Back in June 2023, Xbox Game Studios announced a new videogame they’re publishing called Towerborne. This game is an action RPG being developed by Stoic, the makers of the critically acclaimed tactical RPG series, Banner Saga.
In Towerborne, players take on the role of super-powered warriors called Aces and travel the world to protect humanity from ravenous monsters. Towerborne aims to create an optimistic and fun adventure featuring an in-depth combat system inspired by retro beat ‘em ups, deep layers of character customization, and a robust co-operative multiplayer mode that supports up to 4 players online.
Here is everything you need to know about Towerborne.
TOWERBORNE: WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
The premise of Towerborne takes place in a fantasy land ruled by monsters and humanity is on its last legs. What little remains of mankind hides behind the walls of the City of Numbers and a fortified haven called The Belfry.
Mankind’s last hope for survival lies within the Aces, a group of magically gifted warriors who possess the ability to revive themselves from the dead and retain all their memories and combat skills. Armed with an arsenal of weapons and strong allies, Aces must venture into the outside world, slay monsters threatening to destroy The Belfry, and reclaim lost territory for mankind.
TOWERBORNE: WHAT Will the gameplay be like?
Towerborne’s gameplay is that of a side-scrolling action-RPG where the players will charge through high-fantasy locales and smite dozens of enemies on-screen. The combat system is akin to that of classic beat ‘em ups like Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, and Castle Crashers, where players beat up enemies by using a variety of special moves, evasive maneuvers, and combo attacks. Players can take on the dungeons and dragons of this world alone or with their friends through an online co-op mode which supports up to four players at once.
One of the unique features of Towerborne is that it allows players to customize every aspect of their characters so they can better excel in battle. At the Belfrey, which acts as the game’s main hub, players will be able to change the look of their character’s appearance and sort the loadout of their weapons, armor, and abilities before taking up quests to hunt monsters.
There are four main weapon types to choose from — War Clubs, Gauntlets, Dual Daggers, and Swords & Shields. However, the weapons you will procure won’t just have the same move-set with different stat modifiers, some of them will possess powerful abilities that change how they function in combat to suit different play styles.
Towerborne’s character customization goes even deeper once players run into Umbra. These are spirit companions that players can take with them and use their powers to augment their skills, activate flashy super-moves, or protect party members using shielding wards. With lots of combination weapon types, Umbra, and abilities to discover, players will be able to discover dozens of build archetypes that will help their party overcome the odds and defeat the towering bosses that await them.
Be wary as you complete missions in Towerborne because the world map will change and evolve based on your progression. This can result in many consequences for future quests like encountering stronger enemies or difficulty modifiers to make your mission harder.
In addition, Towerborne will feature seasonal content after the game launches called Seasons of Towerborne. These seasons will continue the main story of Towerborne after you complete it and introduce new enemies to fight, new areas to explore, new abilities to learn, and more lore about the world.
TOWERBORNE: WHAT Platforms will it release on?
Towerborne will be released exclusively on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC via Windows and Steam.
TOWERBORNE: Is it coming to Xbox Game Pass?
Towerborne will be added to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming on the day it releases.
TOWERBORNE: When is the release date?
Towerborne currently has an unspecified release date for 2024.
Band together with friends and save The Belfry from evil monsters
If you’re a fan of side-scrolling beat ‘em ups where you get to beat up bad guys with your friends like Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, Streets of Rage 4, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, then I recommend putting Towerborne on your wishlist. From its complex combat systems, seasonal updates, and a huge degree of player freedom when customizing characters, Towerborne is shaping up to be one of the more exciting upcoming Xbox games of 2024.
However, will Towerborne be able to successfully off these gameplay concepts and potentially become one of the best Xbox games? We will have to wait until next year to find out when Towerborne releases for Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2024.
