The Tower Of Elements
- May 13, 2015
- Back To Basics Gaming
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"The Tower of Elements" is an arcade-style game featuring pixel art and magic-based combat. Players defend their tower against goblins, using mana points and gems to upgrade and unlock new mages. With leaderboards, achievements, and support for various platforms and input methods, it offers an entertaining and immersive experience. Future updates promise additional towers, characters, and game modes.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game provides a simple and addictive gameplay experience, making it a fun way to pass the time.
- The music and pixel art are enjoyable, adding a nice aesthetic to the overall experience.
- It's a decent game for casual players, especially if you enjoy rhythm-based mechanics.
- The controls are convoluted and unresponsive, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
- The game lacks depth and variety, quickly becoming repetitive and grindy.
- Many players feel it is more suited as a mobile game rather than a PC title, with a lack of meaningful progression.
- gameplay20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many users criticizing its overly simplistic mechanics, convoluted controls that cannot be remapped, and lack of high-resolution support. While some players appreciate the rhythm-game-like elements and find it enjoyable for its low price, others feel it quickly becomes boring and lacks depth, with upgrades offering little to no gameplay benefit. Overall, the game is seen as needing significant improvements to enhance its consistency and engagement.
“This mechanic is very rhythm-game like, and I enjoyed it here.”
“For £1.59, the Tower of Elements is a cheap but enjoyable title with a fun combo system and gameplay that isn't actually too easy despite other reviews.”
“The gameplay itself is not that terrible, considering those other games that actually make you feel sick in your stomach.”
“Overly simplistic gameplay with terrible controls.”
“Convoluted controls that can't be remapped, no high resolution support, lazy retro pixel graphics (hire an artist, you incompetent buffoons), mobile ported mobile gameplay.”
“There isn't much to write home about this game because in its current state (version 0.5 as non-early access, wow), its gameplay mechanics and content are fairly one-dimensional.”
- music12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its quality and ability to enhance the gaming experience, providing a sense of relaxation and epicness. However, some users note that the soundtrack can become repetitive due to a limited number of tracks, which detracts from its overall impact. Despite this, many find the music to be a strong point, especially given the game's price.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“The pixel art in the game is good, and the music is great.”
“This game has indeed a great soundtrack.”
“The soundtrack becomes repetitive (there are just two tracks).”
“It's like Guitar Hero with one terrible music track.”
“While the music somewhat clashes with the rogue-like graphics of the Tower of Elements, it does give a slight sense of epicness and a dash of melancholy to the grey, medieval environment of the game's tower level.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game is heavily grind-oriented, with many players finding the achievement system tedious and repetitive. While some enjoy the challenge, the lack of meaningful progression and the repetitive gameplay contribute to a sense of boredom during the grinding process. Overall, players should expect a significant time investment for achievements, often leading to frustration rather than enjoyment.
“This is not an easy achievement grab, as the later achievements take quite a bit of grinding. Don't expect much to change as you progress.”
“Getting all achievements was a grindy mess though.”
“The game may look hard at the beginning, but after 1-2 hours you will be easily scoring 900-1200 points every match. Since the game is so repetitive, the grinding achievements are boring.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the retro pixel art as lazy and reminiscent of low-quality designs, while others appreciate the thematic and detailed animations in certain areas. There are complaints about the lack of high-resolution support and convoluted controls, which detract from the overall visual experience. However, some users find the graphics in specific titles, like "Tower of Elements," to be impressive and well-integrated with the game's atmosphere.
“The tower of elements is an awesome game with next-gen graphics and it somehow doesn't trigger me.”
“Graphics are really nice and thematic; I like that when you change the character, not only the icon changes, but goblin death and attack animations too.”
“While the music somewhat clashes with the rogue-like graphics of the tower of elements, it does give a slight sense of epicness and a dash of melancholy to the grey, medieval environment of the game's tower level.”
“Convoluted controls that can't be remapped, no high resolution support, lazy retro pixel graphics (hire an artist, you incompetent buffoons), mobile ported mobile gameplay.”
“Gets boring quickly, doesn't bring anything new to the table, graphics appear to be made by a year 7 in MS Paint, and the gameplay has flaws.”
“It's a 'push the right keys faster and faster' 'game' with 1990s graphics and where you can't rebind keys.”
- story4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story emphasizes resilience and the unpredictability of life, highlighting that perseverance can lead to unexpected outcomes. However, some users note the absence of a structured narrative or levels, suggesting a more simplistic approach to storytelling.
“The moral of the story is that you never know what life has in store for you. If I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“There are no levels or storyline, just one life.”
“There are no levels or storyline, just one life.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from the irony of players struggling with simple mechanics, which some find amusing initially but not for an extended period. Additionally, there are humorous elements related to character upgrades and shop features that add to the lighthearted experience. Overall, while the game has its funny moments, the novelty may wear off quickly for some players.
“I don't know if there was a complete lack of tutorial before, but it's really not that hard to figure out... so it's kind of funny to see negative reviews for simple matching being too hard to figure out.”
“It is hard but funny to play; I would love to have the ability to choose what to upgrade.”
“Funny thing - there are character pictures already in the shop.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization of "The Tower of Elements" has been criticized as a lazy cash grab, particularly due to its origins as a mobile app that was hastily ported to Steam.
“The Tower of Elements is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a lazy cash grab.”
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative, pushing players to spend money to enjoy basic features.”
“It's frustrating to see so many paywalls in a game that could have been enjoyable without constant prompts to spend.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
While some users find the upgrades and unlockables to be minor and underwhelming, they acknowledge that these elements serve as a crucial foundation for the game's replayability. Overall, the replay value is seen as limited but appreciated for its potential.
“The upgrades and unlockables may seem minor, but they lay the important foundation for replay value, which I truly appreciate.”
“Each playthrough offers new challenges and experiences, making it hard to put the game down.”
“The variety of choices and paths you can take ensures that no two playthroughs feel the same.”
“The upgrades and unlockables are minor, which gives the game an underwhelming replay value, but I must admit that they are the important foundation to that value, which is appreciated.”
“After completing the game, I found little incentive to replay it, as the story and gameplay mechanics don't change significantly.”
“Once you've experienced the main storyline, there's not much left to draw you back in for a second playthrough.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is plagued by numerous bugs, significantly impacting its stability and overall performance.
“Finally, and not the least, it is incredibly buggy.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the experience.”
