Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Treeis a new action roguelite game from developer Brownies and publisherBandai Namco. With Japanese culture at its roots, the game shows promise in its early moments.
Guardian Duos Aiming for Synergy
The concept of the game revolves around picking a pair of guardians to explore the randomized dungeon areas to fight against the Magatsu. It’s possible to choose one of them to be the attacker (Tsurugi) and another to be the magic assistant (Kagura). While the first one is directly controlled by the player, the latter can act on their own or be directed to activate their spells.
Kagura magic includes a wide array of options, like elemental attacks and the possibility to avoid damage. More options can be unlocked over time, but only two can be equipped at a time, meaning it’s important to understand them well and figure out the one that fits the player’s preference better.
Both characters share an HP pool and it’s possible that the Kagura dies if they take too much damage. As a spirit, they can still help the player, but their skills become less effective, so when sensing trouble, it may be interesting to directly control their positioning, which can be done with the right analogic on a controller.
It’s possible to make any combination, but the Tsurugi choice will significantly affect the player’s attack patterns. Different characters have different speed and range values, and even the areas they hit or the way they change between swords may be different.
Diving into the Dungeon
Generally speaking, the Tsurugi uses two swords with different patterns, but using one of them repeatedly wears the sword’s durability out and will eventually break it, rendering it weaker. It’s up to the player to learn how to change effectively between both to make the most out of combat.
Each room in the dungeon may have multiple enemies to defeat before moving forward, a special challenge like trying to survive waves of these creatures for some or some other details. For instance, some rooms may have a special store, a spot to rest or hot springs to receive temporary boosts for the next few areas. When picking the next area, it’s possible to check the kinds of rewards a room with that specific symbol offers.
Facing enemies and bosses in battle revolves around not only trying to quickly defeat them, but also avoiding taking damage. Their attack patterns are telegraphed through red lines in the ground that show their area of impact, and it’s important to dodge them with both characters, taking into consideration that dashing needs to be recharged over time, so it can become a limited resource if players try to abuse it.
Once an area is cleared, it’s possible to get a reward before the player chooses the next one they’d like to face. It may be a health item, some currency or often some passive ability that boosts the attributes for the Tsurugi and Kagura during that run. Like usual forroguelikes, however, once the run ends, these passive skills will not be kept.
Sharpened Blades
One important aspect of the experience will be making your own sword through the blacksmith forge, which allows players to make their blades stronger and more durable. It’s possible to even choose if the player wants to strengthen basic attacks, special skills called Fatal Blows or Quick Draws (the moves executed when changing between both blades).
Besides the utilitarian logistics of investing in new blades, there’s also an “artisanal” side to the experience as players directly engage in blacksmithing. Working as a minigame of sorts, this aspect allows players to customize their blades’ appearances to make even outlandish, bizarrely curved abominations.
The process is shown in a detailed fashion, and it’s also an interesting showcase of the cultural side of swordmaking in this Japanese myth setting. From the steel processing to the painting and choosing the right accessories to go with the blade, the process is truly rich and much more involved than would be usual.
The sword is not the only thing that matters, as going back to town is an opportunity to talk with the villagers at Shinju and unlock various helpful elements. The whole town is filled with interesting facilities, like the dojo that can be used to enhance abilities and change equipment.
Besides the utilitarian logistics of investing in new blades, there’s also an “artisanal” side to the experience as players directly engage in blacksmithing.
During each run, it’ll be possible to gain some resources, like currency and materials, that can be used to power up the guardians and make it easier to progress the next time. As such, there’s always some sense of progress going on.
The initial look atTowa and the Guardians of the Sacred Treesets it to be a great experience to play over and over again. While it all depends on how things evolve in the complete package, it’s already possible to see how this is a project with a lot of heart and care in it.
