GamesRPGTower of Mask amps up Legend of Grimrock-style dungeons with soulslike aggressionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGTower of Mask amps up Legend of Grimrock-style dungeons with soulslike aggressionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Papertip Studio)
There was once a dark time whentrulyretro dungeon crawlers—especially those descended from the more action-oriented Dungeon master—seemed practically extinct. But ever since Legend of Grimrock, they’ve had a resurgence and we’ve been spoiled with choice. The latest indie challenger to the real-time looting and levelling crown isTower of Mask, from Japanese solo developer Papertip Studio, and despite being a lower-budget production, it might just have The Juice, plus a bit ofFromSoftwareinspiration going on.
If you’ve ever played Grimrock or one of its successors, this is a game you can dive into without a hint of tutorial. There’s a big mysterious tower, and you’re a hopeful adventurer out to uncover its mysteries. Unfortunately you came without any equipment (or friends), and it’s packed to the gills with murderous weirdos wearing animal and demon masks.
Puzzles and mazes are genre standard, with some clever bits like hidden switches only visible in the dark, and smaller objects that can be thrown through barred paths, activating pressure plates out of reach. I am also fully braced for the obligatory teleporter maze, although I’ve not yet encountered one of those in the little chunk I’ve played. The dungeon is pretty handsome-looking too. Simple chunky stone architecture,
If there’s one unfortunate wrinkle to the game, it’s a brief mention at the bottom of Tower of Mask’s store page that there’s a little bit of AI usage in the game. Most curiously for ‘reference of map images’, but also for translation. Given that the entire development team is one person, using it for translation is understandable and we’d probably not have an English version at all without it, but your mileage may vary. Either way, the game isout now on Steamfor £9.29/$10.99, with a 25% debut discount running until November 16th.
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