itch.io

Good work on your improvement. For the leaves, I'd suggest you use hue shifting over simply adding more shades of black to them. What happens when you just lower the value is that the colors wind up looking washed out when you brighten or darken the image. For green, shifting toward blue when darker and yellow when lighter preserves the color information without having that problem. 

Welcome to itch! If you're a fan of old-school ARPGs, you'll like this one. This is Tower of the Immortals, which draws a ton of inspiration from Diablo, A Link to the Past, and Baldur's Gate (both from PC and console). The current build already has hours of content if you decide to play all of it! You can find it here: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/tower-of-the-immortals

I've got an exciting new update to share! The build containing Zone 2, The Steamworks Foundry, is released and ready for play! This build more than doubles the length of the game, adding tons of content to this build and so many new features:

-15 playable stages

-A new playable race

-Enchantable gear

-New spells

-Tons of new enemies

-Some crunchy new chiptunes

-Tons of new NPCs

-Secrets to discover

And so much more!

-------------

For those of you who've played before, I know you won't want to sit through everything again, so I've given you the choice of being able to skip some of the content and start at a later point if you want. And if you haven't played through it before but still want to skip the early stuff, I've included a document with some controls in lieu of the tutorial. I'd love to hear any feedback you guys have to offer - I've taken a lot of past feedback into consideration in this newest build, and several things players have been asking for have been included. My goal is to make sure that everything is as polished as can be before I move on to making Zone 3.

You can download the newest build as well as read the full patch notes here: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/tower-of-the-immortals/devlog/819228/build-v020-c...

Awesome, thank you so much!

Hey, can I please be added to your list? Thanks for doing this for the community!

I loved playing the new demo, and these updates all look really exciting. I can't wait to see the new trailer and clips!

It's amazing how much more fleshed out Mein's quest feels with this new build. I've already played through it with Vicctre, and I gotta say you guys have something special here. I know it'll be a while until Demo 3 is released, but if what I saw is any indication it's going to be worth the wait.

AHHHHHH FINALLY I'm downloading and PLAYING THIS BITCH

Ahhh, the release date is so close!!! I can't wait to play it!

Crazy that this wasn't noticed for so long. But then again, I didn't catch it either lol.

It's so gratifying to see a project come so far and to have the privilege of watching it grow over time. Great job, man - keep up the great work!

Woo, love the update! Can't wait to play the new demo!

This was a neat little experience! I particularly enjoyed the last segment where the other sand worms jumped alongside you to form a whole melody.

"next month" YOOOOOOOO HYPE

I haven't, but looking at the game's synopsis it's probably something I would enjoy playing!

I submitted a form for my action RPG, Tower of the Immortals! It draws a great deal of inspiration from Link to the Past, the original Baldur's Gate games, and Diablo for its gameplay. It's a bit longer for a demo (~1 hour if you're quick), but it is quite fleshed out with the available content. I appreciate you taking the time to review people's games!

I can't wait for the new build!

Hell yeah! Can't wait to see what's next!

While admittedly I'm not a puzzle game person, at the very least I can recognize when a game is well-designed and cleverly thought out. I've known Patashu for a long time and I expected nothing less from the person who has always put their heart and soul into everything they do.

The game starts out simple enough - the tutorial levels are intentionally made easy so as to introduce the player to the game's mechanics and familiarize them with how they can be used to solve the game's varying puzzles. But once you pass the first four stages or so, the difficulty ramps up hard and doesn't let go - if you aren't used to having to plan out your moves well in advance you'll certainly need to here. Some of the puzzles can be fiendishly difficult, and with hundreds of levels to choose from in-game there is no shortage of content to enjoy.

The two robots that you control have different properties, which makes for some interesting interactions as you have to decide how to combine them to solve a particular puzzle. I also thought it was interesting how undoing a move with either Z or C could change exactly how a move was undone - a feature used heavily in many of the puzzles. I did find myself hitting the wrong key several times while playing, but fortunately you can bind controls in case you find the default configuration to be insufficient.

The level editor is a really nice touch, and something that I think will continue to drive engagement and interest in the game well after its launch. Patashu even included some of these fan-made levels in Entwined Time, adding to the game's already substantial content.

I did like how the Insight allowed you to reduce a level's difficulty in case you really get stuck on a particular level - without it I could see a lot of players giving up and quitting. 

And of course, I need to comment on the chiptune track. I had the privilege of listening to Patashu's very first chiptune all the way back in 2012, and since then he's become an accomplished composer in his own right. The music written for this game is quite fitting for the atmosphere, and the use of the VRC6 expansion chip is tasteful and subdued enough not to feel completely in-your-face while you play. I got reminded of some of Shovel Knight's OST while listening to the songs.

All in all, fans of puzzle games will be very pleased with Entwined Time. I doubt anybody who plays this game will be disappointed!

Thank you taking the time to leave a such a comprehensive review, this was incredibly insightful and helpful!

I really appreciate that you liked the way the world was built - this game indeed owes its existence to D&D. I grew up playing the old 2nd and 3rd edition CRPGs, and in some ways this game is a love letter to those games. It even spills over in the design - which is actually simpler than those old games! I think having a Readme file included will help with being able to fully grasp all of the mechanics, on top of the one I put in game. There is a lot here and I did my best to stagger out introducing the mechanics, but there is still room for more improvement.

For feat respecing, you are 100% correct - this is a feature I plan to implement in a future build as it is one that has been requested by several other players. I have found myself also wanting to do this during play. I've also got plans to be able to replay older stages for gold in case you get stuck on a level.

Thanks for the feedback on attacking and combat. So I will admit that right now it feels pretty one-dimensional due to the few stages and low power level starting out. This one is still somewhat of a work in progress and there will be more balancing and tweaking done to how the game plays. Spells are currently a bit underpowered and I plan to address that. 

Combat will also become more strategic as you advance through stages and enemies have more ways to engage with the player - this will definitely be true when the next build is published. Combat animations are the only thing that won't change as all of the armor and weapon animations are tied to it, but I will definitely continue to tweak how you actually engage with enemies in combat. I have several plans to build enemy AI that doesn't reward just luring them out - that does indeed get boring and I don't want that to be the only strategy that works.

I will say in regards to being stuck in place when you attack that there are several ways to increase your attack speed later on. There is a Feat that does this, and starting with the next build of the game you can forge magical gear that will boost it further.

Don't apologize for what was said at all - reviews like these are the ones I value and appreciate the most. I want people to point out things they didn't like - if they didn't, then I would never know what things need to be addressed! 

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to play the game and address so many different points!

Awesome, I'll have to check it out! 

Sure, feel free to add me - just please don't give me more credit than is due. If you'd like, you can DM me and I can show you how I did assignable keybindings for my game. You used a different engine so accomplishing it would be a different technique, but perhaps it will still be of help.

This is incredibly well done for a game made in such a short time. I really enjoyed playing it!

I've been working on the enchanted Forge for a while. It's turning out real good! 

This is for my Action RPG, Tower of the Immortals.

I like how your main character looks!

Honestly, there isn't one specific event that inspired me. I've been playing games since I was very little (late SNES-early N64 days), and it's hard to overstate what an influence they had on me growing up. I would say the games that had the single greatest impact on me as a developer were the original Baldur's Gate series on the computer. I got the first game in late 2002 for Christmas without its expansion, and the others came shortly after. The amount of hours I spent getting lost in the wilderness, rolling and rerolling characters, and trying to discover all of the game's secrets shaped me into the kind of developer I am today.

My first taste of actually making something of my own was building my own server in Neverwinter Nights. This would have been about 2006-2008, and it was there I also learned the basics of how to write code. Getting a taste of making my own world and server made me want more, and from there it eventually led to making my own games with my own rules and assets. I only wish I had started sooner!

I had a friend recommend this game to be due to its thematic and stylistic similarities to my own game. and I've got to say, I wasn't disappointed. This is one of the only games I've played on this website where I kept playing because I wanted to, and not because I felt obligated to leave a review. This is very clearly a love letter to to the Zelda series, and boy does it show.

It's a shame that only the first zone is playable, because I felt wanting after finally visiting every corner of the map and getting (most) of the secrets. However, there are some things I did notice that I think are worth mentioning, but I still found the experience to be very enjoyable overall:

-I felt as though it took far too long to find ways to spend mana. I didn't like that I was constantly collecting it but had nothing to spend it on. I kept revisiting the central area to see if there was something I had missed. If I did, then that's just a skill issue on my end.

-I think the game would benefit from a parry mechanic of some sort, similar to how Link's shield can deflect some attacks. Without it, fighting enemies eventually felt repetitive as killing the involved the same time-and-dodge strategies over and over.

-The minimap itself is good, but I did not like how it was implemented. I saw in your Readme how you changed the minimap to switch sides so that it didn't obscure vision of the player, but I found it to be more distracting than anything. What made the original Zelda's overworld map work so well is that it was a part of the HUD and always remained in the same spot, never interfering with the player's vision. I think the way you have it set up would be better as a stand-alone screen or part of another screen, and a smaller low-resolution version could be placed in a corner of the map.

-Button presses to swim faster would be nice. I would also have liked to have an indication if I could afford to buy something without having to check my inventory every time.

-I can see you're using an object-based collision system. This led to some funny behavior if you walked up against objects like trees or gates, where you would move really fast along the side. This isn't a serious issue or anything, but I felt the need to mention it since it looks like your collision code is structured to how mine was before I completely reworked it.

-You mentioned it in the readme, but yeah keybindings would be a huge plus for this game. I don't have access to your code so I can't say for certain, but I once had the same issue with hardcoded keys and eventually transitioned to making them programmable. It was a pain to do and required changing code in a LOT of places, but the game benefited immensely from the change and my playtesters were very happy with it. I think this will be a bigger issue as your game grows in size and scope. As it stands, I found some of the controls to be kind of clunky and found myself wishing I could remap some of them. An example of this is pressing Tab to activate the minimap; it literally felt like a stretch to press the key when my fingers were centered on Z and X.

-Sector F-9 had some trees in the void.

-This game would likely benefit from having a quest system if you plan on adding a lot more of them in the future.

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention, when finding music for this game you will want to remain constant with what kinds of tracks you use. Some are almost pure chiptune while others are not, and it makes the game feel musically incoherent at times. I'm a chiptune composer myself who is writing my game's OST, so I feel like I've got to say something on this matter. ;)

-------

But most of the above issues were pretty minor. I really look forward to playing the finished version of this game. It definitely needs some polish, but the core loop is just so much fun. I was sad when I finally finishing exploring every part of this world's map. I can't wait for the full release.

You deserve it - it's a really fun game with solid graphics and a lot of personality! I can't wait to see the sequel!

Hello! Honestly, I'm happy just to follow just because you're making a DDR-like rhythm game. I was really into Stepmania back in the day, and seeing that gif you posted brought back a lot of memories.

What I'm working is an Action RPG titled Tower of the Immortals. It draws heavy inspiration from the original Baldur's Gate series for the PC, as well as Diablo. The graphics, perspective, and combat style are inspired by A Link to the Past.

It's a gradual process. I stream development a lot on Discord, and I recently started a Discord server that I regularly post in. My game is still pretty far from being finished, but consistently posting updates and engaging with other people has helped build a small fanbase that grows over time.

I have had the privilege of watching the development of this game almost since the beginning. It's really incredible watching how far this game has come, and I can honestly say that it was a blast being able to play it.

This game derives its inspiration from Metal Storm, one of the many obscure gems of the NES released long ago that never quite got the attention it deserved. Gravity Storm derives its mechanic from this game to create different puzzles and challenges that keep the gameplay fresh.

I played the game on Hard mode, and my impression is that the challenge felt a bit uneven at points - many places didn't feel harder than Normal, while a few sections were definitely a bit challenging. I think this mode could have benefited from things like enhanced enemy AI as opposed to just more damage. But I didn't just blast through the levels - there was some solid coordination between controls required to succeed, which made for a fun challenge.

This game sits at a solid 4.5 stars - the only thing that holds it back from a full 5 stars for me are some minor details like an occasional typo, a few sprites that feel unfinished (such as the explosion animations), the single music track that plays in all the levels, and the short length. I do think that the gravity mechanic could have been utilized just a bit more - think zones where gravity changes/reduces, or enemies that use gravity switching as a mechanic as well for more challenge. But these are quite minor overall - Gravity Storm is an awesome game that I would definitely recommend to other people. I know Jampley is making a sequel, and I can't wait to see what comes out of that.

It's good to see you again! I think you were the first person to play the demo when it was first released - I hope you've enjoyed all the changes made to the game since you first played it over a year ago! I'll address each point you have made:

-Thanks for noting the Healing Touch bug - I'll be sure to fix that. I added that scroll in last-minute, and that's 100% on me for not testing it properly.

-Yep, that was the intended behavior with the store vendor.

-Yes, I increased the boss' defense to provide more of a challenge. This was made after I added in Feats, racial bonuses, and additional spells - the boss got much easier over time as a result. She has 6 armor now, so doing more than 1 HP of damage requires at least 8 Attack (8-6 = 2). Spells are decently effective against the boss - I've found from other playtesters that they usually either get most of the spells or a powerful sword.

-Thanks for the feedback on the parry mechanic. I've privately had some of these same thoughts, and seeing you write them out makes me realize that the current implementation is not the best way to do it. I'll probably drop the defense requirement and make it block all projectiles for now. It also blocks sword attacks as well, and I can possibly add a Feat that enables shields to block those too, or just keep the behavior as-is for now. But the important thing is to make sure that the player understands what to expect when they parry, and the way I've got it set up doesn't accomplish that.

Thanks again for your feedback - this really helps a lot!

I've been working on a new level for my game. Here's a sneak peak of what it looks like.

Time for a new update! The full demo build of Tower of the Immortals is RELEASED! I've changed the name from its previous title to avoid any confusion over the genre of this game. This game now looks like everything I wanted it to be - it has all of the features, music, and artwork I wanted the demo to have before I could finally move on to making new content. 

With this demo, I've updated my entire page, filling it with new screenshots, artwork, and a new showcase video with all of the game's new features. Some of the big additions to this game include:

-A new, ominous battle theme for the final stage before the boss fight

-Many redrawn sprites and corrected artwork

-A way to revisit and review all of the game's mechanics within your Character Menu

-A death counter to the game

-A recap of your progress when you save and load a game

-Your gold always displays when you are in a shop now

-Full implementation of colorblind mode

-Tons of sprite fixes and QoL improvements

-----------------

This is the point where feedback is crucial - I want to make sure that the game is as fun as possible for everybody who plays it, so your thoughts and comments will make a huge difference!

You can download the final demo build here: https://bynary-fission.itch.io/tower-of-the-immortals

Fixing bugs is frequently a pain, so it must feel real good to finally squash them. Keep up the good work!

Looks like your game is really shaping up into something good - keep up the good work!

Wow, this is an amazing review! Thanks for taking all the time to offer your thoughts (both good and bad!). The things you've mentioned that need improvement have absolutely been noted, and I'll be taking into great consideration all of these factors for future stages as well as any rebalancing that existing stages need.

Wow, you have a lot of talent. Well done!