Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Review – Stunning Style, Uneven Flow

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Review

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is an interesting take on the roguelite formula that blends standard Hades-esque gameplay with life sim elements. It features a sprawling hub area that evolves over time, choices that impact the story, and lots of minigames.

Though the main focus is definitely on the rich and fast-paced battle system, this title is unexpectedly narrative-driven. This works in its favor most of the time. However, it can be very frustrating when actually playing the game means missing out on optional scenes.

Shinju Village sits at the base of a grand tree, named for the god that dwells there. For a long time, the village, its deity, and its guardian Towa have lived in peace. However, when the malicious god Magatsu and his creations lay siege to the land, Towa is forced into battle.

To aid her, Shinju reaches through time to summon eight warriors from different eras. Together, the nine battle the malicious Magaori that are draining the life from the land. Towa’s blessings allow her to turn back time when her allies fall. But such a power comes at a terrible price…

It’s the Circle of Life

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is a roguelite in the style of Hades with a slight twist. This game puts you in control of two characters at once. The Tsurugi is a melee fighter with a sword and the Kagura is a magical fighter who backs them up. You can control the Kagura separately if you want, but it’s easier to let them follow behind the Tsurugi automatically. You can mix and match characters to find your favorite combinations. Combat is slick and fluid no matter what, though it’s very heavy on dodging.

Each character has a specific fighting style and preferred elements. You can change or enhance their abilities throughout a run as you gather various power-ups. Some combinations work better than others, but they each have unique scenes you can view as you progress through each randomly-generated Journey.

This title has a very charming art style. The visual presentation draws heavily on traditional Japanese art, and the character designs are a nice mix between modern and antique aesthetics. On a related note, the game also has a very interesting atmosphere. The focus on the passage of time means most NPCs have multiple designs at different life stages. Each biome you fight through has a unique atmosphere to it. And the slow expansion of the village creates a strong sense of progression.

The town gradually changes over time. NPCs grow older, shops develop, and various subplots rise up and are solved. Only Towa remains unchanging, and as time passes her by, her immortality clearly troubles her. The inevitability of death and the impact people leave on each other and their community is a central theme.

There’s unique dialog for each combination of characters. It’s nice to explore different pieces of their personalities and their relationships with each other. And the game features both Japanese and English voice acting from a pretty solid voice cast.

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is a Fascinating Narrative-Driven Roguelite

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree has story campaigns that are split into two sections. First, you must clear Journeys beginning in Mayoiga to retrieve Towa’s friends. Once you’ve finished a Journey with a character as Kagura, they will be sent back to the village. Characters in the village, including Towa, can be chosen for a different selection of Journeys.

It’s tricky to balance each campaign’s roster. I found myself keeping Shigin in Mayoiga because I was good at using him. He was very useful for getting other characters back to the village.

In the village, Towa can interact with villagers, buy food, construct and customize buildings, and forge swords. The game’s blacksmithing system is a surprisingly in-depth recreation of traditional Japanese sword-forging. And there’s a lot of room to customize your weapons.

In battle, the Tsurugi swaps between two blades during combat. Each can only take so many hits before its durability is used up. To keep both blades useable, you must switch on the fly.

As expected of a roguelite, this game is pretty difficult. Bosses will wreck your health bar quickly, so it’s best to focus on dodging. You can choose which aspects of each character to buff. I tested out a bunch of different builds for different characters, but all of them got extra dashes. Being able to sprint away from arena-sweeping boss attacks is that important.

What’s With the Pacing?

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is pretty slow-paced for a roguelite. Slice of life events appear whenever you finish a run, victoriously or otherwise. They are missable, but the game provides icons to make sure you’re aware you have unseen events.

That said, it takes a while for the game to reveal all of its mechanics and features. This means the early game is a bit of a slog. The game is difficult, but it features a lot of ways to mitigate the challenge if you aren’t having fun.

Also, the visual and audio presentation are lovely. However, there are a lot of lengthy, meandering cutscenes and dialogs that feel like they should be in a title with slower-paced gameplay. The clash between high-octane combat and lengthy dialogs can give you whiplash.

The artbook and soundtrack are only available within the game engine, not as separate programs. I know that’s a deal breaker for some people, so please keep it in mind.

All in all, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is a fun roguelite with a gorgeous presentation, especially for its price tag. It looks great and feels great to play. However, the incredibly lengthy cutscenes you have to sit through between runs lest they disappear forever can feel really annoying. The writing is good, but the pacing is off.

***Steam code provided by the publisher***