TIM BURTON’S BIOSHOCK
Do you want to use a comically large mallet to bash the heads off of creepy looking mascots? Of course, you do and Twisted Tower understands that. Within minutes of starting, I was golfing the head off a mascot and looting his body for tickets which is clearly a critique of the modern arcade experience due to the rise of ticket redemption games and how capitalism has ruined even spaces meant for childlike joy and wonder…
So anyways, I mentioned BioShock in the tagline because it’s going to be the unavoidable comparison. The protagonist ends up travelling to an island, 1940s aesthetic, creepy locals, old vending machines, scavenging for food; it’s BioShock without the immersive sim elements and more focus on shooting and platforming. The gunplay is great, neither too difficult nor too easy with satisfying feedback when killing enemies and unique designs on familiar guns (a gun that shoots marbles might be the most satisfying weapon I’ve used in a game in a long time). The platforming is actually really well done except for the final boss/challenge that felt different from the rest of the game and was the reason I didn’t succeed the first time I got to the top of the tower.
MSRP: $14.99
Platforms: PC
Price I’d Pay: $14.99
The story is satisfactory and has some twists, but I would argue that’s not the reason to play the game but a great reason as to why the setting is the Twisted Tower. The plot is doled out via televisions where the villain speaks directly to the player character as well as letters and recordings, but all of it revolves around the player character and why he is here at the Twisted Tower.
The focus really does remain on the gameplay at all times, which is fun. I blasted through the game in around eight hours; I probably could have done it in six had I not tried to check every nook and cranny for secrets and supplies. There’s even a mode unlocked after completion which allows the player to start with all the weapons and upgrades as well as new areas (after completing the game a second time) which I am going through currently because I wanted to jump back in.
Twisted Tower does have some faults though. There is no map to the world which is fine because there’s no need to backtrack unless cleaning up secrets or stocking up on free supplies, but the game does give the player new powers like a Metroid of Zelda which then allows access to new areas. It’s a minor complaint but the fact that I can back travel but there’s no reason to (areas don’t overlap) is weird. Enemies just spawn in, they don’t come out of doors/monster closets so when trapped in an arena setting sometimes the best thing to do is just back into a corner and unleash hell at anyone who dares enter your sight which still wasn’t easy, but was definitely safer than running around trying to outrun one enemy to run directly into an enemy that just spawned in. Later sections of the game, once fully equipped with plenty of guns and abilities, felt more like the arena shooter I think earlier sections wanted to feel like, which means in the Adventure Mode unlocked after finishing the game those battles do become a more fun experience. If the first playthrough was trying to feel like BioShock, the second playthrough tries to feel more like DOOM 2016 (which gets no complaints from me).
I don’t think anyone is going to find anything exactly new in Twisted Tower, but I think that’s the point. It’s a throwback to some of the best parts of the seventh generation first person shooters mixed with the some of the best parts of what is now called “boomer shooters” and Twisted Tower blends them well. I liked what I played in the demo and I’m glad to see that it was indeed worth waiting for (there’s also like maybe a dozen people in the credits, so this clearly was a passion project). It’s some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time and it in no way overstayed its welcome like a lot of modern games do. I mean I’m literally playing it again after finishing it, I think that’s praise in itself.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
