I wish I had played this when it came out, but for now Tower of Heaven is a worthwhile little game.

Little isn’t a slight, in fact I’d rather the experience be brief than bloated, but I don’t feel like the game lived up to its full conceptual potential. Tower of Heaven left me not exactly wanting more, but wishing it had been. Even the narrative is prototypical and stripped-down to essentials, but it’s justifiably and inextricably tied to the gameplay. Through no real fault of this game’s own, I wasn’t wowed by the conceit; I suppose in the context of the time in which it released it might have been more groundbreaking.

The level-creation suite unlocked upon completion reminded me of a bygone Conman era, when I constantly play flash games and was positively ravenous to make levels. I say bygone, but I did make an entire Super World in Mario Maker 2 within the last couple years. That fire burns within me, but not this day, and maybe not with this game... but it would have at the time.

I think you should give this a shot if you haven’t played it, as I got through it in about a half-hour and since I thought it was good you will too. Obviously.

Thanks to MendelPalace for the recommendation!

Reviewed on Aug 22, 2023


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