The Deadly Tower of Monsters

Gameplay

The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a top-down shooter with twin-stick controls and melee combat elements. A jetpack can be used to reach high areas.

Plot

The Deadly Tower of Monsters follows three actors in the movie of the same name. It is inspired by 1950's science fiction movies.

The game's framing device is that of an early 1970s B-movie The Deadly Tower of Monsters recently released on DVD, with the director's commentary of its in-universe director Dan Smith serving as a combination of tutorial and meta-commentary on the game, providing an explanation as to why many default elements of shooters would be in what is ostensibly a film (the player being required to break boxes to obtain items, for example, is taken as the lead actor ad-libbing on Smith's advice to make sure every moment was somewhat exciting). The film itself is a space opera in which astronaut Dick Starspeed (played in-universe by actor Jonathan Digby) being shot down on an alien planet ruled by a tyrannical emperor.

Development

The Deadly Tower of Monsters was announced on 12 June 2015. A trailer was released on 2 December 2015. The game was released on 19 January 2016.

Reception

The Deadly Tower of Monsters received mostly positive reviews. The game has a score of 73/100 on Metacritic. Destructoid awarded it a score of 8 out of 10, saying "The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a fleeting experience, but one that no B-movie fan should go without." PlayStation LifeStyle awarded it 7.5 out of 10, saying "Just like the movies it tries to emulate, the game is so bad with its special effects, dialogue, and set-pieces that it's rather good." Hardcore Gamer awarded it a 4 out of 5 saying "Minor issues aside, The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a pleasant surprise indeed and a particularly impressive budget action game showcasing a lot of creativity."