Thomas Brush is a complicated figure in the indie gamedev scene. While an accomplished and talented developer, his online course titled Full Time Game Dev has received a substantial amount of flak from his customers recently for being a “nothingburger.” But even his most extreme detractors agree that the guy knows art and how it can translate well to games.
For the past five years, Brush has been toiling away at Twisted Tower, his most ambitious game to date. Initially described as being heavily inspired by BioShock, the game’s release feels almost like an open challenge to his critics—a chance for Brush to prove that he really does know what he’s talking about.
Up, and up we go
Before getting into the meat of things, I have to set one thing straight. Do not go into Twisted Tower expecting it to play like Bioshock. It sure takes heavy inspiration from Bioshock, but that’s limited to the setup, the art design, and the overall vibe. For the story, Brush seems to look towards Rockstar’s stigmatized masterpiece, Manhunt.
The sad hero of our story is Vincent, whose fiancé is abducted by a washed-up director, V.C. Twister, and holds her hostage at the eponymous Twisted Tower, an abandoned 1950s theme park. Twister cordially invites Vincent to join him and Charlotte in the Twisted Tower and play his part in recreating his breakthrough film of the same name. What follows is a mentally and physically disturbing 4-hour journey from the bottom to the very top of the titular tower. And its mascot inhabitants? They’re as crazy as they come.
Twisted Tower really keeps the mystery going for the majority of its short length through commentaries from the director through intercoms (Starkweather, anyone?), audio logs, and scattered notes from Vincent’s life. The game deals with some heavy themes like abuse, mental health, and family trauma. Unfortunately, the ending reveal comes across as anticlimactic, as you’re left scratching your noggin about what the heck just happened. Still, it’s all fun and (mind)games up till that point.
Blood and bones
The story and tone of Twisted Tower might be grim and moody, but the gameplay is anything but. The best way to describe the movement and gunplay is to compare it unfairly to the excellent Postal: Brain Damaged. It’s a more casual variation of the gameplay found in Hyperstrange’s magnum opus, but it’s still a good time. The movement is fast and fluid, and you can combine it with a dash, double jump, and slide to make it even faster. There’s also the arbitrary grappling hook thrown in. Sliding and spraying through the tower is pretty satisfying, even though the restrictive-level geometry tries to persuade you otherwise.
The arsenal on offer is pretty solid, too. Wacky mallet, revolver, Tommy gun, shotgun, powder pistol, Gatling bubble-gum gun, sling, cannon, and ray gun make up a suitably period-appropriate collection of toy weapons. While they function much like their conventional FPS counterparts, their whimsical designs and cartoony sound and visual effects give them plenty of personality. Every weapon can also be upgraded, unlocking alternate fire modes while improving things like damage and ammo capacity. All weapons (even the melee weapon you start out with) are viable till the very end. Thus, switching weapons is more of a choice rather than a requirement. Some people might like this balance and some might not. Twisted Tower is not short on character, I can say that much.
It’s a bummer that the enemy variety and enemy AI of Twisted Tower don’t fully utilize the movement and gunplay. The enemy variety is fine, but they all function more or less the same. The majority of the enemies just charge straight up at the player and just require mindless shooting. I don’t think there was a single time an enemy managed to kill me. I even managed to nab the achievement for not dying a single time in my second playthrough.
Speaking of second playthroughs, Twisted Tower tries to spice up NG+ with branching paths that are inaccessible during the first run. I was hoping these would offer substantial new content, but the reality was far less exciting. The new paths lead to different areas, sure, but they’re ultimately too unremarkable to make a second trip up the tower feel essential. What a missed opportunity!
Spooky to the core
The Tim Burton meets Disneyland art design and immersive sounds go a long way in making the violence and brutality of Twisted Tower come across as appealing. The screenshots alone show what a fantastic art direction the game has. There’s even full voice acting, which is rare to see in a game of this type. I do feel that performance could be a bit better. Still, overall solid stuff.
Real Talk
Twisted Tower is a solid game all around. While I don’t think it will do much to change Thomas Brush’s reputation within the indie scene, it certainly demonstrates his artistic vision and exceptional eye for visual design. If you have four hours and $14.99 to spare, Twisted Tower is well worth a look.
FINAL SCORE: 76/100
