I had a quick presentation on Tower of Fantasy during this gamescom 2022, although it was recently released. I therefore take this opportunity to give you an overview combined with my meager experience, the presentation and the various information that we have received since. So, have you ever played this game? or are you hesitating to get started?
Note: for obvious reasons, I won't make any comparison with Genshin Impact, even if a few things are the same on these games.
Graphics & atmosphere
Graphically, we are in a fairly clean and beautiful game, but this time, we have a little more: the possibility of "nuancing" the aspect of the world with a filter which gives an apocalyptic air, a retro air, etc. .. It's not the most useful feature, but it offers a really nice choice to customize your experience.
tower of fantasy
Even though I don't personally like the game's music too much, the ost is well made, and the weapon sounds are cool, although I sometimes noticed that some sounds are missing on the repeating weapons, but my hardware may be responsible for this problem, you never know. With the bestiary and the technological side, we are offered a world with a good identity.
By cons, default level, I found some collision bugs here and there (you know, the swords that fit in the back or the belts), but hey, nothing very serious in itself.
History
You play an explorer who investigates, but is quickly interrupted by creatures who do not wish you well. Following this, you will start fights that will deplete what energy you have left in your suppressors, which will cause you to pass out. But be reassured, after being recovered, you will leave for a refuge and start quests that will lead you one thing to another towards a cause that is far beyond you.
My opinion: a classic story at first glance with a few twists, but which has good potential for the future. I didn't manage to go extremely far in the game, but I bet that there will surely be great causes to defend.
Gameplay
Above all, the game is a "Gacha", understand by this that you will spend resources (nuclei) to summon weapons, some of which are rarer than others and have, for example, the memory of their user . These weapons that you can equip will also allow you to take on the appearance of its owner. Personally I am not totally against this kind of system, but you have to be very careful with the side: "I buy credits with my credit card to invoke even more". But that's another story !
Moreover, it is possible to create a personalized appearance for your explorer that you can change during the game. Quite complete, we can really do a lot of things to find the style that suits us, or choose, as I said above, an appearance of one of the weapon users, each to their own!
The combat system, quite interesting, allows you to carry several weapons and therefore to have a switch for all situations. When you type with a weapon, you fill a gauge on the inactive one to activate a fairly powerful attack when changing, in addition to having a skill specific to the weapon. Personally, I went with a powerful spear and a repeating cannon that can turn into a cannon turret that you control to launch a really powerful projectile with a slow cooldown.
The game also offers you relics such as a jet pack to start with a usable attack that it will be possible to switch with the keys of the game. As for the others, I suppose that they will be recovered either via events, the history or even via summons with the possibility of changing their appearance with, for example, the bonus, of suspending the pre-registration which took place before the release of the game.
Gamescom 2022 & new info
I was told about the Desert Hub which has a down town which would be very dangerous and its radioactivity. But also the interesting functionality of Cross-play in solo and the various mounts in play which are more akin to vehicles. But what piqued my curiosity the most was the co-op open world and its devastating world bosses. All in all good!
Also, we got information about the next unlockable location from September 15th: an artificial island filled with floating islands and new elite bosses who will come to harm you if you get too close. Unlockable at level 50, you can access it via specific quests and by borrowing the Banges tech vehicle. Finally, this area will unlock your own artificial island which will become constructible and on which you can even have a few servants and pets, create and exchange valuable items... but don't think that all of this will be easy!
And icing on the cake, you will unlock Claudia, a great Executor of Hykros, a tsundere who was injured during a mission, but remains a great asset thanks to her mastery of blades and her exceptional mobility.
Summary
Well done, with a nice story and a lot of advantages, I think I can say that Tower of Fantasy, published by Level Infinite and developed by Hotta Studio, should make a name for itself among a lot of players, especially since it is free-to-play. However, it will also take luck, because let's not forget that it's a gacha, a system that can put off some people while others will have greater power because they will have gone through the "credit card" box. more often. That remains to be seen, and as long as the game doesn't offer real competition, there's really nothing to worry about.
