The Tower

About

The Tower is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Narrow Monolith and was released on August 4, 2014. It received negative reviews from players.

The Tower returns, re-envisioned and remastered for 2015! Experience an authentic and emotional survival horror tale, of what remains of a man once his humanity has been stripped away. Powered by a brand new Next Generation engine, explore and feel The Tower's terrifying corridors as Elliot, a man imprisoned within England's most feared hold during the 11th Century. FEATURES: + Totally remaste…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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15%

Audience ScoreBased on 81 reviews

story7 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

Atmosphere and sound design are good, providing a cinematic and immersive experience in parts.
Interesting and original gameplay concept, especially the use of sound to navigate in darkness.
Voice acting is decent to good, contributing to the storytelling experience.

The game is extremely buggy and glitchy, including save/load system failures, crashing, and getting stuck in the environment.
The gameplay is very limited and short, with mostly cutscenes and minimal interactivity, making it feel incomplete and like an alpha or vertical slice rather than a full game.
Poor game design elements such as unbearable darkness making it hard to see anything, invisible walls, difficult controls, unskippable cutscenes, and an overall rough and unfinished state with developer abandonment.

gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The gameplay receives criticism for its short length, lack of interactivity, poor level design, and unpolished mechanics, particularly in stealth and sound-based elements. While the concept of using sound as a gameplay mechanic is praised as interesting, execution falls short, leading to frustration and a sense of an unfinished, pre-alpha experience. Some players see potential if the gameplay and bugs are improved.
- “This game is based on an interesting and rather underexplored concept in video games: sound, and the potential mechanics involved in the proper usage of sound.”
- “I'll start off by saying I'm 50-50 on this game because I love the mechanics and gameplay.”
- “The mechanics leave no room for error whilst trying to evade this guard.”
- “This is a short (15min) alpha-quality demo level, which is terribly painful to play; it is the worst gameplay I've ever seen.”
- “Leaving a lot to be desired gameplay-wise, this game shoves you into an unskippable, seemingly 3-minute intro of just hanging in a room before allowing movement on a set straight path with no branching alternatives.”
- “Overall, interesting premise, marred at the moment by horrendous pre-alpha gameplay.”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The story is often praised for its intriguing and gripping narrative that effectively draws players in and creates a strong sense of atmosphere. However, some users note that the plot can feel overly serious or drawn out, and occasional bugs and uneven production values may detract from the overall story experience. The game's episodic approach with ongoing content updates keeps players engaged, similar to a TV series format.
- “The voice acting, story, atmosphere, and idea are amazing.”
- “Very intriguing storyline right off the bat, instantly had me drawn in.”
- “It has a great story and you get a good sense of what is happening through the story as it is told of the unfortunate events that led him to the tower in the first place.”
- “The plot takes itself very seriously but the rest of the production value is at an odd mismatch with that, which creates a very hollow impression.”
- “Bugs proliferate throughout, and the plot wanders in places.”
- “The whole game is just an unnecessarily long, boring story with few areas of good graphics.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The game's graphics receive mixed feedback, with some praising its atmospheric and visually appealing areas, while others criticize frequent glitches, invisible walls, and a generally frustrating UI. Although certain sections showcase notable visual improvements reminiscent of styles like Grimrock, overall graphical execution is inconsistent.
- “It had good graphics, and had atmosphere building up.”
- “It starts out and looks so fun, so good, almost reminding me of a Grimrock art style.”
- “They took the visuals of this game miles further which I definitely appreciate.”
- “Invisible walls and graphical glitches abound, the UI verges on actively hostile... it's just pain from start to finish.”
- “Graphically, it looks fine, when you can actually see what’s happening.”
- “The whole game is just an unnecessarily long boring story with a few areas of graphics.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its cinematic quality, impressive graphics, and effective blend of darkness and light, creating an immersive experience. However, some users feel it is occasionally disrupted by excessive dialogue and a lack of ambient music, which limits the buildup of tension and mood. Overall, the atmosphere enhances the story but can sometimes fall short in maintaining a consistent tone.
- “This game has given me context in my life in a very cinematic and atmospheric way.”
- “The atmosphere in particular is extremely well done.”
- “The first few minutes looked and sounded fantastic with great atmosphere and sound effects.”
- “The atmosphere doesn’t really get a chance to get going, due to Elliot spending a large portion of the time speaking.”
- “I was not creeped out; it had no atmosphere to evoke that feeling. It felt less like a "darkness of the tower" and more like "annoying bumping into walls and pools of water tower."”
- “No score or music during the running around to give off a feeling of space and atmosphere.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s stability is a major issue, plagued by numerous bugs, graphical glitches, and a problematic, unresponsive UI that significantly hampers the experience. While there is potential, the current state feels like a buggy mess, especially for a full-priced release.
- “The menu system is so buggy, you cannot turn off fullscreen either.”
- “Invisible walls and graphical glitches abound, the UI verges on actively hostile... it's just pain from start to finish.”
- “There is some potential here and I understand the game is in alpha, but I feel terrible for anyone who pays full price for this; the game is a buggy mess.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game lacks a dedicated music score, relying instead on limited sound effects and voice acting, which some users find overused. The absence of music diminishes the atmosphere and spatial immersion during gameplay.
- “There is no real music track to speak of, the voice acting is decent but overplayed.”
- “But being in complete darkness with limited sound effects, no music or score, and repeatedly hitting walls in the dark room was frustrating and not fun.”
- “No score or music during the running around to give off a feeling of space and atmosphere.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game evokes some emotional resonance by offering moments of relatable hardship, but overall, players find the story excessively long and tedious, dampening its emotional impact.
- “It made me feel better that at some point someone has had a worse day than me.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to a poor performance experience even in short play sessions.
- “But no, a ~30 min game and horrible optimization issues, this game is not very good.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is perceived as so poorly executed that it becomes unintentionally hilarious, contributing to a strongly negative overall impression.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is very limited, with users indicating that only a brief portion of the game—around 10 minutes—is actually playable.