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What makes a game like BioShock? A weird world gone bad? First-person, superpowered shooting? Creepy, slightly off-the-wall enemies? Other bits and bobs that actually came from System Shock first? Either way, I'm more than confident in calling Twisted Tower very, very BioShock-y after playing its new demo released just ahead of Steam Next Fest.
Steam Next Fest is flooding the storefront with countless more demos for us to try out, and Twisted Tower in particular grabbed my attention because it was recommended by BioShock and BioShock Infinite's director Ken Levine on social media.
Twisted Tower isn't exactly subtle about its influences, either. The game's creator thanks Levine "for being such a massive inspiration," and Twisted Tower's Steam blurb says it's set in "an abandoned 1950’s resort reminiscent of BioShock and Disney World." What a pitch, eh?
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Levels are designed around different theme park mainstays like a fairy tale castle or a water park - this time packed with pig-mask enemies whose heads will pop with blood and confetti after a well-placed shot. The game also promises multiple unique paths you can take in each playthrough, while you experiment with whacky guns like a sniper slingshot, a farting shotgun, or a whack-a-mole mallet, which is as good a replacement for Half-Life's crowbar as any.
Twisted Tower's free demo only introduces you to the game's first few floors, three beginner weapons, and four goosebump-inducing enemies, but it made enough of an impression to court over 500 user reviews, 92% of which are positive, before Steam Next Fest has even properly begun.
I loved the hour I spent with Twisted Tower, too. It obviously recalls BioShock in its tone and gunplay and enemy design, but that crazy carnival setting and a bigger emphasis on traversal (put a grapple in every game, why don't you?) also work massively to set it apart. I just hope the zig-zagging corridors and interlocking paths that imsims are known for show up more prominently when the full game releases.
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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