Dick Starspeed… Dick Starspeed is the name of the main character. Do I really need to keep doing this review? If games were based solely on character names, this would be a solid 10! But alas, they are not, so I’ll digress and continue my review…

The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a PC and PS4 game developed by ACE Team and Atlus. Very reminiscent of 70s sci-fi movies, you are put in the shoes of Dick Starspeed (or his counterpart, Scarlett Nova) to venture through the movie making process. Narrated by the “actor” himself, it’s comical, interesting, and has a story telling formula that is very intriguing.

Star Villains

Like its name suggests, the game itself is a third person tower climb. As you scale the tower, you fight monsters from the movie that you are starring in. This includes, but is not limited to Squidmen, Apemen, Green Plant Monsters, and Flying Eyeballs. You also collect ranged and melee weapons that are upgradeable by collecting Cogs. Cogs are used at power-up stations around the tower to change the strength and appearance of the weapons.

The Leading Man

Dick also unlocks special powers, including “Force Push” (ala Luke Skywalker), an energy barrier that can reflect projectiles, and teleportation, an ability that can stop you from plummeting to your death. What’s awesome about these powers is that they aren’t overpowering but still manage to be super helpful in a lot of situations. I think what makes them so balanced is that they do minimal to no damage. The push simply knocks enemies back to give you enough room to react and the land mines are normally used to move blocks that are in your way. Nothing really makes you unstoppable, which is refreshing.

Too Many Dick Jokes

The whole game is narrated in the style of an actor/director explaining the scene, monsters, and effects. This lends a lot of comedy to the game, which I thought may make the game annoying after a while, but it is often broken up by lengths of silence that allows you to just play. Without these minutes of respite, all the narration would be overwhelming, breaking concentration and leading to a less immersive game.

Control Freaky

The play of a game often comes down to its controls. Now, I have only played the PC version and for that the controls are a little…flakey. The turning wasn’t as responsive as I would have liked, which is important because it points you toward your enemies, but this is aided a bit by an auto aim system. As long as you are pointed toward your foe, your ranged attacks will hit. There are also some points of the game where enemies come from below because, you know, you are on a tower. You can press the “F” key near a ledge to target below you, but you have to almost fall off the tower for this to work. There were times where I was overwhelmed because the aim down function just wouldn’t initiate. This wouldn’t be such a big problem if enemy attacks didn’t come through the floor. As a result, there is less time to attack and more time to get hit.

And The Golden Globe Goes To…

Control issues aside, The Deadly Tower of Monster is a cleverly told game good for the casual player. It is especially impressive given that it was partially developed by a team known best for mods. If you are looking for a laugh, solid gameplay and not a ton of dedication, pick this up and give it a try.

Written by: Greg