If this year’s Summer Game Fest taught me anything, it’s that Hades is all the rage right now. We saw multiple game last week that took clear inspiration from Supergiant’s hit roguelike with fast-based top-down action. The appeal is so undeniable that even Bandai Namco is jumping on the trend with Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree. Set to launch on September 19, the game puts its own spin on a popular formula with its ink painting-inspired art and colorful cast of characters.
Is that enough to set itself apart in what’s becoming a crowded field? I went hands-on with it at Summer Game Fest to find out, trying out my first 15 minute run (and a second one after an initial defeat). While it won’t fully be able to separate itself from the inevitable Hades comparisons, Towa does include some bright ideas in its two-character combat that makes battles even faster.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree stars Towa, a child of the Gods who is tasked with saving a village from a miasma plague. They aren’t alone in that task. They enlist the help of eight heroes that range from a little kid to a giant fish man – the clear standout of the bunch. That cast is where Towa really stakes its claim on the genre with a unique twist. I don’t just choose one character when I set out on a roguelike run; I pick two. One is my Tsurugi, a primary character that I hack and slash with, and the other is my Kagura, more of a support hero with powerful skills I can trigger.
That little formula shakeup is crucial, because Towa would be a little run-of-the-mill without it. The runs follow the Hades formula to a T, even more so than recent games like Warriors: Abyss. I go from arena to arena, clearing out the few waves of enemies that spawn in as quickly as possible. When they’re all cleared, I gain a reward that helps shape my build. From there, I’m given a choice of a few doors and can see what kind of upgrade each will yield. Those arenas are punctuated by sub bosses, more specialized encounters, rest rooms, and a biome-ending final boss. It’s not as imaginative as its lovely hand-painted art style, but that formula is so often borrowed for good reasons.
The dual character action goes a long way towards filling that premise out. While the slashing is straightforward, the ability to mix and match characters gives players the chance to find synergies that fit their play style. Even just in two rounds of experimenting, I found success by mixing a close-ranged Tsurugi with a Kagura who could perform massive area of effect attacks. It looks as though other characters can be used more in a support role rather than an offensive one, which unlocks a lot of potential.
Beyond that, there’s a smart layer of gear management. Each character gets two weapons to work with and their energy runs out with each hit. To avoid temporarily exhausting one in a room, players need to use a quick switch attack to keep their blades sharp. That means that arenas aren’t just about mindless button mashing tol victory. They’re a careful balancing act that push players to cycle between every tool at their disposal. Rooms can be cleared incredibly fast with this system too; I was cleaning up enemies in under a minute once I got the hang of it.
I only got a quick taste of the depth here, but there’s more to see. I’m especially curious about how Towa’s meta progression system works, as it looks like there will be a way to grow each hero’s power in some way. Considering how many characters there are, that means that Towa has the potential to be a fairly long-tailed game for completionists. But for now, my focus is on just surviving that first biome, because its boss wiped the floor with my pals. That’s how you win a run; one battle at a time.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree launches on September 18 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
