Scarlet Tower [Review]
Bullet heaven Survivors-like Scarlet Tower is a solid but unimaginative entry in the genre.
Scarlet Tower. Credit: Pyxeralia.
Scarlet Tower plays nearly identically to Vampire Survivors. This isn’t a bad thing, because I love the latter, but I wish the game did a little more to differentiate itself.
On the surface, the game is the same. Pick a character and start a level, then survive until you run the clock. Find weapons and supporting boosts, level them up, evolve synergized weapons after they’re maxed out. Some minor twists are the addition of a day/night cycle and weather events. You can also find allies in the map, and if you complete their quest in time they’ll fight alongside you for the remainder of the level.
Scarlet Tower. Credit: Pyxeralia.
There are seven heroes representing different classes and races. Each of the characters has a special attack and two passive abilities of which you must choose one. Each passive has three possible glyph modifiers and you can only pick one of those as well. All of these are individually upgradable.
Aside from that, there are offensive and defensive perks that can be chosen and leveled up individually, racial abilities (human, vampire, etc) that can be leveled up, as well as overall stats. On top of all this there’s also an equipable rune system with crafting and a pet that can also be upgraded.
There are over 70 weapons in the game, with a multi-branching fusion system. You’ll also find tons of passive upgrades on your run.
Scarlet Tower. Credit: Pyxeralia.
All in all, I found the layers on layers of systems confusing and felt like they didn’t add substantially to the game aside from making progression more tedious because there are several unique upgrade currencies used to drive the whole thing. For as much as Scarlet Tower piles on, the game doesn’t feel substantially different from Vampire Survivors; it’s only slower and I don’t think that’s a good thing.
One of Scarlet Tower’s greatest highlights is the art. The game has gorgeous pixel art and effects. This isn’t enough to carry the game, though.
If the developers continue to update Scarlet Tower, I can see it becoming truly great. Right now, even with the tons and tons of unlockables it includes, the game feels like it doesn’t have that much to offer. Still, if you’re a fan of the genre like I am, Scarlet Tower is worth the $4.99 asking price.
Scarlet Tower is available now on Steam for PC.
Overall Score: 6/10
Played on: Steam Deck
