Some games catch me completely off guard. I tend to plan about three weeks ahead of time, so I always know what’s ahead in case a week gets a bit too hectic. That planning helps me avoid scrambling to find something to play and ensures consistency. Sometimes, a game doesn’t take me as long to beat as I expected it would, or I end up experiencing enough of a game that I feel comfortable with making a recommendation — as was the case with DemonCrawl.
With some unexpected free time after reviewing DemonCrawl, I poked into Apple Arcade to see if anything caught my eye. Towaga: Among Shadows did, almost instantly. The game caught my eye and didn’t let go until sheer exhaustion overwhelmed me and I fell asleep. Continuing to play was the first thing I did as soon as I woke up. I had that much fun with the game.
Towaga: Among Shadows looks and plays like a Saturday Morning cartoon. Visually, the game is a colorful affair with blasts of light ripping through hordes of shadowy minions, all set within mysterious-looking jungle environments. The gameplay is non-stop action. Players take control of the hero, the Lightbearer, and are tasked with cleansing the land of the shadowy forces that threaten to overrun it.
As the Lightbearer, players are placed in centralized locations to defend while shadowy creatures pour in. Living up to his moniker, the Lightbearer can unleash an endless beam of light that shreds those creatures apart. Controlling the beams is as simple as rotating your thumb around a digital control stick in the lower right of the screen. Enemies sundered by the beam burst apart with a satisfying pop and a kick from the phone’s vibration that was tactilely pleasing.
Each level is pure chaos. Monsters pour in from the flanks and from up in the sky. Players have very little time to respond to each threat as it materializes in a shadowy flourish. The battles, thankfully, only last a few minutes, any longer and the game would be almost too stressful. Luckily, each level felt like just the right difficulty for how long I’d been playing and how much I’d upgraded the Lightbearer.
Upgrades can affect the Lightbearer’s health, beam size/strength, mana and ability strength. Only one secondary ability can be taken into battle at a time, so players will need to put some thought into what ability suits their playstyle the most, if they elect to spend their earned currency on ability upgrades.
The secondary abilities range from a blast of wind that repels enemies, to vampiric powers that steal life from enemies nearby. Each secondary ability has its uses, and part of the appeal of the game is that it allows players to choose an option that suits their playstyle or what they think will work best in specific levels.
If the story feels too easy at first, an end-game challenge opens up that cranks up the difficulty. I was feeling pretty confident in my skills by the end of the game, so I gave the end-game content a shot….I was wiped out in moments. It’s tough and I could easily see players who enjoy grinding for skill points and abilities getting some mileage out of that content.
My experience with Towaga: Among Shadows was one of the best I’ve had so far on Apple Arcade. It’s right up there with Grindstone as being one of the best games I’ve played on my iPhone. My only issue with the game is that, occasionally, there are levels where the Lightbearer elevates and flies through the night sky. These segments only happened a few times during the story, but they felt a bit clunky and boring. I was able to kite the hordes of flying enemies around in large loops, blasting them to bits as they tried to keep up. The flying levels diminished the consistently exciting experience the rest of the game was.
Towaga: Among Shadows is an easy recommendation for me to make. It’s got action and character-building options that let you tweak your Lightbearer to be the hero you need him to be. The gameplay is smooth and satisfying to experience. The story is surprisingly deep, with artifacts found revealing the back story to the mysterious culture — but the story aspect is easily skippable for players who wish to jump right into blasting apart monsters with the power of the sun.
Don’t let Towaga: Among Shadows slip by.
This game was reviewed using an Apple Arcade subscription that is maintained by Epic Brew.
