Slaying the Spire
Published by Tailormade Games, Tower of Winter is one of the more unique mobile games I’ve played in some time. A text-based roguelike RPG, it sees players scaling the titular tower to halt the endless winter plaguing their world. The challenging turn-based game has its charms, though it’s not without its annoyances and frustrations.
Tower of Winter opens with the player waking up after their expedition falls victim to a surprise avalanche. As the sole survivor of your party, you set out towards the ominous tower rising in the distance. Your goal is simple: reach the top, destroy whatever is creating the eternal winter, and try not to die. The player’s quest plays out across 6 Acts, each with 12 Encounters ending with a boss fight. Most encounters are random but usually stick to the Act’s theme. Players encounter undead and abandoned houses in the wilderness, and mutant cultists and strange artifacts in the tower’s middle levels. In time, these give way to arcane machinery and cosmic horrors.
Non-combat encounters are mainly text-based and often give the player two or more options for proceeding. Sometimes it’s a matter of which random rewards the player wants. However, Tower of Winter often presents players with an opportunity for new items or skills at the cost of health points. The encounter writing is fine, though the localization is a bit dodgy in places. Still, the writers did a good job describing locations, and I found the setting and world-building quite intriguing. I also quite liked Tower of Winter’s artwork, with the creature design being particularly noteworthy. Its music was also great and helped build the game’s atmosphere, though the sound effects could have been better.
Blood on the Ice
Combat in Tailormade‘s Tower of Winter is turn-based and appears simple at first glance but is actually quite complicated. The battle interface shows your enemy on top and your character on the bottom, with their active abilities displayed beneath. Each turn begins with the enemy winding up an attack or ability, then letting the player respond. Your move goes through first, followed by your enemy’s. This allows you to interrupt them or kill your opponent before they get one last hit in. You’ll also need to learn what each enemy move does so you know how best to respond. Not to mention keeping an eye on various effects and modifiers.
Each of Tower of Winter’s nine unlockable characters begins the game with two active abilities out of a maximum of five. Enemies drop a random item, ability, or perk, as do many non-combat encounters. However, it can make it feel like my success is mainly in the hands of the random number gods. Sometimes I get lucky and breeze through every battle. However, other runs feel like the games left me with barely anything to defend myself. I know that random upgrades are a key part of roguelikes. However, I’ve played other roguelikes where it doesn’t feel like I was as dependent on the whims of fate.
Cold Comfort
I’m also not 100% sure that Tower of Winter benefits from being a roguelike. The randomized encounters make each run unique, but it doesn’t feel that way. I don’t know if this is because of the small pool of events or just a limitation of the text-based format. Either way, I couldn’t help but feel that the game would have been better served with a more linear structure.
I also think Tower of Winter is a little too long for a game with permadeath. I’m not excited about starting again when the final boss kills me. Instead, I just come away feeling like I’d wasted the last half-hour of my time. It wouldn’t be too bad if the game started you back at the beginning of the Act. However, scaling the whole tower all over again is just exhausting.
Don’t get me wrong; I liked Tower of Winter. The music, artwork, and text descriptions create a cold, oppressive atmosphere that fits the game perfectly. The encounters added plenty of variety, and I mostly enjoyed the combat system. However, I often felt like my success or failure came down to luck instead of skill. Nevertheless, I’d recommend giving Tower of Winter a try, though it’s definitely not going to appeal to everyone.
Is It Hardcore?
Yes.
Tailormade Games’ Tower of Winter is a unique text-based, turn-based roguelike RPG with plenty to offer, but it requires a lot of patience to get through.