Oaken Tower

coop is cursed, ashame

I found this game after playing other asynchronous battler games because I was enjoying the style of gameplay. I was hesitant at first since this was early access, but I have been nothing but impressed. There is no set strategy that you have to follow to win or advance in the ranked ladder, you can absolutely get creative and sometimes you may even end up with a winning build that you never expected to work! That's the real nice part about the game, it doesn't feel stale after playing it for 60 hours already. It's also great because you can hop in and play a quick round in 10-15 minutes and hop out. The developer has already added more items (and thus new strategies) to the game, looking forward to the next release of items to see what strategies they bring to the game. Honestly, I really enjoy this game and find myself playing it several times a day. I would highly recommend this if you enjoy the asynchronous battler game genre! I know it's still early access so things can absolutely change, but the current state of the game as of this review is really incredible! Truly, this is just a fun game to play! Pros: - Great replay value - True experimentation and discovery of strategies that work (or don't quite work) - Easy to learn - Quick sessions - Some unique mechanics for this type of genre (unique debuffs/modifiers) - Seems relatively balanced even in Early Access Cons: - Endless mode doesn't seem to have a real purpose other than trying to max out stats or try to get to a later "day" but no reward or point otherwise - Unlocking the perks can be a little annoying/risky in Ranked (recommend doing that in Casual mode) - Sometimes the random rolls can frustrate you if you're looking for a specific item (you may just have to pivot, or risk losing a day's worth of gold re-rolling the shop) - The music may get stuck in your head when you're not playing the game

An incredibly fun game with an amazing developer Oaken Tower is one of those games that is incredibly easy to understand, but becomes surprisingly deep once you really get into it. The gameplay is simple, but there are so many different strategies you can come up with that you can keep experimenting and improving. What really makes this game stand out to me is how much the developer cares about the community. The game is constantly being worked on, and it genuinely feels like player feedback and suggestions are taken seriously. I actually experienced this firsthand when I recently had an issue with my save. I've become seriously addicted to this game, and Duo mode has made it even better. Being able to play and grind together with a friend is incredibly fun, and we've already had so many great rounds together. It's easy to learn, has a surprising amount of depth, keeps getting better, and has a developer who genuinely cares about the game and its players. Highly recommended. ❤️

very good game. its sad to see the game bombed with bad reviews: here is why: Season 1: even if you played somewhat bad (lets say your skill is average 50% better, 50% worse), you play enough games you just get to the highest rank (grandmaster). Season 2: matchmaking was improved so that those in the top 1-2% actually play the top 1-2% mostly. but highest rank you need to have to be at least in the top 5-10% skillwise now - so many people cant reach that rank anymore and now whine in reviews. there were very little balance changes that actually changed how greedy/aggressive you play. i read about people complaining about witch in Season 2. that one was actually nerved - so this is less of an issue. maybe even overnerved (witch class is hard to balance in general no matter what).

drecks spiel

The new ranking system has made Ranked practically unplayable for me once you reach Master. I play meta builds, and I’ve also tested plenty of different variations in Casual, so that’s not the issue. After today’s update, Ranked feels more like a waste of time than a competitive experience. I can play for two hours just to end up at roughly the same Elo I started with. The matchmaking is also all over the place. One game, I’ll be matched against players with an average Elo ~1,200 higher than mine, only to face players with ~1,000 lower Elo the very next game. On top of that, I keep getting matched against the same handful of players over and over again — sometimes it feels like the same 10 people make up the entire pool. There’s also very little incentive to keep playing once you reach Grandmaster, which doesn’t exactly speak in favor of the current ranking system. I genuinely enjoy the game itself, but Ranked becomes borderline unplayable once you hit Master. The current ranking and matchmaking system desperately needs more work.

dont buy it if you dont want to be addicted