The Tower on the Borderland is a moody soulslike that successfully captures the charm of PlayStation’s earliest days. Not only in its visuals, but also in the narrative’s pacing, cinematics, and pulpy tone.

In this way, Tower shares similar pitfalls too, such as some unwieldy mechanics and controls. Still, even the minor issues and bugs can earn a laugh more so than frustration, since it remains in the spirit of retro gaming.

I enjoyed the general atmosphere, with its gloomy world and music. But the creature design was a particular standout. The enemies have unique behavior and a sense of mystery.

I really appreciated those roaming in the skybox, such as the massive building spiders. Very Lovecraftian and eerie.

There’s a decent variety of enemies, since many basic forms evolve as you explore further. Some gain weapons, grow, or end up covered in the grubs you discovered earlier.

Sadly, I found that I could avoid most of them without fighting at all, making it a breeze to progress. The elevators should only open without enemies nearby, which ought to balance some of it out. But that feature didn’t always work for me.

Similarly, the bosses just aren’t challenging enough if you double your gun’s magazine. More importantly, I just didn’t find the bosses very inspired. Their attacks didn’t really emphasize the game’s theme, and mostly resort to traditional boss mechanics.

That feeling extends to the overall gameplay. Tower just doesn’t introduce anything new to the genre, and it’s unusually friendly with its frequent save points. Soulslike fans won’t find anything too fresh here, except perhaps the visual style.

Still, I did like standing still to aim Erin’s gun, demanding a sense of timing and creating some suspense during encounters.

The sheer scope of the game is also impressive, from its cinematics to the range of enemies and size of its map. Unfortunately, the tower itself doesn’t change very much as you venture deeper.

There is a story within the story that you can unlock by collecting grub enemies, which I found very satisfying. It was possibly even more compelling than the action-oriented main campaign. I wish Tower concentrated on lore a bit more.

Final Thoughts

The Tower on the Borderland is a solid outing, particularly for a solo dev. Its world is large, moody, and full of interesting enemies. It’s a rush of fun, pulpy nostalgia with a decent amount of content. But it also has balancing issues, some unwieldy controls, and doesn’t add anything truly unique to the genre. Soulslike fans should enjoy a quick run for lore.

Score: 7/10