Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Review - A Generational Roguelite

It's hard not to get excited for each and every trailer shown during Summer Game Fest. Sitting in the audience, I fall for the hype every time. Even several months later, I still remember my excitement when Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree was revealed. 

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree looked to have this anime aesthetic (one sure way to catch my attention), but I also noticed gorgeous, paint-like visuals and an outstanding score, so yeah, I just knew I had to review it one day. And here I am, here to tell you that Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is indeed as good as it looks and sounds.

A generational rougelite in several ways, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is a time-trotting adventure with Hades-inspired mechanics. It's up to Towa and a group of guardians to save Shinju Village from the threat of the monstrous Magaori. With enough time and effort, they might be able to end the threat by taking out the one behind all this evil: Mogatsu.

It's a Group Effort

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is a rich roguelite with a great deal of depth to its mechanics. Run-by-run, you'll dive into dangerous areas filled with Magaori, cleanse the area of their monstrous presence, and fight several bosses along the way. Defeat the final boss of these runs and use their mana to further your goal of ridding the land of this threat for good.

The aspect of gameplay that immediately captured my attention was the Tsurugi-Kagura mechanic. This is the combination of the Tsurugi, who wields two swords, and the Kagura, a staff-user. You have eight different characters to choose from, and any one of them can be the Tsurugi and Kagura.

This means you're given around 28 different combinations for each run. Each run, therefore, has the potential to feel quite different from the other. Throw in the hand-crafted combat arenas -- in which the order and types of enemies are randomly generated -- and Towa continues to feel fresh, even 20 hours in.

Likely, you'll settle on a favorite duo for your Tsurugi-Kagura, but without spoiling the story, you will be forced to use different combinations throughout. This allows players to get a good feel for what every character has to offer, though some Tsurugi and Kagura may be a better fit for the role than others.

Personally, I preferred using Shigin, a ninja with boomerang-like attacks as well as a long-ranged ability. For those in the role of the Tsurugi, you're given those two swords I mentioned, and each attack is connected to a different sword. The swords have durability, but regenerate after you switch to the other sword. Because of this, you're incentivized to use different attacks rather than just spam one. 

The Kagura, meanwhile, have elemental spells. Some of these are used automatically, but you can pick and choose purchasable spells later on to customize your kit to suit your needs. They have two spells each, and they can range from being damage-dealers to being more utilitarian, granting buffs like damage negation or damage.

The Power of the Tsurugi-Kagura

Together, the Tsurugi and Kagura make a strong combination against the various Magaori you'll face. Magaori range in size and power, and you'll battle them in combat arenas throughout your run. Dodging around their attacks is key, since health is, of course, a precious resource. Magaori attacks are usually telegraphed since they charge up with an on-screen indicator, but combat has potential to become overwhelming depending on the enemy type.

Likewise, the Tsurugi has attacks that are typically charge-based. Players hold down the attack button to get an increasingly powerful attack, but charging it can sometimes leave you vulnerable. If I had to compare it to anything, it definitely feels like a nice little twist on the Hades formula, and that's evident in more ways than one.

After each area is cleared, you gain boons that benefit you in a multitude of ways. There are an abundance of upgrades here, all of which behave in a Hades-like fashion. Some upgrades may give you chain lightning or a whirlwind effect, some might leech mana, and more.

I always preferred the upgrades that gave me a damage boost to either of my swords, though increasing spell damage with your Kagura is also important. Some upgrades are a bit more high-stakes, like increasing the Tsurugi's damage at the expense of the Kagura now having a single health point.

That brings up another point: Health. Yes, it's a precious resource, as is the case with any roguelite. It stands to reason that the Tsurugi and Kagura are two different beings in Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree, independent from one another. If, say, the Kagura runs out of health, you're still good -- both can continue fighting until both have depleted their health.

While they move in unison, you can actually directly control both at the same time if you want to get fancy. I usually preferred just having them both follow each other, but I like that the option is there; alternatively, you can play local or online co-op, one player as each role, so that's also a nice option to have.

Taking the Fight to the Magaori

Combat in Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is satisfying, and the upgrades you accrue both inside and outside of runs have a tangible effect on your performance. I did find, however, that the Tsurugi with more range-based attacks had an easier time than those using melee.

Most enemy attacks are avoidable at a range, so it stands to reason Shigin, with his more long-ranged attacks,  was a powerful asset. It felt much easier using him than, say, Nishiki the anthropomorphic koi fish, who jumps back and forth between enemies but is ultimately a short-ranged attacker. 

And though I'm not proud to admit it, Towa can, at times, be easy to cheese during your runs. If I got too hurt during a combat encounter, I could quit to the menu and restart it at the health I had before combat began. Encounters save as you enter the room and after the last enemy is dead, so technically, you can quit right in the middle of combat and start over if things look too dicey.

This comes in handy during boss battles, but again, it's not something you should abuse, especially if you're looking for more of a challenge. Though there is a lower difficulty option that increases players' power after each unsuccessful run.

A Rich Story Filled With Lore

Thus far, I've only talked about gameplay, but Towa features an abundance of story content. The amount of dialogue might turn some players away, in which case, it's all easily skippable. I, however, fell in love with the narrative of Towa, especially with the characters in and around Shinju Village.

Towa's narrative features a great deal of alternate timelines and time skips, so the concept can be both hard to grasp and explain, even after beating it. However, that didn't deter me from enjoying the wonderful character writing that this title has to offer; truly, it has some of the most memorable characters in a roguelite, rivaling that of, again, genre staples like Hades.

The story revolves around the eight guardians and Towa, an ageless girl overseeing Shinju Village. There is an incredible amount of interactions between all eight guardians and Towa, and these come forth during periods of respite in the middle of combat runs.

Each combination of Tsurugi and Kagura has interactions in which they play off of each other's personalities, so the narrative is an impressively complex web. Relationships and personalities shine in these interactions, and when I thought I had seen all there was for two characters, there was still more and more.

I learned that Mutsumi is a sister to Bampuku and multiple others in the village, and she prioritizes family over all else. There's Origami, a mysterious woman who is far, far away from her village and is so old that she sees the other guardians as children. Akazu, a scholar, has some funny interactions with most characters, as he is a bit frail and is deathly afraid of bugs -- something that most guardians are sure to bring up in their conversations with him.

I want to give special recognition to the all-star cast of voice actors featured in Towa. You have big names in the game and anime-dubbing scene like Allegra Clark, Aleks Le, and Alejandro Saab. Every voice actor gives 110 percent, and that's evident right from the start. 

Shinju Village, the Heart of Towa and the Guardian of the Sacred Tree

Then there's the village of Shinju itself, which will evolve and flourish as you progress through Towa's story. It starts as a smaller, humble village and soon becomes a flourishing town. Towa's story actually spans a generation or two, so there are quite a few time skips due to reasons pertaining to the Magaori threat. 

Now, the village is a place you'll also spend a lot of time. Here, you can gain upgrades by spending ore, which will aid you in subsequent runs. In terms of narrative revolving the town's people, Towa absolutely grabbed my attention.

You'll see villagers grow old, pass on, and lead to the next generation. You'll see how the passing of their loved ones affects those who remain, and how a new generation of villagers instills hope for a brighter future. There are some seriously heartfelt stories in Shinju Village, and I reckon you'll miss the passing of some characters and feel the void they leave behind.

It's heavily encouraged to engage in dialogue with these villagers, though the writing can be wordy at times. Nonetheless, these conversations aim to develop the personalities of each villager, and they all have their own storyline as you fight across decades.

As an example of what I'm talking about, you'll see a large, gruff blacksmith take on a young apprentice. That apprentice, Enka, will grow older, take on a wife, and eventually have a child, all of which you'll see grow throughout your time playing. Enka and others' appearances change as they grow older, so you truly do feel the passage of time. 

Since Towa's story takes place across decades, you'll come to find this is a game with incredible character development. Although you don't see every single aspect of these characters' lives, it's written in such a way that you'll come to know people like Enka very, very well. 

Towa's a Crafty Girl

But, outside of just story, the village serves as a way to upgrade and develop your guardians, thus setting them up for success in future runs. These come in the form of using that ore I mentioned. These come from your runs and are spent in order to increase stats like attack, or purchase items that enhance characters' attributes.

The main thing I want to focus on is blacksmithing, which plays a vital role in your guardians' power. Since Tsurugi wields two swords, it stands to reason you'll need swords to fight, right? Well, there's an entire blacksmithing mini-game to create new and increasingly powerful swords, and it's quite impressive.

Crafting a sword is a multi-step process and goes through traditional, Japanese sword-making techniques. It starts from picking the right ore, to making said ore into a billet, shaping and then sharpening your sword, and more. Players can perform a series of QTEs to increase the stats of their sword even more, so it's an enjoyable and interactive experience.

I appreciated the fact that your sword is highly customizable from a cosmetic standpoint, even if it doesn't necessarily affect gameplay. You can make some whacky, curved shapes that serve no real-life practical purpose, but why not? My ultimate sword, one that was extremely powerful and allowed me to beat Towa, was named Gigachad. Never forget Gigachad. 

Towa and the Guardian of the Ancient Tree Review | Final Thoughts

The scope of Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is seriously impressive, with so many mechanics that play off of each other and feel just right. The explanation of certain mechanics and terminology can get a little confusing at times, but it's ultimately a roguelite that's easy to get lost in.

The art and music, by the way, are jaw-droppingly good. That's really the icing on the cake: A rock-solid, fundamentally great roguelite with an eye-catching, paint-like art style and orchestral soundtrack. I came to find out the composer for Towa is Hitoshi Sakimoto.

I wasn't immediately familiar with the name, but his body of work speaks for itself, featuring games like Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy XII, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and much, much more. With his expertise, the emotional moments in Towa hit hard, and the sequences of intense action against bosses get the adrenaline pumping. 

I often have the luxury of picking and choosing what games I want to review, so I tend to gravitate toward games that interest me -- obviously, right? I knew I'd probably like Towa and the Guardian of the Sacred Tree, but I didn't know I'd like it as much as I did. Really, it's the characters, the stellar vocal performances of its voice actors, and the story that sell it. But the fact that it's an addictive, and competent roguelite to boot, assured that I was captivated from start to finish.

Towa and the Guardians of the Ancient Tree was reviewed on PC with a copy provided by the publisher over the course of 22 hours of gameplay. All screenshots were taken during the process of review.