The Tower Demo

Exploration can be made fun if you have the proper location and a purpose in mind, even if that purpose is just to see if you’ve got what it takes to make it to your destination. However, there are landscapes and worlds in our heads that are unmatched by nature, which is where movies and video games come in. Thankfully, they allow us to let our minds wander without limits and, more importantly, without consequences.

The Tower is a first-person exploration game that’s currently in development, which means that it does not feature a lot of content, but it seems to be on the right track at the moment when it comes to the main concept. As such, the game is all about walking freely and trying to make your own story on the go, helped by the little clues you happen to stumble upon along the way.

The whole thing takes place on what looks like a deserted island, on which there are strange structures and a tower. Unfortunately, most of the environment is rather barren and boring, which is not what you want to see in a game that theoretically encourages exploration. More content is on the way, on the other hand, and it may just be what the game needs to put its foot in the door.

In fact, the lack of interesting sights can be a bit of a problem, especially since it doesn’t take you very long to see everything of importance on the island. You can interact with few objects and make your way to the top of the tower in question, but the only thing you see from its top is a view of the island from above, which is neither helpful nor exciting.

The graphics are designed in the low-poly style, which is not a problem as long as there’s something to see. On the other hand, the game also features a few interesting special effects and post-processing to alter the rendered images, which may distract you from the lack of objects. Moreover, there’s a simple soundtrack keeping you company along the way as well.

All things considered, The Tower is not a bad game, but it features too little content to keep one busy and entertained for more than a few minutes. The simplicity kills your desire for exploration as well, which is the exact effect the game should have on players.