Towa & the Sacred Tree Guardians: Struggling to Escape the Shadow of Hades 2
Similar to games like Souls and Metroidvania, the roguelike style has become a saturated market. And it’s easy to see why — they provide a excellent blend of rewarding moments and challenges, culminating in that “one more attempt” feeling. Unfortunately for Towa & the Guardians, after several hours, I’m not craving more, but rather keen to dive back into Supergiant’s latest.
The evil the antagonist has unleashed corrupted beasts called Magatsu-hi, and it’s up to the protagonist and her eight allies to put a stop to them. Although rescuing the world is clearly a vital task, there’s also plenty of opportunity to explore the home base location to get to know the various NPCs, acquire enhancements, and create blades.
Recognizable Mechanics That Comes Across Somewhat Derivative
The game is often likened to the acclaimed Hades franchise because the action and repetitive structure are very alike. I evade opponents, cutting them down with my selected character’s blade, and gain an upgrade or augment after defeating enemies in an area. Progress through several areas and I face a major battle, that can determine the success of a attempt. Yet the similarity is not particularly complimentary for Towa. You’ve played this before, and often in more polished forms.
Similar to 2025 roguelikes, Towa introduces a twist to distinguish itself: teaming up characters for each run. I select a main combatant as the blade user and another to handle the support weapon. I manage the front-line character, and the game-controlled guardian gives aid using damaging or shielding abilities, such as summoning a powerful strike that inflicts major injury or temporarily protecting the team. You can also play in a co-op mode, which was not evaluated.
Restricted Options and Repetitive Combat
Every character has a pair of weapons, and I have to swap repeatedly due to the durability system. Take Origami, as an instance executes powerful, deliberate strikes with her Honzashi, along with energized sequences that repel opponents with her secondary weapon. Regarding this element, the game invites testing combinations. Rather than experimenting with different arms, I alternate between pairings of characters, seeing how their distinct abilities and magic work together.
However, following several attempts, the constraints of such exploration start to emerge. Beyond their sword attacks, the guardians don’t play particularly unique among the roster, with a surprisingly limited spells at their disposal. Moreover, the situation is worsened by most upgrades provide static bonuses that minimally affect the run. By comparison, in Hades, the various weapon modifications and divine blessings frequently revolutionize my approach to combat across different sessions, although equipped with similar tools. The deeper I get with this title, however, increasingly I sticking with certain characters like Origami or Shigin, featuring their signature move launches returning projectiles. There is insufficient motivation to experiment further.
Adequate However Forgettable Action
Combat is serviceable, yet devoid of flair. Standard opponents won’t pose too much of a challenge; remain vigilant evading their obvious strikes, and survival is fairly assured. Certain mid-level bosses require a bit more thought, however frequently I ended up executing routine tactics until the Magatsu-hi boss fights. The situation is not improved by, some levels feel unnecessarily long; I was able to complete the first level in under fifteen minutes, while the following one demanded a lengthy period of very mid combat to arrive at a passable climax.
In addition, players may notice a multitude of minor annoyances that build up as hours go by. Characters never shut up, espousing their worries amid combat or saying the same catchphrases when completing an area. Rest spot dialogues, that usually happen before the level’s final boss, are excessively boring to generate investment in the cast. And Towa’s chats with the villagers extend unnecessarily for little reward. There is little emotional connection concerning social elements like in its competitors.
Poor Release Scheduling and Final Thoughts
Understand, the developers are not at fault that it came out just prior to Hades 2 officially launches. It was scheduled for a mid-September release well in advance, while the other title very recently announced its launch. If only the publisher had prior knowledge that Hades 2 would debut right after their product, a delay could have been contemplated moving the launch date. In the current situation, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree comes across as unceremoniously chomping through a basic meal just ahead of a Michelin-starred meal.
The game is available now on current-generation consoles and PC. Impressions were formed on PlayStation 5.
