Der Geisterturm / The Ghost Tower

This minimalistic dungeon crawler's appeal is conciously limited - it feels almost like some lost niche PSX or Saturn title that was never officially released outside Japan. Much like its direct predecessor, it is tightly focused and devoid of anything not essential. One might've reasonably expected some changes from the previous game to result in lower difficulty - mainly, that one can now freely save the game as many times as one desires - but these changes rather gave the freedom to the dev to increase the difficulty and depth. The game itself might appear simplistic at the begining, especially to those not familiar with its predecessor - single 'character', no customisation or control over the improvement of your abilities - it is, however, anything but. Rather, once again, this means that what the game is actually focused on - mainly, the combat - is extremely well thought out and balanced with almost surgical precision. All that is placed before you must be mastered. Be mindful of the layout, know which weapon is best for what enemy, which firing mode and combat stance to select and, perhaps most importantly, when to run away. One is always outnumbered, and the enemies keep coming. There is only so much ammo around, and each repair lowers your mech's overall durability which can be restored only through sparse pickups. On top of that, there is even the health of the mech's pilot to take care of, which is restored thru separate item. Further, while your pilot's abilities will improve thru combat, improvements are ever so minor and the price of each engagement potentially so high that grind is by no stretch of imagination feasible. So there are no crutches, no easy way out. Every single shot counts, every single failure hurts. This means that even the exploration involves balancing between risk and potential reward. Maybe, just maybe, one will discover some precious ammo, or even an upgrade for one of one's weapons, but even then the cost might be too high so it might be wiser to focus on getting thru the current floor as speedily as possible with minimal losses. So play slowly, save often and be prepared to restart each floor if you feel you spent too much getting trough it.

I like this game. It was a little bit difficult to get used to the controls at first, but once you get the hang of it it's fine. I actually enjoy the fact, that it can be all controlled with one hand using the numpad (free hand for coffee/snacks lol). It's turn based, which allows you to really think about what you're doing and enjoy the spooky spacey atmosphere, without getting in a rush. The story also sounds cool and I am looking forward to explore it all. Big thumbs up for a first day Linux support. It runs great!

The spin-off sequel to the mecha dungeon crawler Das Geistersciff. Der Geisterturm improves on every aspect of the original title. Like the original game, an emphasis is placed on moving with purpose instead of slowly farming experience for levels. The player must manage limited resources such as ammo and the overall durability of your Robotic Combat Suit through the use of repair stations scattered around the tower. The player also has to worry about the health of the suit's pilot as durability decreases, putting a heavier emphasis on avoiding enemies and damage whenever possible. Der Geisterturm has also received several quality of life improvements, such as map markers and all important objects being represented in the world (no more having to step into every dead end looking for things). Der Geisterturm also features more tactical combat as each weapon plays a role in dealing with enemies that have different forms of damage resistance. Additionally, the focus on one large dungeon (the tower) also makes for a tighter gameplay experience than the more open world of the previous game. An excellent choice for any fan looking for something more tactical than the usual slow grind for power.

Der Geisterturm is a game i could only describe as "hostile". It's a grid-based, first person dungeon crawler not unlike say, Warhammer 40k's Space Hulk, except you're piloting a mecha - and i don't mean the "protagonist" kinda mecha. You're essentially stomping around in the kinda grunt suit that gets oneshot by the Gundam 5 seconds into a battle setpiece. You know, a Zaku I basically. Now, while nothing in the game will actually oneshot you, what this means is that combat is often going to be an extremely risky endeavor, as to even have the slightest chance of survival you're going to have to learn to: - Properly cycle your combat stances (Normal, Evasive, Aiming), which affect evasion and hit probability. - Properly cycle your weapons (SMG, Rifle, Laser, Bazooka) based on range and effect on your evasion and hit probability - because heavier weapons make it harder to dodge attacks. You'll find upgrades for those around the complex you're stuck in, by the way. - Properly manage your suit's energy supply, which powers up your shields (temporary damage absorption) and boosters (multi-tile movement). You'll find upgrades for those too, as well as batteries lying around that will instantly recharge you. - Manage your positioning so that you're never exposing your flank and rear to the enemy, as your armor is weaker back there. This also goes for the enemies, by the way. - Remember that attacking in melee ALWAYS causes self damage, which scales based on your mech's weight: the heavier it is, the harder it'll hit for less self damage. To increase that you'll find armor plates lying around, which will also increase your maximum armor cap. If that sounds like a lot to keep track of it's because it is, and to manage all that you're gonna have to use your whole keyboard (or something like it), not unlike an old Mechwarrior game. A feeling i've sorely missed, personally. So, since most of the time your ammo supplies will also be rather limited, you'll find out real soon that trying to win every random encounter you get is a fool's errand. To fix that, you're gonna have to learn how book it - which, in a nutshell, is done by breaking line of sight with the enemy and running away to a safe place, not unlike a stealth game. The problem with that is going to be how, in an attempt to run away, you're going to misread the minimap and accidentally corner yourself. It's normal, don't worry. When that happens, you reload your save. Considering how constantly stacked against you the odds are, the game will both autosave every time you change floor and grant you the option to save anywhere at any time - as long as you're not fighting. So yeah, save a LOT and, if you feel like you've irreparably ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up and you're backed into a corner, just reload or blow yourself up with the big SUICIDE button on the bottom of the action menu. That's seriously how you quit the game without ALT+F4'ing. With that out of the way, all i can say next is that the soundtrack is one industrial electronica banger after the other, the story (there is one) is as hard boiled and gritty as hard sci-fi can get and the visual style reminds me of a lost SUPER FX chip game except the polygons aren't jittery. I'd add a shader for that if i were the dev, but that's pretty much my only complaint about the artstyle - animation is minimal, but i feel like it contributes to the "forgotten PC clunker" charm DGT has going for it. So yeah, Der Geisterturm is basically a game out to go kabedon on you: it puts you up against the wall and just looms over you as you think of your next move. Every move you can make has a downside, you're just gonna have to think it over or try and try until you make it - either way, once you do you'll feel like a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ genius.

This game is amazing! Ever wondered what System Shock would be like if it was a Turn Based game?! Then look no further! This is it. Kick ass music, boy does this game feature some awesome music, the battle themes are quite amazing! I ended up buying the OST because of how much I loved it! Hardcore survival elements - meaning you have to conserve your supplies and pay attention to resources. As ammunition is quite hard to come by; so is health drops. Encounters can be brutal if you're not careful, for each fight can exhaust your supplies, leaving you unprepared for the next one. This ends up making the gameplay super intense and fun! Cyberpunk elements. Just like System Shock, if you explore, you can pick up documents that fill you in on the lore of the world. The jest of the story is that the world as we know it is a scorched wasteland. Corporations battle over territory and resources. You're a soldier that was employed in the services of one of these Corporations. During your time, a terrorist attack occurred while you were in service, resulting in your death. However, not even death is sacred in this setting. For you are brought back to continue your services to the Corporation. Overall, I enjoyed my time. I highly recommend this game to anyone who has a passing interest in the setting, or loves System Shock. It's quite short as well - about ten hours; including back tracking.

some tips about what matters to a player: first and foremost: QoL and usability I do not care how "good" a game is if I can't interact with it. I played for a few minutes and the game tripped several of my immediate uninstall flags: -forcing the use of arrow keys -no mouse input -unbelievably cumbersome and complex control scheme for a very simple game with very few things to even do -a sense of disrespect that the dev never checked out games who were set up like this and how they managed to be wildly successful because there made interacting with the game so easy you never even had to check the control scheme. reinventing the wheel for no reason and doing things differently and way worse at the same time would instantly qualify for a downvote in any other situation. since you're a small one man team, whatever. this game feels like a windows vista simulator, not like a game. everything is hidden below layers of clicks and nothing makes any sense control-wise. I own almost 700 games and I play a lot of small titles. the number one issue why they fail is that those are the games with the worst control scheme. I play games since the 80s. one of my favorite games on my Amiga (I think this was) was in fact was "Eye of the Beholder"... especially older players who like this sort of game play with a hand position they're used to. nobody uses arrow keys. everyone uses mouse input. forcing someone to go against decades of finding a comfortable position for your hands is just silly. I don't want to give your game a downvote, but you can't do this and assume you get anywhere. people play the weirdest ♥♥♥♥, I certainly do. but as soon as you ask people to learn a control scheme, they quit. 95% of games I play are made in such a way I never have to check the manual or anything. they just work as I expected. the 5% that don't are never touched again. because once they do the simple stuff wrong, there's always more failure and frustration later on. and I would feel like I wasted my time. this game has wasted 10m and the time it took to write you this review.

Un épisode plus mature que ses prédécesseurs. Les visuels sont plus lisibles, et plus fins et détaillés, et l’interface plus aboutis. Les contrôles feront fuir pourtant beaucoup de joueurs potentiels : pas de souris, tout passe par un menu un peu lourd et pas forcément intuitif. Vraiment un jeu étrangement attirant, tout en étant repoussant. Si je le recommande, c’est seulement pour les utilisateurs avertis. Le "grand public" n’y trouvera certainement pas son compte.

Der Geisterturm occupies a very specific place for me, as a wonderfully fresh and fascinating take on a type of game that you don't see much any more. Honestly it's worth playing for the art direction alone but it is so, so much more than that. Highly recommended.

Der Geisterturm is a unique and enjoyable sci-fi dungeon crawler. It vaguely reminds me of Legend of Grimrock, but crossed with Moraff's Dungeon and System Shock. If you like first person, turn based crawlers, and you like science fiction, then this game should be up your alley.

The next game and follow-up to the previous entry. It's a big step-up in mechanics and a shift in focus onto more smaller-scale dungeon levels, rather than the sprawling mission levels of the first game. Overall quite an enjoyable time, the general kit you play with remains mostly the same, but expands it with greater degree of control (stances, fire modes, shields, etc.), alongside a better ability to outmaneuver and evade encounters led to less frustrating moments.