Scarlet Tower is a roguelike bullet hell game in a magnificent retro style. With the screen full of enemies and bullets, it requires constant attention and careful strategy, establishing itself as a challenging and quality product.
Scarlet Tower was developed and published in Brazil by Pyxeralia, an indie team composed of seven brilliant members, and is set to be released for PC and Nintendo Switch on March 25, 2024. It is a roguelike bullet hell, which means it’s a survival game set in chaotic maps and dark fantasy environments teeming with enemies. Upon death or victory, we lose all our progress, and each game is different from the previous one.
Carving a Path Through Chaos
Scarlet Tower fully respects the standards of its peers, without, however, making the clear inspiration from other titles too heavy. In each game, we find ourselves literally surrounded by endless waves of enemies. Initially, our character will be extremely weak, possessing only one weapon, a passive ability, and a dodge. Timidly taking down the first monsters, we will begin to collect experience points in the form of blue crystals of varying sizes, and the music will quickly change.
As we level up, we can choose between three upgrades, which can be weapons, passive abilities, or enhancements of the aforementioned. As minutes pass, enemies will become much more aggressive and numerous. It is therefore vital to carefully plan the character upgrades, creating synergies and adapting to the continuous randomness that permeates roguelikes. Many games will inevitably end in the first few minutes, while in others, we become unstoppable killing machines, effortlessly mowing down the poor enemies.
This is because we must necessarily equip and build our character properly: the bosses are extremely tough, and in the final stages, monsters and dangers swamp the screen. The consequences of the choices made in the first minutes of the game will become evident especially now. And considering that a level lasts a full twenty-four minutes, it is vitally important to learn to understand how to adapt weapons and upgrades to our play style and coordinate them with each other.
Kill, Collect, Repeat
Such a simple yet complex structure allows for the generation of a practically infinite number of always different games, although repetitiveness begins to make its way after a while. Completing a level, we will unlock others, until we reach the menacing Scarlet Tower, but even if we were to perish prematurely, we will be allowed to keep the resources collected. Among upgrades for a single character, runes, and general enhancements, we will have many options to spend them. Initially, navigating the menus can be very chaotic and confusing, also due to the absence of clear indications. Overwhelmed by options, screens, and statistics, it is difficult to orient oneself, and we will need a good dose of patience.
Once familiarized, we will appreciate the frightening variety and depth of Scarlet Tower. Eight playable characters, very different from each other and highly customizable, dozens of passive abilities and runes… Just this is enough to describe the extremely high longevity and the desire of the developers to leave complete choice to the player. Yes, it’s repetitive, it’s true, but if taken in small doses, it becomes a pleasant and rewarding pastime, chasing the distant goal of reaching the final levels.
Pixel Art at Its Best!
But let’s now come to the greatest and most astonishing merit of Scarlet Tower: the graphic design. I am a lover of retro style, so I have quite a bit of experience with this type of game. And I assure you… the graphic style is stunning. Clean, smooth, pleasant, detailed. The colors are vivid and vibrant, the animations fluid in their simplicity, and the maps manage to convey a vague sense of oppression and desolation, fully respecting the rules of dark fantasy. It is almost relaxing to see the damage numbers populate the screen. A very respectable sound and music department complements all of this, a truly surprising result for a title developed by an indie studio.
It therefore turns out to be easy to put aside the frustration of failing a level at the twentieth minute: it is indeed satisfying just to appreciate the cleanliness of the menus and the interface. The characters and monsters are all very distinct and peculiar, they remain easily impressed and manage to have charisma even in their innate simplicity. Not to mention the bosses… jaw-dropping. A big round of applause.
Don’t Break Concentration
Scarlet Tower tries its best not to hinder the player’s concentration with too many mechanics and commands. In reality, we will only have to move and dodge, the character attacks automatically (it’s possible to configure this in the options), and we can collect experience crystals simply by walking close to them. And it’s a good thing, because especially when things get tumultuous, we will need all our concentration.
Of course, with a good mix of skill, luck, and strategy, we will be able to create builds so powerful as to automatically massacre opponents while standing still, but generally, we will have to constantly move around the map, look for events, merchants, and aids thanks to the mini-map, and avoid getting crushed in the middle of a horde of enemies. Never relax, never get distracted. The learning curve is quite steep, but it is really worth dedicating a bit of our mental sanity to this little gem.
Towards the Scarlet Tower
In short, you will understand that conquering the Scarlet Tower will not be an easy task. Roguelikes are a genre that has recently become even more popular, but this product feels fresh despite not being the first in its genre at all. Maybe for the fabulous graphic style, maybe for the taste of the challenge, maybe for the nostalgic music… There is something incredibly seductive about this work, which manages to make it shine in the multifaceted and multifaceted modern video game market. Pleasantly surprised, I recommend this game to everyone, even to newcomers to the genre. It constitutes a good first introduction to roguelike bullet hells, but watch out for repetitiveness. Take it in small doses, and it will know how to give broad smiles.
Scarlet Tower, The Review: A Pixel-Clad Masterpiece
PRO
- Pixel art among the best ever
- Constant and evolving challenge level
- High longevity
- Atmospheric and nostalgic
- Fun and satisfaction guaranteed
CON
- Repetitive, tends to get tiring in the long term
- The long duration of the levels can be discouraging
- Very chaotic menus and minimal explanations
8.5/10
