Twisted Tower Mashes Up Bioshock With a Hellish Theme Park: Demo Out Now
Atmos Games (Pinstripe, Neversong), together with publisher 3D Realms (Ghostrunner, Bloodless) have now released a PC demo for Twisted Tower. Players take on the role of “Tiny”, a former WWII soldier and plucky Brit, who has to ascend the titular building and rescue his ex-girlfriend from the maniacal Mr. Twister.
Set in a derelict 1950s theme park, Twisted Tower unashamedly wears its Bioshock influences on its sleeve but filters them through horror-centric games such as Five Nights At Freddy’s and American McGee’s Alice.
Presented as a throwback to old-school shooters set in a clockwork vertical nightmare, players get to experience “punchy, bloody gunplay with corrupted fairy-tale mascots,” Atmos Games said.
Critically-Acclaimed Developer
Players with their finger on the pulse of indie games may already be familiar with the critically-acclaimed developer Thomas Brush, aka Atmos Games. His debut title, the melancholy platformer Pinstripe, received glowing reviews, including a stellar 5/5 from TIME.
Brush started as a one-man game dev army, from creating game assets to the score for his previous games by himself. Twisted Tower grew from his solo attempt at making his first 3D game to include a small team, who then landed a publishing deal with 3D Realms (Duke Nukem, Max Payne and other iconic titles).
Bioshock, Except It’s Vertical And Set in an Amusement Park
The malevolent toymaker, Mr. Twister, has promised that the protagonist can win back the love of his life if he can only reach the top of Twisted Tower.
The game marries first-person-shooter mechanics with a creepy atmosphere as players navigate deadly traps and fiendish puzzles on their way up. Along the way, they can also collect and use toy-themed weapons and tools, including a whack-a mole mallet, bubblegum spittin’ chain-gun, and a grappling hook.
The demo gives players a taste of the first section, but the full game will include five distinct areas: an abandoned hotel, murky waterpark, spooky carnival forest, grim fairy-tale castle, and even a creepy clown casino.