TowerFall Ascension
Rating Summary
Based on 35 critic reviews
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
TowerFall is certainly a very good local multiplayer game that a group of friends can enjoy night after night, honing their skills with the virtual bow and arrow. So it’s difficult then to say the rest of the game, and the price, lets it down. But it does.
TowerFall Ascension is a highly recommended game for those looking for another frantic local multiplayer experience to add to their collection.
Before putting the ribbon on things, there's a question of value on the table. Without online multiplayer of any sort, every PS4 owner with but one controller will be spending quite a bit of money to enjoy the majority of 'TowerFall Ascension's' value. Two controllers nets you the best of the Quest mode, while four controllers (and three willing friends) nets you the best of the multiplayer offerings. With one controller, you're basically a crab at a seahorse party. Make of that what you will.
While many new arcade games are built for spectatorship, they can be a little unwelcoming, full of secrets favouring someone who has survived a few rounds. That applies to most videogames, after all, but Smash Bros. found a middle ground, with enough combos and generally good ideas to feel rewarding, but none that can consistently overcome a monkey wrench. TowerFall Ascension, then, is the new arcade's Smash Bros.: an answer to a new genre that may be more alienating than it realizes, despite its inclusive agenda.
The absence of online multiplayer makes this already niche title a hard sell to anyone that doesn't have a bunch of hardcore gamer buddies dropping by often. The quest mode isn't fun when attempted alone either.
TowerFall harkens back to the day when you could play a game like GoldenEye 007, when the person next to you got punched in the shoulder for besting you. This is a game with plenty of laughing and pointing at the screen. TowerFall is not deep in options or features, but the frentic gameplay makes for a surprisingly fun time with your friends and family.
A great local party game, it is a damn shame that there is no online mode for this. If you regularly have company this is a must have title and you wont regret picking it up. With a simple pick up and play game style pretty much anyone can have a go of Towerfall Ascension and have a good time. The overall presentation, music and graphics are charming and once you start playing even on your own this is a hard game not to like. However a bit more in game content would have been appreciated, as would the inclusion at the very least of some versus bots. Regardless, there is potentially endless fun to be had here amongst friends so Towerfall Ascension gets a well deserved 8.0 out of ten.
I wasn't expecting much from the single player campaign, but Matt Makes Games has done a terrific job of retrofitting AI enemies that perfectly complement the game's fantasy art style and existing mechanics.
The competitive game at the heart of Towerfall Ascension is still the main event, so if you don't have extra controllers and friends you'll probably want to pass. That said, it's nice that there's something fun to do with the game even when you're on your own. It's not enough to recommend the game entirely as a solo experience, but I still had a ton of fun with it and see myself going back for more, even if no one is around.
If you already have a regular get together, and you own a PS4 and a handful of controllers then you should definitely consider grabbing this to add to your group's schedule.



















