The Tower on the Borderland

I just can't. I tried it because it was bundled (I can't seem to learn that never pans out), and I feel like I got got. Like someone programmed this game by prompting "give me a Playstation-era heroine, set it in a building, and creepy monsters with guns or something." I see that this developer posts online, I see they project values of care and love for their work, but from one artist to another- this is weak sauce. The animations are garbage; running looks stiff, the "DODGE" is kind of a poorly timed squat, and the knifing animation feels inaccurate and weak. I thought maybe it was a Super Metroid temporary "power fantasy" limitation, that eventually we'd see the character expand their move set or something. Nope. Just one sloggy battle after another through similar looking "tower environments," "Super Metroid" must mean "find an assault rifle." It just reeks of bad game design from the word go. It sets up a "story" by showing some cryptic stuff surrounded by heavy BROMS, as you're a solider (but not a solider) who is guarding a location with no weapons. The game then pushes you down some visually interesting hallways in the beginning, before dumping you in sames-ville after the cool post-start intro. Even Tomb Raider made each location memorable and a joy to explore. This game isn't that concerned with making memorable sets, or creating an easily navigable titular tower, but with looking cool for screenshots and fast advertising. If this is fully baked, you need to change the recipe. I watched the rest online, because I thought maybe the ending might make it worth it. I just played The Station, and loved it's nice ending, despite an only somewhat slightly better than average bit of gameplay. I felt satisfied in the end. This one- yeah, it ends with the same faux-arthouse sentimentality where they think the less they're saying is more. It's not- this storyline doesn't say anything, and it feels like an excuse to dump premade assets together and call it a day. Honestly, listen to the huge "WHOOSH" sound your character makes when lightly kneeling when they dodge- that CAN'T be a decision by a person. It lacks an overall cohesion, and I think it's because there's AI at play here. I could be wrong. I just find it crazy that someone who cites Grasshopper and FromSoft as inspiration is onto their third game and this is the result. You didn't nail the Souls-like aspect, but you do come close to having Grasshopper's style down. I honestly can't think of a single positive thing to say about your game, or heroine who looks completely different than your cover art. This can't be a real attempt. This reminds me so much of Back in 1995, but I PLAYED that game, and in the end the developer harrasses you for even ENJOYING this kind of uninspired retro throw-back BS. This isn't even a love letter like they were describing, but ALL of their games look like this. Sorry if this stings anyone on the creative side- but man, you all need to step it up, because this ain't it.

Good game but one of the main mechanics of the game being combat is clunky as hell and running away from enemies most of the time doesn't make it very fun to play. Most of the the things to make this a good game are there but it quickly becomes unfun when your blasting an enemy constantly cause their so tanky. I wanted to like this game but with the combat being as sluggish as it is and a few other things, it is very hard to. https://youtu.be/kRZSFzMKgSo

I remember playing the demo in 2023 and, although obviously rough and unpolished, it really caught my attention. The atmosphere was pure magic. You find yourself in this tower, immersed in what seems a neverending void, populated by weird creatures you can barely distinguish in the thick fog that envelops you. Something in-between Dark Souls and a classic Survival Horror like Resident Evil with the setting that reminded me a lot of the movie "The Mist" (movie that I love). Like I said it was very unpolished and bare bones, but I thought that it was a solid base to build on; I even gladly left some feedback to help bring this game to its full potential. Some time went on and I found myself still thinking about it from time to time, so in 2025, as soon as I found it on sale I decided to buy it and finally playing it. While the mood and atmosphere is like I remember them to be, that is basically what the game has to offer. The same issues I found in the demo are still present in the final release, pretty much no setting options, no achievements and I saw that its developer put out literally five patches with minor changes after release and went on to play Elden Ring: Shadow of the Endtree (I'm not kidding, you can see the last patch note in the Community Hub where he says that he was going to "take a break from the updates". This was on June 2024). With great sadness I had to refund it. I'm sorry but I don't see any love or dedication toward this game and that in my opinion is the worst offense to the medium. If you find this review interesting or helpful come check [h1] [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/45740131/] Foxxo's Prompt Curator Page [/url] [/h1] You can find recommendations about good, fun, strange and sometimes trashy hidden gems ;)

I hate to leave a bad review because I have followed this game on twitter for a long time and it looked really intriguing. I played the game for about an hour on stream and a couple things stood out to me: Animations are slow and clunky. Enemies are tanky (and seemingly have random health values amongst similarly looking enemies) Exploration is confusing and slow Map is good but generally provides no useful info other than floor layout (doesn't say which doors are locked, etc...) Direction of the game is confusing. There is never an indication of what you're supposed to do or where to go other than very very vague instructions on the pause menu. Overall i did not enjoy my time with the game but I want to support the continued growth of this developer since I see the skeleton of a great game here.

Cool psx aesthetic, and some decent worldbuilding and atmosphere, but some really bland and repetitive level design and combat with a pretty barebones story make this not worth your time imo.

I got it bundled, as it was cheaper to buy this one with another game that I wanted than if I were to buy just that other one. At first, when seeing the screenshots and the "cover art," I thought myself to be in for some great experience. Playing it actually, I found myself pretty annoyed - it was repetitive, bland, rather rough, and bare-bones. I put it down, but after some time decided to give it another try. I still think it could use some more polish, but coming into it with a more open mind, I enjoyed it way more. Def not worth the asking price. If it really speaks to you, try getting in on sale or in a bundle, Alisa seems fun, so it's a good pick. Spookware was fun, shame it got dropped.

Short and a bit repetitive with the level layout, especially since there are no movement upgrades but it has a cool artstyle (that's what made me get it) and the story was interesting. Can't wait to see what they do next!

It's pretty clunky. Repetitive samey hallways. I've seen enough.

I'm frustrated reading steam reviews because apparently I'm the only dunce that had this problem. I did not understand that soldiers can only be looted once a scripted enemy threat is dealt with. As a result I went through a good portion of the game including an entire boss fight with no gun. After some scraping I did figure out the problem and was able to progress... until I wasn't. Unclear progress points and bland, samey looking zones make it hard to find the way forward. General lack of polish and jank put me in a position where I'm dropping the game and I can't recommend anyone else pick it up.

uma mistura de parasite eve com soulslike se vc curte esses jogos com pegada ps1, vai gostar desse