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Tower of Time

Tower of Time

Event Horizon · released Apr 12, 2018

IndieRPGStrategyPCPlayStation 4Xbox OneNintendo Switch

A new kind of RPG awaits you. A story-rich dungeon crawler with innovative real-time combat that lets you pause or slow time. Tactical thinking is essential to succeed. Now with RPGlite and Permadeath for fast-paced game.

76
VGC Score
Declininghigh confidence
79%
At launch
82%
Steam all-time
70%
Press
69%
Player sentiment
84%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)707
Creator reviews (1 tracked)970
All-time Steam reviews82%761000
Metacritic user ratings8210
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)84%789
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 26 reviews sampled · 19 total reviews in window · weighted 11.3 up / 2.2 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (25)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 80
    trust 79Jul 6, 2020

    Tower of Time provides a detailed combat system that requires plenty of tactical thinking, so you get good value for money. There are points which could be refined, but as it stands, this is a good game for strategy/RPG fans.

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    trust 78Aug 25, 2020

    Tower of Time is a collection of a poor ideas mixed with a few positive moments. The combat system is really interesting, but it is definitely not enough to keep the player engaged.

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    trust 74May 8, 2018

    Tower of Time is an old school rpg with some interesting new mechanics, but where it lacks is a generic story and monotonous locations.

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    trust 73Apr 25, 2018

    Overall, Tower of Time gets a 6/10. If you’re a fan of atmospheric and slow RPGs you may find some enjoyment in its systems and game design choices. Traversal feels slow and boring, with plenty of fights feeling unrewarding.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 70Jun 25, 2020

    Genre-blending is one of the things I appreciate most in the indie space, at least when it is well-executed...

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 70Sep 13, 2020

    Tower of Time does everything right an RPG in this style should. It feels like a breath of fresh air, and a throwback at the era when PC games where in their heyday, with stellar writing carrying them instead of graphical prowess. The sense of exploration and story interwoven is very good. The sole thing, and it is a big one, is the controls and general port are a mess. Controls should not be this bad, and it drags down an otherwise great title.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 70CreatorJun 4, 2018

    I judge a game based on what it's trying to achieve, and there's no question that Tower of Time achieves what it sets out to do- provide a deep but accessible cRPG experience. It really just nails that.

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    trust 67Jul 8, 2020

    The narrative, while eventually realised, takes some odd turns and because the overarching plot spans 40+ hours and is drip fed to you at regular intervals, the pacing can feel slow and disjointed. The transition from PC to PS4 has not been kind on the menu systems either. It’s during combat, a blend of RTS with time stopping/slowing mechanics, that Tower of Time is most unique, really pushing the player to understand the beasts they’re fighting and how best to strategize against them. If you liked the Baldur’s Gate or Neverwinter Nights games from the 90’s and have been hankering for something similar and traditional yet modernised, Tower of Time delivers just that.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 64Aug 4, 2020

    Looking for a blend of real-time tactics, time manipulation, and walls of text? Tower of Time might be the game for you.

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    trust 63Oct 2, 2020

    I’m glad for the update, because I like the game and I think it’s enjoyable. Now that the bug I encountered appears to be fixed (and assuming that there aren’t more serious ones that I haven’t seen) I’m ready to give my verdict.

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    trust 63Jul 26, 2018

    Tower of Time takes a compelling narrative and blends it with fun role-playing and deep satisfying tactical combat. Event Horizon, the studio behind Tower of Time, has the pulse of their players. They have been patching and balancing continually, taking feedback, and explaining balance adjustments. It’s refreshing to see an earnest desire by an indie studio to improve and polish a game post-launch. This has been one of the most enjoyable indie RPG experiences for me so far this year. This is a game I’d at least like to see on a list of contenders for “Indie RPG of the Year”.

    read full review ↗
  • 77
    trust 63May 6, 2018

    Tower of Time isn’t going to break any new ground and some aspects of it are relatively streamlined, but overall is an enjoyable Dungeon Crawler. Its story is quite engaging, the environments brim with detail, there are lots of stuff to find and combat is well designed, though a tad repetitive in the long run.

    read full review ↗

…and 13 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. Dark Envoy Demo Out Now!
    Feb 4, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  2. Italian language added + Quality of life patch
    Jan 21, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  3. Balancing Hotfix
    Mar 4, 2019
  4. Hotfix 2 + Hotfix 1
    Feb 7, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  5. NEW GAME MODES
    Jan 29, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  6. UPDATE #9 – FRENCH
    Dec 6, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  7. PATCH #8: OPTIMIZE AND SAVE THE PLANET
    Nov 22, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  8. Patch #7 (hotfix)
    Jul 24, 2018
  9. Patch #4 + Russian lang.
    Jun 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  10. Small Hotfix
    May 29, 2018
  11. Patch #4 + Polski jęz.
    May 27, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  12. Small Hotfix
    May 18, 2018
  13. Patch #3 + German lang.
    May 16, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  14. Special Update
    May 11, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  15. Patch #2
    Apr 27, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  16. Hotfix 04/13/2018
    Apr 13, 2018
  17. Linux Update
    Apr 1, 2018
  18. Linux Update
    Apr 1, 2018
  19. Pre-release Update
    Mar 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  20. Pre-release Update
    Mar 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  21. Update incoming
    Mar 9, 2018
  22. Update incoming
    Mar 9, 2018
  23. Update, Pause and Price
    Jan 9, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  24. Update, Pause and Price
    Jan 9, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  25. Hotfix 0.6.1.1281
    Dec 28, 2017
  26. Hotfix 0.6.1.1281
    Dec 28, 2017
  27. Book Two Released
    Dec 20, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  28. Patch Notes Build: 0.5.1.559
    Oct 12, 2017significant · resets scoring window

…and 2 earlier patch announcements.