Tower Hunter: Erza's Trial
- September 28, 2018
- IceSitruuna
- 7h median play time
Get on Steam"Tower Hunter: Erza's Trial" is a 2.5D side-scroller roguelite game with smooth controls and soul-like actions. Erza, the heroine, fights her way up in a giant tower with random modules and different terrains, restarting at the original start each time she dies due to a contract with a demon. Each weapon has its own combo, and the classic order system from Castlevania is featured.
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Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and character designs, particularly the protagonist Erza.
- The combat system is engaging, with a variety of weapons and skills that allow for different playstyles.
- The upgrade progression system is appreciated, providing a sense of growth and customization.
- The game suffers from poor translations and numerous bugs, making it feel unpolished and incomplete.
- The gameplay can become repetitive and lacks depth, with many enemies feeling uninspired and basic.
- The rogue-like mechanics can be frustrating, as dying results in losing significant progress and can lead to tedious grinding.
- gameplay134 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth, often comparing it unfavorably to titles like Dead Cells. While some appreciate the enjoyable mechanics and potential for fun, others criticize the clunky controls, poor enemy design, and numerous bugs that detract from the experience. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant refinement to fully realize its potential.
“It's gorgeous, the music is wonderful, and the gameplay is very smooth.”
“The gameplay is simple enough to just jump right in, but with the mix of chips, different weapons, and the upgrade system, I feel I am only scratching the surface.”
“Even though it is still in early access, this game looks rather promising, not only due to the carefully designed graphics, but a smooth, entertaining gameplay.”
“The translation is clunky, the mechanics are not adequately explained, and occasionally breaks your file with a game-ruining bug.”
“Half-implemented roguelike mechanics, lack of normal combat timings, broken animations, random sets of walking in crowds, clumsy enemies, incomprehensible hitboxes of objects merging with the environment, broken map rendering, rooms piled up with platforms, lack of balance, and a lot of bugs, with graphics and collisions as well.”
“The gameplay itself is not much better though; there are so few options as far as weapons, and the kicker is they all feel exactly the same.”
- graphics110 mentions
- 51 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the vibrant art style and colorful visuals, while others point out inconsistencies and issues such as broken animations and hitbox problems. Overall, the visuals are generally considered decent to good, with some praising the aesthetic appeal and character design, though technical glitches and a lack of polish detract from the experience for some users.
“That being said, the graphics are amazing!”
“This is an absolutely wonderful game, the graphics are over the top and are just beautiful.”
“The art style and graphics are beautiful and it has a masterful sound theme, both in music and in effects.”
“Half-implemented roguelike mechanics, lack of normal combat timings, broken animations, random sets of walking in crowds, clumsy enemies, incomprehensible hitboxes of objects merging with the environment, broken map rendering, rooms piled up with platforms, lack of balance, and a lot of bugs, with graphics and collisions as well.”
“Art style is inconsistent.”
“Just the enemies I've seen are looking a little weird, not fitting in with the graphics.”
- music78 mentions
- 51 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the soundtrack as a highlight and noting its enjoyable and upbeat nature, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety, particularly in longer levels. Many players find certain tracks memorable, but others describe them as forgettable or distracting, especially during key gameplay moments. Overall, while the music has its strong points, it could benefit from more diverse and longer tracks to enhance the gaming experience.
“The soundtrack has some real bangers and the combat animations are brilliant.”
“Just watching the katana swing to the amazing music is so worth it.”
“The soundtrack for each stage that I have played thus far is beautiful.”
“Instead of making sure the music tracks have decent length and enough quality to not get repetitive after hours of playtime, the game just plays them over and over again for extended periods of time, ultimately making them extremely tiring to listen to.”
“The music in the first boss battle I found very distracting; these are flaws which need improvement and should be fixed or at least noted while developing the sequel to this game.”
“Music is annoying, sounds are horrible (hearing 'are you okay???' for the hundredth time is really irritating).”
- story70 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered shallow and underdeveloped, with many reviewers noting translation errors and a lack of engaging plot progression. While some elements show potential, the narrative often feels like an afterthought, primarily serving as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling experience. Players are advised not to expect a rich story, as it is minimal and often clichéd, focusing more on gameplay mechanics than narrative depth.
“The story seemed compelling and the characters I have seen in my hour and a half of play were enjoyable, but the gameplay just can't keep me interested.”
“I did enjoy the few story parts it had, but I wish there were more of them.”
“The game's story felt like it had a lot of potential that it didn't utilize.”
“There were hardly any story sections during the whole game, except for a bit of dialogue here and there, and then there was a story dump only at the end of the game.”
“The dialogue for the story is way too self-aware, and I couldn't be bothered to even read after the first 20 minutes of gameplay because of how cliché and repetitive these types of games are.”
- grinding36 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 3 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is heavily criticized, with many players finding it excessively tedious and repetitive, especially in the endgame where significant grinding is required for 100% completion. While some players appreciate the grinding as a core mechanic, others feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to a monotonous experience with little payoff. Gamers who dislike grinding or seek variety may find the game frustrating and not worth the investment.
“It's not really grindy; you get early unlocks pretty fast and can beat the first two bosses easily on your first run.”
“What I got was a poor attempt at a roguelike, with crazy amounts of grinding for little payoff; the 'randomization' of the rooms is barely noticeable too.”
“With all that, the core of grinding that the game is about is just not fun at all. Without any exploration or interesting things to do, it's die, respawn in town, walk to tower, spam attack from whatever weapon; it doesn't matter, repeat.”
“If you don't enjoy grinding and are unable to stand monotony, it's going to be painfully short – and very likely a waste of money for you.”
- stability20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting various bugs and glitches that can hinder gameplay, such as freezing at startup and issues with controls. While some users have experienced significant problems, others have managed to play for extended periods without encountering game-breaking issues. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a concern, particularly due to the developers' lack of responsiveness to reported issues.
“The game now freezes on the 'icesea team' logo at the very beginning, so I cannot play at all.”
“I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game twice, but it still freezes in the same spot.”
“-dev is unresponsive to bugs or glitches from what we've experienced.”
- humor18 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by a cheeky and relatable tone, enhanced by hilariously poor English translations and amusing AI interactions. Players find the unintended glitches and quirky design choices to be genuinely funny, contributing to an overall lighthearted experience. The humor, while sometimes stemming from flaws, adds a charming layer to the gameplay.
“A fun and simple rogue-like, metroidvania combo with a hilariously bad English translation.”
“The extra humor added in this game is a nice addition.”
“Just some funny, probably unintended interactions happening.”
- replayability16 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it highly replayable due to upgrades and achievements, others feel it lacks depth, particularly in its core mechanics. Despite its roguelike elements, the overall consensus suggests that replay value may be limited for some, especially in its early access state.
“Game is pretty good and has high replayability.”
“This game is really great if you're a fan of sidescrollers; though it is only in early access, it has a lot of replay value.”
“Replay value appears to be extremely low based on the core of the game itself.”
“As a result, the replayability of this game is lackluster, despite having roguelike elements.”
“Unlocking the achievements also offers some replay value.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is lacking, leading to issues such as frequent stuttering during jumps and slower loading times than expected. While it runs adequately on lower-end hardware and performs smoothly on higher-end systems, players express concerns about the checkpoint system and saving progress, which can feel unreliable. Overall, the performance is not terrible, but there is significant room for improvement.
“The gameplay is actually really fun; it doesn't eat my graphics card to shreds. It manages to run on a Sapphire Radeon Toxic HD5850 as a test to see how bad the graphics and performance will be, not too awful, and obviously runs butter smooth on my ASUS GTX 1070 Ti.”
“Lastly, let's take a look at graphics and performance; this is based on my personal experience with my setup.”
“The game isn’t optimized too well, so it could run better and load faster considering what it is.”
“The game isn’t optimized very well, so it could run better and load faster considering what it is.”
“There is a bit of stuttering that happens frequently when you jump.”
“Lastly, let's take a look at graphics/performance; this is based on my personal experience with my setup.”
- character development4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has been criticized for its reliance on caricature-like designs, which detracts from depth and realism. Reviewers feel that the aesthetic choices prioritize style over substance, resulting in characters that lack complexity and emotional resonance.
“Even the character designs themselves come off more like caricatures or puppets.”
“Moving away from combat, I'd like to go into aesthetics, art, and character design.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is frequently compared to Castlevania, evoking a similar gothic and immersive feel. Additionally, the graphics are noted to hold up well against those of Bloodstained, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience.
“The atmosphere is very similar to Castlevania, and the graphics compare quite favorably to Bloodstained.”
