variety of unlocks, characters, and abilities.
Good meta progression system that keeps players invested.

Numerous bugs and performance issues that hinder gameplay.
Unbalanced difficulty, with some characters and weapons feeling underpowered.
Grindy progression that can become tedious, especially in later levels.

graphics
152 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
48%
3%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the polished pixel art and thematic aesthetic that draws from the developers' previous works. While some players appreciate the vibrant visuals and character designs, others criticize the cluttered screen during intense gameplay, which can hinder readability. Overall, the game is noted for its beautiful art style and visual effects, though some feel it lacks originality compared to its predecessor, "Vampire Survivors."
- “The graphics are truly beautiful on occasion, with some stunning visual effects that really hit the spot!”
- “Gorgeous pixel graphics, a wonderful soundtrack, accessibility options, and customizations galore make this a no-brainer, despite a few shortcomings.”
- “The art style is fantastic!”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “Visually, this is a ham-fisted mess, a dog's breakfast of bad visuals, and this kind of laziness and poor quality should never be foisted on gamers.”
- “Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lackluster 2D visuals.”
gameplay
141 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
62%
7%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many players enjoying the core mechanics and roguelike progression reminiscent of the "vampire survivors" genre, but also expressing frustration over balance issues, bugs, and a lack of clarity in mechanics. While the visuals and unique elements like a day/night cycle and character progression are praised, the repetitive nature of runs and the overwhelming number of mechanics can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers addictive gameplay with potential, but significant improvements are needed to address its current shortcomings.
- “I love the art and gameplay.”
- “The core gameplay is fun and enjoyable if you like vampire survivor type of games.”
- “The gameplay loop is fun, and the style is really nice, but progression is so slow.”
- “Mechanics in each level mean you are just sprinting as fast as possible between objectives without being able to interact with events or collect experience/money.”
- “The gameplay loop quickly becomes repetitive, with little variation between runs.”
- “The balance also seems extremely off - I managed to complete a run and unlock 25% of the achievements on my very first attempt without really even understanding all of the mechanics, and that just shouldn't happen in a survivor-like.”
grinding
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessively tedious and repetitive, often requiring them to replay levels numerous times for minimal rewards. While some appreciate the depth of the progression system, others criticize the lack of quality of life features and the overwhelming number of bugs, making the grind feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience. Overall, the game is described as heavily grind-focused, which may appeal to dedicated players but can deter those seeking a more balanced gameplay experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “However, too many bugs, lack of quality of life features, and potential balancing issues make spending extended periods of time with it, which it demands with its grindy nature, a chore.”
- “The fact you have to play each level 10+ times to unlock the max difficulty is not only grindy but super monotonous.”
- “What you end up left with is very meager increases in power for an extensive amount of grinding, and that is not satisfying in my opinion.”
music
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
43%
7%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric qualities and catchy compositions, particularly in the context of the game's pixel art style. However, several users note that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, lacking variety and depth. Overall, while the music is often highlighted as a strong point, there is a desire for more diverse tracks to enhance the experience.
- “One that stands out to me as one of the greatest strengths would be the musical score.”
- “Overall sound design is pretty standard, but by far, the music composition stands out as a real gem.”
- “The pixel art is well done, the soundtrack is great, and the game loop is extremely addicting.”
- “The enemy designs and environments feel generic, and the soundtrack, though atmospheric at first, quickly grows monotonous.”
- “Unfortunately, while the music doesn't sound bad it also is limited and sounds repetitive fast.”
- “Unlike Vampire Survivor, there's no option to unlock different music tracks and mix things up.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
79%
11%
The game's story is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engaging narrative, with many players noting the absence of a cohesive plot and repetitive quest design. While there are mini-quests and environmental storytelling elements that add some immersion, the overall experience feels limited and fails to provide a compelling reason for players to invest in the narrative. Despite these shortcomings, some players appreciate the character customization and the potential for a more developed story with future updates.
- “Very interesting and promising game, the plot and the beauty of the game are impressive; with work, it can be consolidated very well.”
- “Mini-quests, activities, and other environmental storytelling events make some unlocks more immersive in-universe.”
- “Re-rolls and other perks can be found during runs in the environment, another in-universe bit of storytelling that sets it above others in the genre.”
- “The game features no proper level design or game/story flow/plot, as they opted to try to use samey repetitive procedural generation algorithms as a substitute for adding such content to the game, avoiding the important job of level/map design.”
- “The story aspect is something that's lacking from a lot of these types of games, and yet I think it's just as important for the longevity of the game as the fun gameplay, as it gives you intrigue about why you're doing what you're doing.”
- “There is not much to visually hold your attention in your quest to reach the scarlet tower besides pretty particle effects, unfortunately.”
optimization
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
65%
22%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering, crashes, and frame rate drops, particularly in later stages. While some appreciate the visual polish and stable performance in certain areas, the overall consensus points to poor optimization, especially given the game's extended time in early access. Despite its beautiful pixel art and engaging gameplay, the optimization problems detract from the overall experience.
- “Definitely much prettier, the pixel art in this game is extremely beautiful, and I thought the game was well optimized too.”
- “Quick to pick up but has a lot of little tuning for optimization of your builds.”
- “Nice art style and good performance.”
- “Performance is abysmal - not sure how it's gotten so much worse.”
- “Just poor optimization right now.”
- “As others have mentioned, the game seems to be poorly optimized for having been in early access for over a year.”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
91%
The game's stability is frequently criticized due to numerous bugs and glitches that significantly impact gameplay, leading to a perception of it being a "buggy mess." While some players appreciate the developers' responsiveness to issues and the promise of future updates, many report ongoing performance problems, including FPS drops and UI inconsistencies. Overall, the game's stability remains a major concern for users, overshadowing its positive aspects.
- “Release 0.0.5 is stable and bug-free as far as I can tell so far!”
- “The game runs smoothly without any crashes or major issues.”
- “I've experienced consistent performance, making for a reliable gaming experience.”
- “On the other hand, the level of polish can't be said for their coding as various bugs and glitches are notoriously common and continue to plague the game.”
- “But the game is a buggy mess.”
- “A buggy lag fest since before the release; the hot fixes haven't done anything to reduce the constant FPS drops.”
character development
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
Character development in the game is marked by unique and visually appealing designs that enhance player engagement, featuring a gothic aesthetic and a variety of customization options. While the core character design is straightforward, it is complemented by well-executed abilities and spells, contributing to an enjoyable gameplay experience. However, some reviewers noted a lack of originality in the overall concept, despite the strong visual appeal and character variety.
- “Game is a lot of fun with great character design, awesome looking abilities and spells, and tons of customization.”
- “Solid survivors roguelike, decent meta, lots of talent options, good character designs, dash/ulti and not just running in circles.”
- “Also the character designs are slick and the characters themselves offer good variety with their main weapons.”
- “Don't get me wrong, it is not all bad; the graphics are really well done and I am a fan of the character design, but there isn't a single original idea in the whole game.”
- “Core character design is very simple and straightforward, while the background showers you in some fun semi-3D effects.”
- “The visuals are good though not great, barring the character designs; I quite like those and the gothic aesthetic.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers high replayability, drawing comparisons to "Vampire Survivors" with its progression mechanics and achievements. While it features new characters and enemy types, some reviewers feel it lacks the content depth of its predecessor, suggesting that ongoing updates and improvements are necessary to attract a broader player base and enhance replay value. Overall, it provides enough variability to engage veteran players, but casual players may find it lacking.
- “It has very high replay value and reminds me of Vampire Survivors in the best way possible!”
- “Even now there's a really decent amount of variables during runs, progression, and replayability to engage even a veteran of the series.”
- “New characters, new enemy types, boss fight types, and map visuals can be worked on to enhance replayability.”
- “Although this game is graphically better than Vampire Survivors and includes some cool features such as being able to turn off auto aim, it offers less than 1/10th of the content and replayability of that game.”
- “All in all, the game is getting updates; however, it needs some changes to attract casual players, which will increase the playability and replayability.”
- “Even now, there's a decent amount of variables during runs, progression, and replayability to engage even a veteran of the series.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews; while some praise the effective integration of music, characters, and weapons in creating an engaging environment, others find the enemy designs and environments to be generic, and the soundtrack becomes monotonous over time.
- “You did a stellar job creating the right atmosphere, music, characters, and weapons for a game like this.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by clever and unexpected elements, such as the amusing concept of using the Bible as a paladin weapon, which adds a comedic twist to the gameplay by allowing players to "bible bash" their enemies.
- “The Bible is a paladin weapon, not a priest weapon (though it doing physical damage is hilarious— I guess you're literally Bible bashing your enemies).”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is highlighted by the promotion of visual changes to the forest map, suggesting that players may need to invest in additional content to experience these updates.