In its early days, Towers of Aghasba borrowed more elements from the ubiquitous survival genre, but after Dreamlit Games CEO Khang Le was introduced to Animal Crossing, the team decided to steer its debut project in a different direction. This led to it becoming an open-world sandbox builder that readily accommodates players who aren’t searching for a “hardcore” experience.
Minecraft, Shadow of the Colossus, and the Studio Ghibli film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind were also mentioned as sources of inspiration for the game, which emphasizes freedom of exploration and construction while boasting a distinct art style that eschews traditional Western fantasy tropes for a more tribal aesthetic that draws from ancient African and Aztec cultures.
Towers of Aghasba revolves around the Shimu people who, after being exiled from their homelands by an evil force known as the Withered, return in an attempt to reclaim it.
As a junior architect, you must not only physically defeat the invaders but also plant Colossal Seeds that help restore the flora and fauna which provide vital resources.
Khang enthusiastically talked about three main gameplay pillars during a recent press event that we attended, the first of which focuses on not only restoring and growing ecosystems but also nurturing them.
You have complete freedom as to where you place Colossal Seeds across the game’s handcrafted island, which was described as “quite vast.”
The biome you pick – temperate, tropical, or arid – determines what type of flora, fauna, and village you can access.
Once the flora and fauna return, you can interact with different creatures and plants in a variety of ways, from speeding up the growth of seeds using fertilizers to helping and feeding animals or hunting and fishing.
Balancing growth with hunting and harvesting is a key aspect. Although overdoing the latter two won’t punish you or bring up a game over screen, it will slow your progress.
As the Colossal Trees grow, the environment becomes richer, welcoming bigger creatures, some of which you can climb to harvest specific materials required for the second gameplay pillar.
Building and decorating villages is a big part of Towers of Aghasba, which launches in early access with three different village types – citadel, farming, and mining – that can house more than 50 types of buildings.
They include crafting stations, structures that convert materials, and hundreds of decorations that help you apply a personal touch to your new home(s) by constructing gardens, parks, shrines, temples, and more.
Khang admits that, early on, Towers is “a bit hand-holdy” in an effort to familiarize players with the wealth of systems at play, but it shouldn’t be too long before relinquishing full control over how you approach reclaiming the island.
Exploration and discovery make up the third gameplay pillar, and Zelda: Breath of the Wild fans will be glad to hear that you can “pretty much climb anywhere.”
While moving across biomes, whimsy is drowned out by corrupted portions of land inhabited by the Withered. Aside from being dangerous, these zones also forbid growing or building anything while gating progress.
Initialy, they cover around 70% of the island, the developer notes. You’ll inevitably need to craft the proper equipment and take the fight to the Withered, but even as you push them back, completely removing enemies from the island won’t be possible, so there’s always something to look out for.
According to Khang, “video games are a difficult vehicle to tell stories,” due to how narrative and gameplay “are not always congruent.”
Towers of Aghasba focuses on discovering events from the island’s past while organically exploring, encouraging us to use our imagination while piecing together the story. The game’s narrative is not “an earth-shattering saving the world” affair but rather “ironic, poignant, quirky.”
The early access launch is “purely just the first chapter,” according to Khang. The team at Dreamlit Games hopes it can “expand on the lore and history in subsequent updates” while further fleshing out gameplay.
Whether alone or alongside up to three other players, we’ll be able to help the Shimu people reclaim their homelands on November 19, 2024, when Towers of Aghasba launches in early access on PC and PS5 for the price of $29.99 or your regional equivalent.
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