Project Tower Review

As a question for you, dear reader, what is it that draws you to a game you’ve never heard of? What I mean is, if you see a game on the PlayStation or Steam store that you just don’t know, what is it that draws you in to try it? Is it the graphics, the gameplay, or the story? That was the question running through my head as I tried Yummy Games’ latest title: Project Tower.

Project Tower is truly something a little different, and not always in a good way. For starters, the game is essentially a third-person shooter with bullet-hell elements and puzzles. However, there’s a little more to it than that, as it’s also a story about lies, control, and what it means to chart your own path. 

Let’s start with the story, and it isn’t the cheeriest thing on the planet… well, actually definitely off the planet come to think of it. Essentially, you are one of the last humans after the strange alien race, the Hiks, devastated our people and planet. Your worries don’t end there as you’re being forced to climb the ‘tower’, essentially serving as a test subject for the Hiks to develop new soldiers and tactics. However, the humans aren’t exactly powerless and there are indications that a resistance is underway… possibly. Project Tower’s plot does a great job of making it clear that not everything you see is quite as it seems, and the mystery slowly unfolds as you progress. 

Progress, in this case, revolves around making your way through open-ish levels, shooting enemies and completing puzzles. The shooting is the simplest, essentially you unlock weapons as you progress, each of which are the same kinds of weapons you’ve seen before. For instance, you get a pistol, a machine gun, and shotgun pistol etc. The gunplay works well enough, although the guns feel about as effective as spitting at your opponent. It isn’t such a problem against the smaller enemies but it’s noticeable against some of the bosses.

These bosses, which take place at the end of the levels, are bullet hell arenas where the enemy will fill the screen with glowing orbs and more. As such, the game's name is dodging and firing when you can to take off their health. Visually, it’s impressive, but there’s a major issue. See, while bullet hells can be fun, the over-the-shoulder camera makes it really hard to tell where you are in relation to the ‘bullets’ you’re dodging. In the early fights, it’s not so annoying, but it gets much more noticeable later. 

Finally, there are puzzles, and these take a couple of different forms. The first is that your character can transform. Essentially, as you progress through the level, you’ll find the option to transform into one of the aliens and use its abilities. For most, this is a form of movement that lets you progress through the maps but there’s a fair bit of variety. For instance, turning into a creature that can glide, or one who can use ink to hide its location from turrets. Next, you have traversal puzzles and the odd brain teaser. Some of these I enjoyed, like moving a pillar to get it to fit into a hole, but others I hated. There’s one pong paddle-style puzzle, and with the slipperiness of the controls, it’s hell.

The gameplay loop is mostly fun, pong puzzles aside, and while there are some issues with the chosen camera angles it's entertaining and visually astounding when you fight the bosses. However, the actual visuals themselves are more of a mixed bag. So, for reference, I played Project Tower on my PS5 and it usually looked pretty visually stunning. However, I started to notice a fair bit of texture clipping, as well as the odd screen tearing. It’s also noticeable that your character moves like an action man, it doesn’t feel fluid. Thankfully the world and enemy designs are all interesting to look at and are suitably disturbing at parts. For instance, the Hik and their environs are suitably gross and unpleasant.

I think the issue is that the game kind of feels more like a proof of concept instead of an actual game. For instance, the ability to transform is pretty limited, and while there is a variety of enemies, they all act in much the same way. Also, while there is voice acting, your character never talks and it's kind of funny when they react with elaborate mime. However, with all that said, it’s fun to play right up until the pong paddle puzzle, which also shows that the controls are a bit slippery.