Title: Tower of Guns
Platform: Linux, Mac, PC, PS3, PS4 and Xbox One (reviewed)
Developer: Terrible Posture Games
Publisher: Terrible Posture Games
Release date: March 4th 2014 (Linux, Mac, PC) and April 10th 2015 (PS3, PS4 and Xbox One)
Family Focus: Click here for more information.

Tower of Guns is pretty a straightforward first person shooter. Players are thrown into a massive tower filled with randomly generated levels, where the aim is to get to the top. When first starting off, you get to choose a weapon and a perk. You start off with a choice of only 2 (not so special) weapons; as you progress, you’ll unlock new and more powerful (and crazier) guns. Picking up blue coins throughout the levels will level up your weapons. Perks are used to give you an edge over your enemies, such as no damage when falling from high spots or the ability to triple jump.

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Interestingly enough, if through a deviously crafted level you end up stuck with no obvious way out or between deaths traps, holding the Y/Triangle button will allow players to escape a seemingly dire situations and get thrown into a newly generated level, thus allowing you to progress further. Alternatively, if you’re tired of the level you’re currently exploring, its a fun and easy way to switch things. You can go from a spike filled level with no way out to a level filled to the roof with spinbots and bombs. Levels also feature hidden secrets for the completionist to tackle; some of which are very well hidden and will require multiple playing sessions to find them all. However, thanks to the randomly generated content of each floor, uncovered loot will vary from one gameplay session to another. Sometimes, you’ll find new perks and weapons or if you’re insanely filled with bad luck, you’ll only be rewarded with coins.

Players only have one life to survive through this hellish tower. Assuming you survive, a successful playthrough can take about 30 minutes. Due to being a “short” game, death means being thrown back to the start of the game, so there’s no tracking per se as to where you’ll continue. Basically, finishing this little game will require a bit of patience and dedication. Replaying the game will help you unlock bigger and stronger weapons, more perks and improved health allowing you to take down enemies quicker and insure your survival, but it will take you some time. The game also features odd and quirky boss fights all of which have distinct challenges in order to take them down.

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The game features a cel-shaded visual style à la Borderlands. Being an indie title, it is not as crisp as Gearbox’s juggernaut, but does the job perfectly. The visuals fit the humor, as limited as it is. Dialogue wise, it’s pretty easy to overlook as you’re more focused to survive and kill every threat around you, but there are some funny lines here and there.

Tower of Guns is an enjoyable little FPS game, although genre purists might be bored quickly with this little indie game. The premise of randomly generated levels is a pretty neat mechanic, ensuring that the replay value is through the roof, however it can get old fast. It has a slower pace than most AAA first person shooters such as Call of Duty or Battlefield, but it would be the ideal game for gamers looking to take their first dip into the FPS genre. It is a fun, yet short, game.

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The Good

  • Replay value is through the roof
  • Nice and interesting weapon variety
  • Changing levels on the fly

The Bad

  • You’ll die. A lot.
  • Short game; can be completed under an hour
  • Slower paced than most FPS

Family Focus

Tower of Guns is rated Everyone 10 and up as it features animated violence.

GGS was supplied a copy of the game by Xbox UK for the purpose of creating this review