Why Early Access?

“Tower Lab is an experimental indie game that focuses on emergent interactions. We are a two-person team exploring the potential of these mechanics. From the start, we've developed Tower Lab with feedback from our wonderful community through our social channels and Discord. Now that the game has become more stable, we want to push that further by testing more community ideas, game mode adjustments, and new content additions/changes at scale with the broader community.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect early access to last between 6 and 12 months.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to expand overall playable content while continuing to improve the existing systems and game modes.
- Increased tower, trap, unit, and machine roster.
- Game mode improvements (new features, levels, types)
- Ongoing balance, performance, and polish work informed by community feedback.
- Aesthetic improvements to in-game environments, characters, towers, and UI.

As always with development, plans can evolve, and community feedback during Early
Access will help us decide what to prioritize.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version currently includes in-development versions of 5 unique game modes.

Global
- 20 playable towers along with unique tech trees featuring over 150 upgrades total
- 4 Traps
- 4 Machines
- Meta progression with unlockables based on in-game achievement completion

Campaign (Roguelite Deckbuilder)
Each region is an isolated run where you have access to all items unlocked via meta progression. Run-specific currencies (Matter, Tech Points) and your deck are not preserved between runs.
- 3 playable regions (~18 levels total).
- All towers and traps featured as a card with an energy cost
- 8 Utility Cards (draw cards, gain shield, etc)
- 40 total run-modifying cores (26 beneficial cores, plus 8 Hazard cores for challenges)
- 4 Machines, each defining its own starting deck and ability
Note: Run-depth may feel limited until more cards are added.

Endless (Roguelite Deckbuilder)
- Procedurally generated endless map where new enemy spawn points emerge and connect over time
- All unlocked towers, traps, machines, and cores are available in this mode
- Global weekly leaderboards

Arcade TD
Play through our standard campaign levels with up to 8 towers equipped.
- Each placement of a tower costs Matter, with a scaling cost for duplicates.
- All unlocked towers, traps, and cores are available in this mode

Puzzle
Complete the wave with only 1 health, using as little Matter as possible.
- Each completed campaign level is available as a puzzle to solve
- Each puzzle has a fixed set of towers and traps to use, regardless of meta-progression

Sandbox
A workshop-enabled level editor to create and share levels.
- Currently, only sandbox levels are supported. We plan to expand support to puzzle and TD levels later.

Many of these systems are in their early stages of development! As more content comes online, the game will go through frequent balance updates. ”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes. We plan to increase the price modestly when the game leaves Early Access, reflecting the additional content and features added during development. Buying during Early Access is a way to get the game at its lowest price while helping shape its development.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Community feedback has shaped Tower Lab since our earliest playtests, and Early Access continues that same loop at a larger scale:

- Our Discord is the heart of development. We're active there daily, and it's where players report bugs, share contraptions, and discuss balance directly with us.
- We publish regular updates covering new content, gameplay changes, QOL improvements, and bug fixes. So players can see how their feedback turns into real improvements.
- Balance and new content are tuned against real player data and community discussion.
- We read Steam discussions and reviews, and we act on the most critical feedback
- The Steam Workshop lets players build and share their own levels, and the most creative community ideas will help inspire official content.”