Twisted Tower Review — A World of (S)Laughter

“There’s just something creepy about old-timey amusement parks” seems to be the thesis statement behind Twisted Tower, a delightfully violent excursion into a twisted theme park full of grotesque, murderous mascots and other violent delights. As protagonist Vincent, you’ll climb floor after floor of the decrepit monument to one egotistical actor’s failed films, blasting through hundreds of armed mascots with your toy-like arsenal, all in the quest to save your beloved wife from a twisted mastermind who just might have more in common with you than you think.

Twisted Tower was a welcome surprise. This title flew completely under my radar until I was given the chance to review it. Even then, the first impression I got from the store page couldn’t prepare me for what was in store for me when I actually booted the game up for the first time. The morbidly humorous, sarcastically violent world of Twisted Tower got me hooked right away, and I nearly played through the entire game in one sitting.

Without mincing words, Twisted Tower is, at the time of writing, my favorite game of the year. It is going to take a lot to top it, at least in my book.

To begin my unapologetic praise for the game, I have to say that Twisted Tower is the closest experience I’ve had in a long time that felt like playing a BioShock game. It isn’t just that the title takes clear inspiration from the genre, using its iconic narrative-shooter formula almost down to a T; something about the game’s overall vibes just screamed to me that Twisted Tower was a spiritual successor.

I’ve yet to see another game inspired by the BioShock franchise that so effortlessly captures a unique, gritty, sarcastically humorous, and unapologetically dark style quite like the original BioShock games did. Twisted Tower feels, in all of the best ways, like a fever dream that perverts the aesthetics of your childhood into a grotesque monster that needs to be put down. The game simultaneously feels like a terrifying horrorscape and a cleverly written parody, one that throws outright absurd, borderline potty humor at you while completely ignoring it, pairing it with the game’s serious tone in a way that somehow stands opposed to it without breaking the tension at all. You will see a literal fart joke written out as blatantly as possible, chuckle, and go right back to taking the razor-sharp teeth of a killer toy phone as seriously as ever.

The narrative is good. The gameplay is fun. However, what shines above all else in Twisted Tower is the enemy and environment design.

I can’t emphasize just how good the warped, dream-like aesthetic of a twisted 1950s amusement park is, or just how well Twisted Tower pulls this unique vision off. Every level is thematically unique and yet just as interesting as the last, something that is due in no small part to how good the game is at visual storytelling. The history of the park, as well as the setting’s sort-of-not-really-real, hallucinatory nature, is spelled out without ever needing to be said. Each enemy you encounter is a grotesque, terror-inducing twist on theme park staff and mascots, while also visually communicating the kind of threat you’ll face from them without much effort. Enemy design in the game is definitely a highlight, even when a six-foot clown says things like “I think of you every time I wet the bed” to me—far too many times.

My biggest, and perhaps only, complaint about Twisted Tower is that the game has a shocking lack of boss fights. I know that may not have been the creator’s vision, and the game does challenge you with cleverly designed wave-attack segments, but a thematic boss fight at the end of each level would have really made the game better. As much as I like the enemies in the game, seeing them constantly, in a sense, makes them lose their impact, and I was left wondering what a team that could design such visually interesting enemies would have done when given the task of designing big, imposing, iconic boss enemies to fight. It definitely feels like a missed opportunity that would have greatly elevated the game and made the already super-memorable levels all the more so.

Much less a serious criticism, I found that the game’s weapon upgrades were boring. Sure, in a title that doesn’t take incredibly long to beat (I clocked in around 5 hours total across 5 different levels), there is no reason to have expansive upgrades across your guns. However, the game has a big emphasis on replayability, with new paths through each level when you beat it, so putting a little more effort into creating more upgrades for firearms would be a great way to incentivize players to give the game a second run.

Overall, I was deeply and thoroughly impressed and entertained by Twisted Tower, which has become my new favorite game of the year. I highly recommend that fans of BioShock, horror, or anyone looking for an incredibly unique and memorable gaming experience give this one a try. The combat is fun, the level design and enemies are immaculate, and the setting is something that is certain to stick with you long after you’ve beaten the game.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a Steam code for this PC review of Twisted Tower. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Twisted Tower is available on Steam.