POSTED 27/3/14


TOWERFALL ASCENSION

Matt Makes Games

Oops, we dropped MAME into an electric beater.

Oops, we turned it on.

BWWWIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!

FWOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Hmm, let’s see what we’ve got here. We can see bits of Joust, Bomb Jack lumps and perhaps even the odd chunk of Wizard of Wor. But mostly we can see Super Smash Bros in Castlevania clothing. How’d all that Nintendo get in there?

TowerFall Ascension manages to pull off the rarest of feats. It looks like a classic 1980s arcade romp, it plays like a classic 1980s arcade romp, but it’s actually a new thing that gleefully shouts its influences from the rooftops.

The basic idea is to shoot things with arrows, or to crush adversaries’ heads. You can raid occasional treasure chests for power-ups, ranging from shields and wings (who needs Red Bull?) to extra arrows. Yes, you have a limited supply. So much so that you’ll spend heaps of time yanking them from walls where they’ve gone all stuck so as to replenish your quiver.

In many ways TowerFall Ascension is two games. If you’re going it solo there’s a ‘quest’ mode whereby you’ll face all manner of PS4-controlled greeblies, each with different assault patterns, but all requiring an arrow to the knee (or any other part of their anatomy) or a head crush.

The real fun comes in multiplayer though. Two to four players get down to it locally – none of this new-fangled online stuff - for last-pixelated-character-standing bouts. Run and hide, go gung-ho or mix ‘n’ match. There’s much to consider when trying to avoid deathliness – not least of all that aforementioned arrow ration. Still, you can pinch those of your opponents...

TowerFall Ascension is hardly a showpiece for the PS4’s power, but if you dig frenzied local multiplayer joy with your mates then it may never be beaten.

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