After all, while gacha games have infiltrated several genres, from Arknights with its tower defense to Granblue Fantasy and Fate: Grand Order with their turn-based battles, very few games have had the budget or ambition to build an open-world action RPG. Bandai Namco’s Blue Protocol is still in the works. Wuthering Waves by the team that made Punishing Grey Raven is progressing steadily. However, one title got ahead of them all – Hotta Studio’s Tower of Fantasy.

"Perhaps worst of all is that despite its numerous faults, Tower of Fantasy looks like it has potential. "

On the surface, it sounded interesting. A sci-fi setting with deeper combat, a strong character creator that allowed for making one’s avatar, and activities like racing in futuristic vehicles – it definitely has some stuff going on. Unlike what Margin Call showcased, however, being first isn’t always ideal, especially when you’re trying to ape one of the very best in the genre.

Make no mistake – Tower of Fantasy is trying to be like Genshin. That’s apparent in some of its interface, which resembles miHoYo’s title when picking up items, the Synergies that result when equipping two weapons of the same element, or even the jetpack, which hovers more often than it boosts. Some of the “original” ideas it tries to push are from MMORPGs (like mounts and encountering other players in the wild), with many systems and mechanics seemingly existing to leverage the monetization model, bursting at the seams with stuff to sell you.

Perhaps worst of all is that despite its numerous faults, Tower of Fantasy looks like it has potential. However, even after a year of updates and new regions with their own extensive stories, it feels unpolished and haphazard, especially on PS5. It’s hard to remember a title, free to play or otherwise, which frustrated me this much to the extent of mentally checking out to progress forward.

The story starts with you, a wanderer, who arrives on Aida to explore and learn more about Omnium. Life on Earth isn’t going so great, and you’re part of a colony spacecraft run by the organization Hykros that seeks to establish life on the planet, with Omnium seemingly the ticket. After surviving an attack against mutated hounds and humans called Aberrants, the player separates from their companion (just like in Genshin Impact, where you choose either Lumine or Aether), their suppressor fails, and they fall unconscious.

"Even if no Paimon is doing all the talking for me, it still feels like my character is just a participant in this story rather than the focal point of it."

They eventually wake up in Astra Shelter to meet Zeke and his sister Shirli with their memory gone. Thus begins the journey to catch up on what happened while assisting Shirli with her various tasks in this small slice of the Aesperia region. You even have a Paimon-esque companion in Mi-A, though thankfully, she’s more of a supporting character than a substitute for your voice.

Of course, it’s not long before things hit the fan. Opposed to Hykros are the Heirs of Aida, who believe Onnium is a curse and humans should go without it. Their leader plans to sabotage the Towers in the landscape that provide Omnium to the main Tower of Fantasy (I think), thus causing a disaster. You want to stop that, but also Shirli has been infected and seems to be turning into an Aberrant, so she’s taken away eventually.

The story starts innocently enough, but goes in several directions almost immediately, as you’re pushed and pulled along with Shirli’s antics. Then suddenly, you deal with Astra Shelter’s crises, learn of mysterious individuals, witness sibling drama between Shirli and Zeke, and explore strange ruins. It’s a lot of back and forth that doesn’t incentivize you to explore the world, as much as learn about the various systems on hand. Which is fine, but I would have appreciated doing that at my own pace. Even if no Paimon is doing all the talking for me, it still feels like my character is just a participant in this story rather than the focal point of it.

Another issue is that after you discover the crazy-looking hub for Hykros, the game suddenly catches you up on the rest of the story. Shirli becomes Nemesis or something (though her new look was spoiled plenty beforehand), and the Heirs of Aida are thwarted – it’s essentially one long highlight reel of cutscenes at 8x the speed. You’re led to Vera, the new region which offers an admittedly cool-looking pyramid city with highways that are way too desolate and traverse its surrounding deserts.

"At least Vera, particularly the city of Mirroria, looks good with the sci-fi aesthetic coming to life with its gorgeous skylines and neon-lit highways."

You could go back to Aesperia and continue that story, which may end up happening anyway since you’ll be level-gated before long anyway. It all feels so slipshod and awkward to be downright annoying. I’m more than fine with the option to skip to the newest content, but a warning beforehand would have been nice.

While the characters aren’t too long-winded, their dialogue fails to captivate. The English cast does a decent job with the material (though Zeke sounds like he’s halfway to nodding off at any moment), but it’s nothing that pushes you to learn more, not even in Vera where things are happening at a rapid clip. The cutscenes and their direction, despite the overly wonky cinematography at times, are pretty good, even if one is seemingly ripped off a scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron (you’ll know it when you see it).

The art direction and music are also decent, though the former can be inconsistent. When first exploring Aesperia, everything looks enticing from a distance but is overtly shoddy and low detail up close. There’s also excessive pop-in for objects just a few feet in front of you and frame drops.

Some stuttering also occurred because the game may have been downloading content in the background, as indicated by a small blue line at the bottom of the screen during gameplay. Why doesn’t it do this before I start the game? Why is it just there, causing burn-in? Your guess is as good as mine. At least Vera, particularly the city of Mirroria, looks good with the sci-fi aesthetic coming to life with its gorgeous skylines and neon-lit highways.

"I didn’t get to the end-game of Tower of Fantasy, so I can’t say, and based on what I’ve played, it’s not looking like an enticing proposition."

When it comes to combat, Tower of Fantasy at least tries to do more than Genshin. You can equip three different weapons, from dual blades and firearms to staves and spears, each with different combos, charged attacks, plunging attacks and special abilities. They also build up charge over time to unleash powerful attacks when switching, and each has advantages and disadvantages against enemies of other elements.

While there doesn’t seem to be animation-cancelling at times, and the auto-aim with some abilities and ranged attacks is iffy, hits felt responsive, and the animations were on point. Enemies don’t feel all that threatening as you keep upgrading weapons (despite the game claiming your attack score, gear score, and whatnot is not up to snuff), but they at least have some variety. Shout out to Phantasia, the Witch Time-style dodge that slows down everything and seems a little too good at times.

You quickly learn about Simulacra, which is how the game handles gacha. These unlock weapons but also characters, with the latter serving as skins. You can equip the weapons as your default character and upgrade them without much trouble, with various improvements unlocking other functions and perks. So what’s the point of the Simulacra, besides effectively having another skin?

The character creator has enough options for changing your look, so why? If you view the weapons as their characters, their skill sets are a far cry from whatever Genshin Impact, let alone Honkai: Star Rail or even Arknights, has to offer. I didn’t get to the end-game of Tower of Fantasy, so I can’t say, and based on what I’ve played, it’s not looking like an enticing proposition.

"While the game does a decent job of offering some free pulls, it’s just so overwhelming to be assailed by so much from the get-go."

As for the activities, there is so much to do, and yet it’s laid out in such an unintuitive way (plus your mileage may vary on what looks appealing). Exploring the world is fine as your jetpack can launch you upwards in addition to hovering, and you get a double jump and air dash. Various Relics allow for functions like clearing away obstacles and unleashing a hail of missiles, which can be good for puzzle-solving or discovering hidden areas.

The Ruins are also interesting to explore, even if they’re not especially complicated, and their presentation is usually on point. Racing also seemed interesting, but despite having a bike as a mount, I was informed after a painstaking affair to reach the location that I didn’t have a car. How do I get one? Good question, and at this point, I’m getting annoyed with all the unanswered questions.

Don’t worry, because Tower of Fantasy will quickly inundate you with potential purchases. All the typical systems, from materials for weapons to outfits, mounts and so on (which surprisingly let you choose gear), are available for real money. You have a battle pass, newcomer events, Achievements, limited-time events, outfits, mounts, something with Dark Crystals, etc. Gacha games are inherently predatory and can play off those who can’t resist the urge to gamble. While the game does a decent job of offering some free pulls, it’s just so overwhelming to be assailed by so much from the get-go.

It also brings up one of the absolute worst things of the experience: The UI. Forget the art or text in various banners and loading screens not being scaled to bigger displays – the off-center corner menu looks horrible.

"Tower of Fantasy isn’t real life or fantasy, but more of a landslide and poor substitute for reality."

Swapping weapons in the left and right slots is tedious, as you need to select the central weapon for upgrading, press left or right on the D-pad, back out, and then press the button to switch. A free cursor activates by pressing Square and Triangle together, which is necessary to dismiss some pop-ups and access menus unavailable in the start menu.

You may not know this initially, which can lead to awkward moments where you’re stuck with the pop-up until the Skip function appears to dismiss it by pressing Circle. The D-pad, right stick and left stick can select different options, seemingly at random throughout the game, and having to activate the free cursor to claim certain things even within menus accessed only with the free cursor is some Inception-style torture.

Even if you could pick out some decent things in this whole mess, other titles offer way better experiences, whether in terms of combat, gacha mechanics, exploration, story-telling or world design, that too without an interface that’s actively fighting you at every turn. Tower of Fantasy isn’t real life or fantasy, but more of a landslide and poor substitute for reality.

This game was reviewed on PS5.

STORY AND SETTING

Tower of Fantasy is set in the distant future of a world that combines elements of sci-fi anf fantasy in its setting. Long ago, nearly all of civilization on the planet of Aida was wiped out when it was ravaged by Omnium, a mysterious, deadly radioactive energy that infected the entire planet. Players step into the shoes of a character on this planet, where you’ll be going from location to location throughout Aida and encountering mutated monsters.

SHARED WORLD

This is where Tower of Fantasy can be likened to Genshin Impact the most. Set in a massive open world, Tower of Fantasy is a shared world experience, which means a single instance of the world will be populated by a multitude of players going about their own business, free to explore and engage with the game however they want, from making progress in the story to diving into the game’s multiplayer-centric offerings.

COMBAT

Tower of Fantasy’s combat is very much focused on speed and flashy moves, with a bulk of the focus being on weapon switching and mixing and matching their abilities. Players can equip and freely swap between three weapons at a time, but while you’re using one, the other two don’t just remain in the background. With each attack that you dole out, your inactive weapons build up charge, which once filled up, allows you to unleash a powerful attack as soon as you pull that weapon out.

WEAPONS

There’s plenty more to keep in mind with Tower of Fantasy’s weapons beyond their abilities, too. In addition to the game featuring a variety of different weapon types across three roles in offence, defence, and support, and stats that determine attrbutes like their ability cooldowns, they also have elemental properties. On top of that, if you strike the right combinations of roles for equipped weapons, you can create Weapon Resonances for unique buffs.

SIMULACRA

Part weapons, part core characters, the Simulacra are, in many ways, Tower of Fantasy’s bread and butter. In a nutshell, these are special weapons that allow you to transform into the people who once used to wield them, which in turn will not only allow you to use their Traits in combat (which can be particularly useful for those playing solo), but also unlock new content and learn more about the Simulacrum character. Though many of these characters are unlocked through gameplay, some can only be purchased in-game- this is free-to-play, after all.

STAMINA

Though Tower of Fantasy allows players to be pretty mobile in and out of combat, it does place some restrictions on you on that front with a stamina meter. That means that outside of combat, you can’t spring or swim or climb endlessly, while in combat, it means that spamming the dodge button isn’t exactly a viable strategy.

PHANTASIA MODE

Timing the dodge right does have benefits, thanks to a perfect dodge mechanic. Pull one off, and you’ll activate Phantasia mode, where not only do your enemies slow down to a crawl, but your inactive weapons also get instantly charged to the fullest, giving you the opportunity to unleash some serious damage to foes in your vicinity during that brief window while time is still frozen.

RELICS

Outside of combat, Tower of Fantasy gives players plenty of real estate to explore across a large open world setting, and from climbing over mountains to swimming through rivers to sprinting across fields, there’s plenty to do. You can, however, also make your way around using mounts and vehicles. These include bikes, trucks, speeders, and mechanized animals for land exploration, as well as animals and vehicles that allow you to explore underwater.

CO-OP

Though Tower of Fantasy does let you tackle most of its content solo if you wish to do so, multiplayer is at the core of the experience, and there’s plenty of ways to engage with it. You can, for instance, group up with up to three other players on the same server and tackle content together, including quests, multiplayer-specific missions, world bosses, and more.

PVP

For those who’re looking to lock horns with other players rather than fight by their side, Tower of Fantasy also features PvP options, so if you find another player in the open world and want to challenge them to a fight, you certainly have the option to do so. There’s also Apex League, an arena where players can fight each other to climb up a leaderboard and earn unique rewards.

NEW CHARACTER

When Tower of Fantasy launches for PS5 and PS4 on August 8, it will also be bringing new content. Players will, for starters, be able to explore Domain 9, a new East Asia-inspired map. Here, you can also meet Tower of Fantasy’s newest character- Liu Huo, who is described as “a spirited and formidable girl with an undeniable passion for martial arts.” Equipped with a giant paintbrush known as the Pine Comet, she will also boast some pretty unique abilities in combat. Speaking of which…

LIU’S ABILITIES

Studio Hotta has described Liu’s combat as a fusion of calligraphy and martial arts, the two areas where she has the most expertise. Each of her attacks will essentially be a varying brushstroke with the Pine Comet, while each attack will also be accompanied by vibrant blue and orange flames to “intensify the visual impact”, as the developer puts it, as well as Chinese characters briefly appearing over enemies that are getting hit.

DUALSENSE FEATURES

As you might expect from a dedicated port, Tower of Fantasy will also be making use of some of the PS5’s more unique hardware features- like the DualSense’s haptic feedback. Studio Hotta says haptic feedback is also implemented in combat for very specific purposes in order to help players “accurately assess the current combat environment”.

4K MODE

On the visuals front, Tower of Fantasy’s art style does a great deal of heavy liting for the game, which isn’t exactly uncommon to see in games of its nature, though on PS5, it will also feature tech improvements to make that art shine that much better. The game is confirmed to feature a 4K mode for those looking for a higher resolution, though Studio Hotta hasn’t yet confirmed what to expect from Tower of Fantasy’s performance targets.

NO CROSS-PLAY

Tower of Fantasy’s upcoming PlayStation version is being released as a standalone version, which, in a nutshell means that the game’s PS5 and PS4 versions will have no connectivity at all with Tower of Fantasy on PC, iOS, and Android. That means there’s no cross progression, while you also cannot play with or against players on other platforms.

Liu is “a spirited and formidable girl” deeply passionate about (and well-versed in) martial arts. As the guardian of Farewellville, she’s also an artist and incorporates calligraphy and painting into her fighting style. This is apparent in the visual effects, with her attacks having brushstrokes of blue and orange colors.

Though the game is free-to-play, pre-orders are available for the Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate Editions on the PlayStation Store, each with unique bonuses. Check them out below. It’s worth noting that Deluxe and Ultimate Edition owners can get 48 hours of early access and start playing on August 6th.

Standard Edition ($10.99)

• A copy of the game
• Monthly Pass (x1)
• Tanium (x100)
• Gold Nucleus (x10)
• Fried Chicken (x10)
• Crispy Grilled Fish (x10)
• Black Nucleus (x10)
• Weapon Augmentation Box II (x10)

Deluxe Edition ($49.99)

• A copy of the game
• 48-hours early access
• Simulacrum Deluxe Box (x1)
• Outfit “Move Planes” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Avatar “Smarty Housekeeper (2nd Gen.)” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Avatar Frame “Playtime” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Chat Frame “Game Master” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Monthly Pass (x1)
• Tanium (x2,000)
• Gold Nucleus (x10)
• Black Nucleus (x10)
• Weapon Augmentation Box II (x20)
• Fried Chicken (x10)
• Crispy Grilled Fish (x10)
• Sizzling Meat (x10)
• Nut tea (x10)

Ultimate Edition ($99.99)

• A copy of the game
• 48-hours early access
• Simulacrum Premium Box (x1)
• Race Car “Icy Blue Blooming” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Jetpack Skin “White-Tailed Meteor” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Outfit “Move Planes” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Avatar “Smarty Housekeeper (2nd Gen.)” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Avatar Frame “Playtime” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Chat Frame “Game Master” for PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4
• Monthly Pass (x1)
• Tanium (x3,000)
• Red Nucleus (x10)
• Gold Nucleus (x10)
• Black Nucleus (x10)
• Random SR Relic Shard Box (x20)
• Weapon Augmentation Box II (x20)
• Fried Chicken (x10)
• Crispy Grilled Fish (x10)
• Sizzling Meat (x10)
• Nut tea (x10)

Check out the latest trailer for the PS4 and PS5 versions here. Tower of Fantasy is currently available for iOS, Android and PC. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.