So there is a big ♥♥♥ tower. Of Monsters. Of the evil Emperor. And you are climbing on it. For peace and freedom for the oppressed locals. But it's also a movie. A cheesy retro sci-fi one. On a low budget. So all the monsters are kind of pitiful stuntmen in funny suits. And there is a director's commentary track. All over the place.

You can also jump off the tower.

A twin-stick shooting rubber-face beating isometric movie-genre deconstructing fourth wall breaking skydiving hilarious little game. No procedural generation or other rogue-like stuff. For a change. (almost)No crafting either. Camera is a ♥♥♥♥♥ sometimes.

The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a wonderful subversion of pulp sci fi movies of yore.


The game is narrated by the (fictional) director of the (fictional) movie, The Deadly Tower of Monsters. Without a doubt, the strwength of this game, and the main reason to play it, is the tremendous ambiance and tone. The devs clearly have a strong affinity for cheesy, B-movie sci fi and boy does it show. From the VCR film grain to the not so subtle strings attached over pterodactyls, this game nails it’s aesthetic and hits it out of the park. It has cheesy one liners, an evil doctor, and a main hero named ♥♥♥♥ Starspeed. What more could you want?!


As far as the game itself plays, it’s perfectly serviceable, if nothing special. It’s your standard fare third person action game where you get two melee weapons and two guns. Your arsenal is varied enough that it keeps the game fresh but there are clearly ones that you should use (the flamethrower). In addition, there is a sizeable amount of enemies that you encounter each with increasing difficulty as you ascend the deadly tower. My main gripe would have to be the checkpoint system, it’s not great. Many times I was set back two or three confrontations earlier that led to somewhat tedious moments. Thankfully, this didn’t happen enough that it severely hampered my experience but it was definitely annoying.



The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a blast to play if you have any affinity towards The Twighlight Zone or old sci fi movies. This alone carries the game through its 5 hour runtime. If you have no connection to that setting, then the game may be a bit dull for you, however. That said, I am excited to see what this studio does next and would love a follow up to see what shenanigans old Dan Smith is up to.

"You know, we should have invested in some REAL training for the actor using that whip. You know the saying "It's fun and games until someone loses an eye!"? Well, you probably wondered why the emperor suddenly had an eye patch.

10/10 if you are born in the 70ies and saw the Kirk vs Gorn fight on TV, not on youtube. All the others just wait for 50% off because the game is very, very short.

I found this to be a brilliant and ingenius game; from the idea of it taking place inside a movie with a DVD commentary to the gameplay itself. It doesn't take too long to finish and I found it to be just the right difficulty (a few spots were tough, but never took more than two or three attempts to complete). I also enjoyed exploring the different areas of the tower and checking off the side quests. Fantastic game overall, would recommend to anyone looking for light but enjoyable gameplay to fill a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Sadly I can't recommend The Deadly Tower of Monsters. I was initially charmed by this game, with the colourful wacky monsters and 50s sci-fi feel. That didn't last though, the gameplay is quite repetitive, and the 'Director's commentary' just isn't especially funny or entertaining; it didn't add much to the experience. But by far the worst element is the camera. The weird forced perspective made some of the platforming sections horrible to play. The game is also fairly short - at 3.8 hours played I'm close to the end, but I preferred to watch a YouTube playthrough of the ending rather than play it to the conclusion myself.

Unless you grew up watching movies like Clash of the Titans, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts and any other number of Ray Harryhausen or Harryhausen-esque pictures, you'll really be missing the point of The Deadly Tower of Monsters which would be a shame; strip away the B-movie aesthetics of the game and you're left with a mostly unremarkable but mindlessly enjoyable top-down beat-em-up that pits you against everything from evil apes to flying saucers to giant ants.

With that said, I can't overstate how brilliantly that low-budget sci-fi influence is realised. The scenery looks cobbled together from cheap rubber and styrofoam. Enemies are either obviously stuntmen in suits or stop-motion effects. Many times, you can see the strings holding them up or the boom mic appearing in cutscenes. The plot is authentically nonsensical. Every facet of the aged Hollywood magic that made those films what they were is present, correct and jammed full of obscure references and Easter eggs; rarely has a game shown so much devotion and love to its subject matter.

Not quite as endearing, however, is the commentary track that runs throughout the playtime. TDTOM is presented as a DVD re-release with the director and his production assistant firing out quips every thirty seconds or so and while it's been exhaustively written and is fairly humorous on occasion, there is just far too much of it. A lot of times, the two voices will be jabbering on, fully subtitled, while you're trying to hack your way through a major battle or set-piece so you wind up missing what they're saying by way of trying to concentrate on not getting crushed by a plasticine brontosaur.

There's a metric arseload of weapons to grab as you go, some far more useful than others, which can be upgraded with cogs that you find as you progress. Annoyingly, your loadout only allows for two ranged and two melee weapons at a time which wouldn't be a huge deal if the game didn't force you to find a terminal every time you wanted to change them. The worst part about this setup is that every time you pick up a new weapon, one of your current ones gets elbowed out of your inventory. Having fun with your ultra-powerful Tesla cannon? Not any more! Have this crappy flamethrower instead! Even better, have it while you're being literally SWARMED by waves of killer ants!

The character stat upgrade system is more pleasing and innovative. You're not rewarded with skill points by way of XP; rather, the game has you complete various objectives, many of which are completely optional. While you'll usually get one for killing a boss, taking down a giant dinosaur with a knife is all on you. It adds depth to a game that is, at times, lumbered with mechanics that sorely need it.

Still, TDTOM has more than enough style and bare bones playability to be worth a try, especially for fans of the genre it inhabits. It's a forgivingly easy game; you can make it through without a good deal of the upgrades available but as a love letter to those creaky, weird and wonderful pictures that entranced me as a kid, you'll find none better.

Check out the first fifteen minutes below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OX-WFoqZTs

The game is a little rough around the edges at times. The camera can be a bit wonky when using a keyboard and mouse, more so if you try and go somewhere the game never meant for you to go. The level desgin is amazing and leads to very solid platforming 99% of the time. The fact that you are almost constently moving up with no loading screens really gives you a sense of hight and then jumping off the tower to go get some hidden item really shows how much thought they put into the game and the titular tower.

While the game is solid all around and fun the real place it shines is the love for B-movies. The sense of humor and the presentation are spot on. The VHS effects, the stop motion animation on enemies, the set pieces, all of it just works togeather. This is the video game you wanted as a kid, even if thats back when video games were pong. Yet you don't have to be old and or a fan of B-movies to enjoy the game and its off beat sense of humor. It's early in the year but this has already earned a place on my personal top games of the year list and if people have any sense it will make it on theirs as well.

Whoa Flashback!

These were the movies I grew up with and before you think to yourself, 'Good Grief! How old IS this chump?', lets just state I'm a product of the early '70's man.. Groovy..

So TDToM was on my wishlist since it was on Steam. The old throwback SciFi movie plots, the weapons, the Monsters!

I really enjoy the visual appeal and the voice acting, thus-far, has been superb! Corney jokes and witticisms abound but does not detract as they actually progress with your game-play. Dinosaurs? Yes Dinosaurs! But how one particular large specimen was realized is a funny story.. lol..

Time to wrap this up as I'm sure someone more witty and verbose will come in and break down ever aspect but for me I'm just enjoying what it is and not what it's not. It's lighthearted, action packed [BAM!, POW! BooM!] and really tickles my funsies..

~Icky

The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a third person perspective action game, set in a retro sci-fi film title. Releasing from ACE Team Studio, who are known for Zeno Clash and Abyss Odyssey. The story is based on two astronauts and their robot friend.

Game play is from the third person perspective above their heads. Firstly one of the game’s biggest flaws is the camera angle; it is in a set position on each frame, which means it can be very hard to look where you really want to especially when it comes to some of the puzzles. There are two sides to the gameplay mechanics; the platforming side, and the action side. The action parts of the game are your standard hack and slash style; with different weapons available throughout the game for you to use and upgrade using the game’s currency system. There isn’t really anything standoutish about the combat system, other than it just works and does as it intends to do, as well as being easy to control and grasp. The platforming side of the game is one which I wasn’t keen on. It surely can’t just be me who is sick to death of jumping puzzle style. The camera angle of the game doesn’t help on the platforming at all. With the awkward camera angle makes any sort of jump you need to make, more of a guessing game. Thankfully the platforming is few and far between, still a small gripe though!

The art style on show in Deadly Tower of Monsters is done in a cartoon, retro look. The camera filters which are also used throughout the game are to add to the effect that you are watching an old film, and it does it very well. It wasn’t my favourite aesthetic in the world; but I can appreciate the look and feel they were going for. The soundtrack and voice acting are all really spot on too. With the voice over and narration being a key feature for the game, adding plenty of comedic value and fourth and fifth wall breaking too.

This game is by no means easy; there aren’t any difficulty settings, so what you get is the same experience throughout. A lot of the game can be overpowered by simply grinding on monsters for more gold and “cogs” which are the games currency system for upgrading your skills, but a lot of the game will come down to how good the player is, rather than how powerful the character is. The end boss fights are a real challenge, and will require you to try and try and try before finally successfully conquering them. Even some of the more regular monsters in between boss fights will cause concern amongst some.

I finished the game in a little under six hours. There is a handful of side missions you can take part in, but none of them add anything to the story, nor reward you extra skills; purely just extra content. Some of them you run into whilst playing through the main story, whilst others you have to go out of your way for. For me I was quite happy completing the ones I found naturally, I had no real urge to go seeking them. There isn’t any replay ability factor in Tower of Deadly Monsters; it’s a completely linear story line. The co-op mode may make a second run through viable with a friend, but you may as well just make your first run through co-op and save yourself the time. There is a hard mode added, but that will be for a small group of people who’ll take that upon themselves to play.

Technically, I had no problems at all. The game runs very well even on 4K. The frame rate did not drop below 60 at any points. I would recommend people playing this game use a controller, simply because it is easier to handle and you get the most out of the game play with a controller over a keyboard and mouse.

To sum up, The Deadly Tower of Monsters is your run of the mill OK game. The most redeeming factor about the title has got to be the narration and comedic value it brings. There are much better third person action shooting games out there, and there are much better platforming games available. What this game does bring to the table is an interesting, funny, and different storyline compared to most. The game is priced at £10, 99 – a price I would be happy to pay again for this release. You are looking at a 6-10 hours’ worth of well-produced content.

Tom's Score Card
1) Stay away
2) Not Recommended
3) Only recommended when on sale
4) Recommended
5) Highly recommended
6) This is a must play

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http://store.steampowered.com/app/353700

Ever wanted to be in a "B" movie that could be featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000? This game is probably about the closest that any of us can reasonably expect to come to such an experience...


The game is a basic isometric hack and slash adventure game. Action-wise it is not trying to reinvent the genre. However it is cast in a very inventive way: You are acting out the actions of the protagonists of a classic "B" movie being re-released on DVD while the director of the movie gives commentary about the film's production.

The presentation of the game is outstanding. It looks very much like an old sci-fi/horror flick from the 50's or 60's, complete with cheesy special effects such as visible strings holding flying creatures aloft.

"The effects guys promised me the strings wouldn't be visible..."

In addition to the awesome graphical presentation the director of the film is constantly talking about the production whilst throwing off many off-color stories of his egomaniacal excesses and abuses of power. This commentary is absolutely hilarious at times. Best of all, the narrator reacts to the things that you do, especially when you do things that are off-script or if you take your time in an area.

To sum it up, the game is a hilarious sendup of the best of the worst of Hollywood and a fun action game at the same time. Highly recommended, especially to anyone old enough to have at least seen these types of movies on late night tv.