Twisted Tower

Cool game for a sunday afternoon. The story is well told, the gameplay is crunchy, the sound design is good, and the voice acting is great. The game's visual style is very average however. Kinda typical horror circus vibe, with very dated technical stuff. But it allows the game to run flawlessly, probably on any system. There is a bit of replayability too as NG+ changes the layout of the levels, apparently randomly.

It has a pretty good story; it felt like I was playing BioShock again after 10 years.

Very Good game with replayability. Lots of secrets too. And a price point you cant beat.

A great little indie boomer shooter. Positives - fantastic atmosphere - guns feel great to shoot.. for the most part - an interesting story that has more thought put into it than usual for this sort of game - fairly linear and uncomplicated - long enough to tell a story, but short enough to not wear out its welcome. Negatives - could've used a little more polish... but this is an indie game, so any complaints about polish make me feel like a food critic complaining that the salt to butter ratio was just a tad off for an otherwise tasty little dish. If you have any interest in a short little boomer shooter that doesn't waste your time, this is a great one.

Played enough of the game to realize the graphics and gameplay feel outdated. Got it on sale and had look back to see when it was released. Would probably consider keeping it if it was under $10. Will keep my eyes on it, but not worth it at this time.

Overall it was a fun game with pretty reasonable difficulty, but I would suggest picking it up on a sale. Base game is about 4-5 hours and has a slightly different layout on your second playthrough. Really didn't care at all for the ending. Twisted Tower features a large number of weapons for how short the game is, to the point where the last 3 or so I really didn't use at all. Overall, it isn't really a big complaint, but it felt a bit odd. If the number of weapons was reduced and added a deeper level of customization it may have suited the game a bit better. If you have arachnophobia, there are some pretty gnarly looking [spoiler]giant black widow[/spoiler] spiders in it with no arachnophobia mode built-in. Otherwise the gunplay was fun, the encounters were reasonably challenging on the highest difficulty. It never felt like it was unreasonable or that I didn't have the tools to deal with any of the enemies. I don't really have a desire to go through a second playthrough, but if you are a fan of boomer shooters/story-based shooters, it's probably worth the buy near full price for the 2 playthroughs to see everything. Otherwise I'd recommend waiting for a ~50% sale.

Saw the trailer for this game pop up on Tiktok and it instantly piqued my interest. A Bioshock-like FPS with a carnival theme to it? So, naturally, I bought it the day it released, and after giving it a go, I'd say its a charming little thing. When it comes to the story and theming, many others have brought up the comparisons of Bioshock and Willy Wonka. While not unfounded, myself and my mates were reminded of an old arcade rail shooter, Carnevil. It's the one thing I give the game props for; there's not many horror games out that go all-in on the carnival/circus themes, and this one does so in spades. It has that eerie vibe with some decent spooky moments that have you pause and go "what the hell". The story itself is pretty intriguing, with characters like Vincent and Charlotte having some depth to them, their backstories given through lore notes. The main villain, Mr. Twister, is definitely the one in the spotlight; he's comically villainous whose reasons for creating the Twisted Tower and its downfall being just as rich. It's the gameplay, however, that holds the game up. The combat and gunplay is satisfying, which all still keeps the fun carnival theming. Wacky, unconventional guns with unique alternative modes; costumed mascots, creepy clowns and even demonic telephones make up the roster; utilizing tickets and carnival food for money and health; platforming and a few puzzle elements that utilize goofy upgrades you can find as you progress through the story. There's even alternate routes you can take once you beat the game, adding a little bit of a variety to future playthroughs if you fancy. Performance wise, the game ran pretty smoothly, no crashes or stuttering in the slightest, which is apparently a coin toss with these unity games. When it comes to the negatives, there's only a few I can bring up. For one, a good chunk of the lore is held within the lore notes you find, with most of them really only pertaining to the main characters. There's not much environmental story telling or any active moments that tell you about the history of where you are and such. Another issue was the music can be kinda repetitive, especially in the big arena fights where it feels out of place for the setting. The game could've done with some boss fights before the BIG boss fight, and the voice acting, while done with gusto, can also feel out of place, but that's more on the writing than any voice actor's fault. Like what a lot of others have said in their reviews, if there was a neutral option for me to choose, It'd be that. Despite my given issues, everything else about it is pretty kino. It exudes early 2000s video gaming, like something you'd find on the Xbox 360 marketplace, which is meant as a compliment. Props to the Atmos team on this one. Overall, I give Twisted Tower a 7/10.