Towers of Aghasba Review Summary

Rewarding world restoration gameplay: A core element of the game involves restoring a desolate world, transforming barren landscapes into thriving ecosystems. This mechanic is consistently praised as satisfying and rewarding, providing a sense of accomplishment as players witness the visual transformation of the environment and the return of life.

Unique ecosystem balance mechanic: The game emphasizes a unique ecosystem mechanic where players balance resource gathering with environmental care. This system, often involving 'Amity' points, encourages mindful interaction with the world, rewarding players for nurturing nature and penalizing destructive actions. This focus on ecological balance sets the game apart from typical survival crafting titles.

Relaxing and unique gameplay: The game distinguishes itself within the survival genre by offering a relaxing and engaging experience. It often removes common survival stressors like hunger or thirst, and features unique, quirky elements. This creates a chill and enjoyable atmosphere, appealing to players seeking a more casual and less demanding experience.

Varied gameplay: explore, build, craft: The game offers a blend of open-world exploration, town-building, and crafting, providing players with a variety of activities and goals. Reviewers appreciate the freedom to explore, build settlements, and shape the world according to their preferences. This combination of elements contributes to an engaging and replayable experience.

Stunning visuals and unique art: The game boasts stunning visuals, a unique art style reminiscent of Ghibli films, and imaginative creature designs. Reviewers consistently praise the graphics, world design, and overall aesthetic, highlighting the immersive and beautiful environments. The game's visual presentation is a major draw, contributing significantly to its appeal and charm.

Broken/Limited multiplayer functionality: Multiplayer functionality is severely limited or broken, with issues such as login problems, lack of shared progression, and limited cooperative activities. Many reviewers feel the game's co-op tag is misleading, as the multiplayer mode is often inaccessible or offers little meaningful interaction.

Numerous bugs and performance issues: The game suffers from numerous bugs, glitches, crashes, and performance issues, including long loading times, rendering problems, and freezes. Many reviewers feel the game needed more polish before release, with some experiencing game-breaking bugs and save corruption. Some reviewers noted that the game feels like an early access title.

Lacks depth and polish: The game lacks depth, polish, and clear direction, leading to a repetitive and unengaging experience. Reviewers feel the game fails to deliver on its promises and lacks a compelling reason to keep playing, with some describing it as a generic open-world chore simulator.

Tedious inventory management: The game suffers from poor inventory management due to limited space, small stack sizes, and cumbersome UI. Reviewers frequently mention the need for constant trips back to storage, disrupting exploration and progress. Some also note the lack of quality-of-life features like item sorting and stacking.

Clunky movement and climbing: Climbing and movement mechanics are clunky and poorly implemented, leading to frustration and difficulty traversing the game world. Reviewers report getting stuck on objects, experiencing inconsistent movement speeds, and struggling with the stamina system.

Simple and accessible combat: The game features simple combat mechanics with basic attacks and dodging. Combat is generally easy and avoidable in the early stages, becoming more prominent later on. The focus is not on complex combat systems but rather on exploration and resource management.

Animal Crossing-style multiplayer: Multiplayer is unlocked later in the game and is similar to Animal Crossing, focusing on collaborative building and exploration. Players can visit other players' worlds and contribute to their projects, but cannot progress the host's main storyline quests. The multiplayer experience is more about social interaction and shared creativity than cooperative gameplay.

Pre-fabricated village structures: Village building involves placing pre-fabricated structures rather than constructing them brick-by-brick. This limits player control over individual building elements and customization options. Many buildings are purely decorative and cannot be entered, although they contribute to culture points needed for story progression.

Repetitive fetch and build quests: The game features basic fetch, build, and craft quests that often require traversing large distances. These quests are the primary means of progression, unlocking new areas and resources. Some reviewers found the quests repetitive and lacking in depth.

Unique weapon selection system: The game uses a unique system for selecting weapons and tools, involving a drag-and-drop interface or a weapon wheel. This system requires pre-assignment of items and may not be as intuitive as traditional number key selection. The game features a wide variety of materials and equipment.

Inconsistent visual quality/performance: Some reviewers mention blurry graphics, a hazy filter, and texture pop-in, even on high-end systems. Others note clumsy animations and jittery movement. The visual quality and performance seem inconsistent, with some finding the graphics appealing while others are underwhelmed.

Epic login/multiplayer issues: Some players have encountered issues with Epic Games login and online multiplayer functionality. Patches and hotfixes have been released to address these problems, but some users continue to experience difficulties connecting to their Epic Games accounts.

Variable CPU usage reports: Some users have reported that the game causes their CPU usage to spike significantly, leading to increased fan noise. Other users report the opposite, that the game runs quietly.

High RAM/page file usage: The game requires a significant amount of RAM and a large Windows page file, likely due to its open-world design and use of Unreal Engine. This can impact performance, especially on systems with limited RAM.

Black screen issues reported: Some players have encountered a black screen issue, particularly when launching the game through the Epic Games launcher. This can prevent players from seeing animated cutscenes or accessing the game at all.

Wait for future updates/fixes: Many reviewers suggest waiting before purchasing due to the game's early access state, bugs, lack of polish, and missing features. They recommend wishlisting the game and checking back later for updates, sales, or the full release. Some reviewers are torn between refunding and waiting for improvements.

High hopes for future development: Reviewers express optimism and excitement for the game's future, citing its potential and the developers' commitment. They look forward to future content, updates, and improvements, hoping the game will evolve into something special. Some reviewers are already enjoying the game despite its flaws.

Needs more polish and bug fixes: Many reviewers mention bugs, glitches, and a lack of polish as significant issues affecting the gameplay experience. Some find the game unplayable or not worth the current price due to these problems. Reviewers suggest that the game needs more optimization, UI improvements, and overall polishing.

Recommended for specific player preferences: The game is recommended for players who enjoy specific genres or elements, such as exploration, crafting, survival, base-building, relaxing gameplay, or unique aesthetics. Some reviewers compare the game favorably to other titles like Animal Crossing, Valheim, or Wildmender, while emphasizing its unique qualities.

Suggestions for specific improvements: Reviewers suggest specific improvements to the game, such as increasing inventory size, adding more varied quests, improving city building mechanics, and enhancing NPC interactions. They hope the developers will address these issues to create a more engaging and rewarding experience.

Game in early access/alpha: The game is in early access/alpha, which is explicitly stated by the developers. Players should anticipate bugs, unfinished features, and frequent updates. The developers are actively working on the game and responsive to player feedback, with a roadmap outlining future development plans.

Active developer feedback/updates: The developers are actively engaged with the community, especially on Discord and Twitch. They are responsive to feedback, bug reports, and suggestions, and are actively patching issues. Some reviewers suggest prioritizing bug fixes over new features.

Requires Epic Games account: The game requires linking to an Epic Games account for multiplayer, even when purchased on Steam. Single-player mode is available without an Epic Games account. The game's description should clearly state the Epic Games requirement.

Distinct, Ghibli-inspired art style: The game features a distinct art style, often compared to Studio Ghibli films. The visuals are created using Unreal Engine 5.4, with dynamic visual mechanics. Reviewers appreciate the artistic effort put into the game.

Unique, divisive in-game language: The game features a unique language that some find annoying, while others find it amusing. The translation quality can be inconsistent, alternating between formal and informal speech. Some find the game's name and animal names difficult to pronounce.