Stoic Studios is a name that has gained a lot of fans from their work on The Banner Saga series, but that was never one I got into, as I am not a real tactical games guy. So when they revealed their next game, Towerborne, I was hesitant to get excited, until they revealed it would be more of an action RPG. I have now had the chance to put a bit of time into the game, both solo and with other players and found, I quite like what they are offering. Let me explain why.

Towerborne being more action oriented means that anyone can enjoy the game, as the developers have implemented a few level systems in order to ensure that you only try missions you are ready for. There is nothing stopping you from trying a mission that is a few levels beyond yours, just know that you will likely get your butt handed to you. However before I get into that, it is important to understand how the game is setup, as it was one that I found entertaining. In The City of Numbers, humans had finally forged a place where they could live, without monsters and other beings attacking them. Sadly that peace didn’t last as a big push by the enemy destroyed the city and the people fled out its walls and found their way to the Belfry, a place that is the last real beacon of hope for the world. You are an Ace, a soldier of sorts, who heads out into he world to defeat monsters, help folks get to safety and more, the only real issue is that you can lose your memory when you die, which is where the game starts off.

The way that things work is based entirely on your equipment, which in turn gives you your power level. That level can then be assessed again mission levels, so someone with an equipment level of 100 would be fine in a level 1 mission, but a level 2 mission might be a challenge. Completing missions gets you gear and you will earn a lot of it, which means between missions you can and will spend time swapping out the gear. The gear also determines the class you have and as you complete missions and level up, your class is where you gain the experience. Regardless of your class, combat plays out much more like a Double Dragon or other beat ‘em up game, its more open to experimentation. Each class has their own feeling to them, but they all have a basic attack, a heavy attack, dodge and so on. The upside is that the more you play as a single class, the more you will earn that will help you grow it, so while you can swap weapons and therefore classes at any time, which will keep things fresh. However you can also just stick with your class and gear, levelling up your character and growing strong that way, its perhaps one of the most versatile systems I have seen in a while.

In addition to your own gear, you will also be given an Umbra early on, these mystical spirits will give you access to some powerful attacks, which will give you new options in battle. The earliest one you get will be the same as everyone else, but you can earn more by completing missions, so depending on the mission, the Umbra you get will be different. Considering the amount of support they can offer, especially if you are playing solo, it is worth spending sometime to try and find one beyond the starting one. Speaking of playing solo, rolling into a mission on your own is doable, as long as the danger level does not exceed your stats to much, going into one as a level 1 but selecting a level 3 mission will see you get wrecked. Thankfully the game supports 4 player co-op, meaning you and three friends and can run around together. Ahead of the games release into early access, I got the chance to run around with another journalist and two of the developers from Stoic and I had a blast with it. Sure, my character was way under levelled for some of the content that I was being taken through and I died a lot, but it was still fun. As with most co-op games, should you fall in battle, a friend can come to your rescue and at one point in a danger level 4 mission, myself and two others were out of action, which left us watching and hoping that the final member of our party would prevail, thankfully they did.

Towerborne being in early access now means that you can begin your journey today and with some missions resulting in a boss fight, that journey can be challenging. I am on board though with the games way of changing levels and classes, but as with most games in early access, it will most likely change. While you can play solo, running with friends is way more fun, both are still going to give you a challenge and a good time. There is no set end date for the games time in early access, so it could be a while and the journey that its on, is off to a great start.

The game is available now in Early Access via Steam, with the full release also coming to Xbox Series X|S as well.