When I need a break from complex games and crave some good old-fashioned button-mashing fun, beat ’em ups like Street of Rage 4, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, and Castle Crashers always deliver. Developer Stoic recognized this sentiment and is working with Xbox Game Studios to bring us Towerborne, a live service beat ’em up set to enter early access on Steam next month.
I had the opportunity to play Towerborne at an Xbox event in Los Angeles and while I didn’t get to experience all of its social features, I can confidently say the core gameplay is solid and engaging. Towerborne offers a variety of weapons to equip your heroes, known as Aces, with. I tested out the Warclub and Dual Daggers. The Warclub, a powerful combination of a club and a cannon, excels at dealing damage and crowd control. However, its slow attack speed leaves you vulnerable while waiting for hit animations or charging its heat meter. The Dual Daggers, while less powerful, prioritize quick attacks and movement. While I preferred the Warclub, I can see myself switching to the Dual Daggers when I’m in a button-mashing mood.
The demo I played featured a crisp cel-shaded aesthetic and felt incredibly approachable for a beat ’em up despite offering depth. I traversed through grassland levels, battling enemies with another player until we encountered Pangojira, an armadillo-like boss. This encounter was the highlight of my time with Towerborne. I skillfully dodged Pangojira’s area-of-effect attacks, utilized the Warclub’s crowd-control abilities against his smaller minions, and gained an edge with the assistance of my Umbra pet.
Towerborne’s replay value is evident even after just a few runs through the demo. I’m eager to explore the Belfry, the game’s central social hub inspired by the Tower from Destiny 2. The Belfry serves as a safe space where players can socialize, customize their Aces, gear, and weapons, and select missions from a world map. This gameplay loop will ultimately determine Towerborne’s success, but the strong beat ’em up foundation provides a solid base.
Towerborne’s developers have ambitious live service plans. They aim to be responsive and quick with updates from day one of early access. Seasonal content is also planned, with cosmetics being the only form of microtransaction. Future additions include couch co-op.
If the beat ’em up and live service elements of Towerborne mesh seamlessly, Stoic and Xbox might have stumbled upon a unique niche in the live service space, catering to players seeking the simple, satisfying fun of a classic beat ’em up.
Towerborne enters Steam early access on September 10th. You’ll need to purchase a $25 founder’s pack to play then, but the game will be free-to-play on PC and Xbox Series X/S in 2025.
