izigame.me

So, I got Tower Unite back when it released, which was apparently way back in 2016. Wow does the time fly. Meaning I've owned this game for about nine years now, give or take, though I will admit, I stopped playing maybe back in 2019ish? So, I was eager to jump back into the game to see what had changed during those last six years. The answer? Mini game wise, it feels like an archived version of one of those old websites I used to play on, aka preserved exactly how I remember it, which isn't what you want to hear about an early access title. There's no polish here, it's just as clunky as it ever was, and with most of the early player base supporting it because we were led to believe we'd eventually see that polish, this is extremely disappointing. Everything is as amateur in execution as it was from the beginning, and none of what was treated as "skeletons" for better mini games to come have actually been improved on. Literally, if you wanted to know what it was like to play this game back when I was super into it years ago, all you'd need to do is buy a copy and play it now. Well, almost.
Because here's the real kicker, some of the features seem to actually work less now than when I last played the game, something you absolutely do not want to hear about an early access game. The character customization is the most notable. It is completely broken, especially when it comes to workshop models, absolutely refusing to save the one you've selected, which is unfortunate because the default avatars are...let's just say not good. Those, however, were broken too. The game kept struggling to save or display my avatar's hair and eye color even for the default model, which just kept showing up white. In a game about community, one of the last things you want to stop working is your avatar customization. Side note, I was one of the individuals worried the game introducing modding for avatars would be used as an excuse to not improve on the default ones. Here we are years later, and the avatars have not only gone untouched, they're worse. In general, the game really struggled to load the images of items, which caused me to just stare at blank gray blocks for some of them. I was shocked as I didn't remember this being an issue, and if it was, it should have been fixed by now.
The mini games, again, are just as clunky as ever and feel weird to play if you've ever played more fleshed out versions of them (the mini games are quite basic, so you most likely have). Which was fine back in the early days, the creators were finding their footing and developing each as they went, but not after nine years of early access. I honestly should have taken it as a warning sign when they kept adding new mini games, instead of working on the ones they already had, which it felt like so many players were desperately asking them to. I was almost going to write into my review that mini golf was the only worth while mini game, but I found even that isn't true, as a lot of the courses feel designed to be annoying to play, and also go on for way too long. There's difficulty, and then there's just throwing as many corners and walls into my path as possible to the point it becomes tedious. Some courses have cool themes, but, within them, each level felt way too similar to really grab my attention. I'd originally planned to try and play all the courses when it was the only mini game I still actually enjoyed, but I soon found myself way too bored to bother. And no, playing it with friends wouldn't help, as the courses in and of themselves just aren't fun. So, after years of development, I have a multiplayer game stuck in my library I would never choose to play with anyone, even if they happened to have it.
The only thing that is still the same, in a good way, is the condos. I need people who haven't played this game to understand playing around and decorating the condos is so fun, that I legit think if these creators just made a condo building game with fun house designs and the ability to use workshop avatars as models, people would go crazy over it. Ensuring there's just the right amount of customization options for the furniture items and a good variety of designs for the condos is clearly where these creators excel. The layouts for the mini games? Weird combined with clunky controls that makes them annoying to sit through. The layouts for the condos? Extremely nice to work with decoration wise or unique in a super fun way. There is a literal underwater condo with an animated airlock so you can go swim out in the ocean! I felt way more achieved getting the achievement for discovering that after all these years than trying to sit through golf. It's enough to be fun without being too under or overwhelming. The most fun this game has ever truly given me is just goofing off as my favorite characters in the condos, along with decorating them. If this feature ever gets broken, I will legit be so heart broken, as I will definitely visit them again in the future. This is the only reason this game is still in my Steam library.
Yet, with all of that in mind, I just absolutely can not recommend new players spend any money on this, even if they know a friend who owns it. There are so many better multiplayer and party games out there at this point that cover the mini games Tower Unite tried to implement, that this game kind of just can't compete with them anymore. This game really fell short by not being able to actually polish any its features. As I said above, almost everything feels as rushed and shallow as when the game first came out, which is not a good sign. The fact levels were still coming out for mini games back then, yet there's really nothing of note in all this time shocks me. I think a lot of the modern multiplayer and party games out now are great examples of how to succeed. Don't spread yourself too thin, focus on one overarching mechanic or gameplay loop and be really good at it. Tower Unite wanted to be every party game in one, but ultimately failed. Well, unless we count the condos, but as fun as the condos are, it's not worth buying a game that seems to be eternally stuck in early access Hell just for them. Tower Unite feels haunted with potential, but it's become clear we'll likely never reach the finish line with this one.
Edit: The fact this game is supposedly soon coming out of early access despite the issues I've described is extremely disappointing and concerning. And apparently it will still receive updates and such, because the devs still have plans for it. Yeah, it's almost like this isn't a properly polished game and is still very much in early access regardless of how it's labeled.