I love this game. It really is a primitive version of Dark Souls in the way that you start out as weak and terrified of what's around every corner and you end feeling like a total badass who can take on the world. It's so satisfying to go from getting swatted to death by skeletons in 2 or 3 hits to juking every hit and decimating whatever crosses your path (you will be very used to the protagonists cries of agony by that point though).

The difference between this and Souls though is that Souls stays hard to the end, whereas Shadow Tower will fear you much more than you fear it by the end. The first half of the game it'll feel like a much more slow buildup, you'll want to kill as many enemies as you can to grind yourself up and ensure your survival. If you play the way I did, and grind until most enemies on each floor are dead, conserve your health potions, and hold onto the weapons you really like, you'll end up with a huge arsenal of weapons and magics that will make the end of the game trivial.

That being said, using an online map was essential for me making progress in this game. It would've taken me so much longer to try and draw a map myself or find my own way through all the dark areas with floors that look exactly the same.
Final words: the story is epic, many charming characters, and the bow is massively OP