• Publisher: Atlus
  • Release Date: Jan 19, 2016
  • Also On: PC
The Deadly Tower of Monsters Image
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 101 Ratings

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  • Summary: Fire up your ray guns, crystal swords, and laser whips, and get ready for thrills and chills! With three incredible movie stars playing out decidedly B-level sci-fi exploits, Dick Starspeed, Scarlet Nova, and Robot will have you ready to jump off the side of the tower--right into adventure!

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The Deadly Tower of Monsters - Announcement Trailer
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Jan 19, 2016
    90
    Deadly Tower of Monsters hands you a lot of love in a single package, giving gaming and movie fans plenty of reason for more than one showing.
  2. 90
    It’s not a very long game at all; I’d clocked it in about seven hours, but those are the best, most entertaining seven hours I’ve had with the PlayStation 4 controller in my hands for a very long time.
  3. Jan 22, 2016
    80
    This is a great surprise, a game that within its simplicity, manages to be fun and never gets boring. What else can we ask for?
  4. Feb 11, 2016
    80
    Despite being short and not too challenging, TDToM is a wonderful tribute to the sci-fi movies of the '50s. The gameplay is a nice mix of hack'n'slash, dual stick shooting and platform, fun and enough varied to keep you entertained.
  5. 75
    Fans of cult sci-fi films and/or Mystery Science Theater 3000 will get quite the kick out of The Deadly Tower of Monsters.
  6. Jan 19, 2016
    63
    I commend ACE Team for trying to come up with something that’s authentic and clever. But the developer only got The Deadly Tower of Monsters halfway right. The excellent premise and likeable characters outshine the streamlined gameplay.
  7. Jan 20, 2016
    50
    B-movie by name and B-movie by nature, but there’s still enjoyment to be had with the endearingly rubbish enemies and fun but vapid combat.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 19
  2. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. Mar 19, 2022
    10
    What a surprise this was, bought on sale never expected it to get me hooked, more like this please.
  2. Jan 4, 2018
    10
    I play videogames to have fun, and oh boy, I had it here.
    Great gameplay, story, commentaries, graphics.
    Something different from the
    I play videogames to have fun, and oh boy, I had it here.
    Great gameplay, story, commentaries, graphics.
    Something different from the repetitive AAA game experiences, and way better.
    Easy to platinum if you put the effort, and if the game grab your attention on the first 15 minutes, you probably will.
    Great cost value, and you can get it at a discount price as it goes on sale from time to time,
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  3. May 5, 2016
    8
    A game destined to be a cult smash if one ever existed, The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a game that feels truly unique. Even outside of itsA game destined to be a cult smash if one ever existed, The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a game that feels truly unique. Even outside of its brilliant concept of having a director narrate the titular "film" through DVD commentary as you play, the gameplay in TDToM is nothing to scoff at.

    When I say this game feels unique, I mean it. While it's fairly easy to trace its Metroid-like style of progression design, or twin stick shooter / Gauntlet inspired combat mechanics, the real star of this game is the tower it gets its namesake from. The level design here is outright incredible. The verticality of this game's design is fully realized, and after 20+ years of playing video games, I've yet to see anything else like it. As you inch your way to the top of this tower, jumping off and freefalling while shooting enemies and collectible targets, flying through rings, or trying to spot your landing on a secret area that you've found, you'll know you're playing something special. The sense of progression and the refreshing take on level design here are absolutely spectacular. Progression is always made interesting, thanks to being able to switch between 3 different characters with specific powers and usages, and the tower itself remains just dense enough to explore while never feeling too daunting. In terms of level design, I don't think TDToM could have done much better than it did. It's that good.

    The technical aspects of the game are truly a mixed bag. While the character models here come off as something that could have been accomplished well before last gen, the environments, animations, and draw distance (despite some stuttering and pop-in during long freefall sections) are all very impressive. This is to mention nothing of the way the game really tries (and succeeds) to sell itself as a B-movie. Larger monsters and dinosaurs will stutter as if they're convincingly stop-animated. You can see the seams in certain enemy costumes, what with giant squids with human feet sticking out of their costumes, or Gorn-like lizard enemies with masks that don't exactly match the color of their costumes. The game is committed in presenting itself as a B-movie, and it really works.

    Then there's the variety of enemies, taken and recreated from decades of B-movie history. You'll face off against, Flea Men, Nukular Ants, Invisible Men, dog monsters made up of vacuum costumes covered in Christmas lights, walking brains, alien creatures, ape men, a number of different dinosaurs, etc. The enemy list here is extensive, to be sure, and even though most don't require wildly different tactics to take down, they still fit into the game's progression perfectly, on top of being as lovingly designed as they are.

    The weapons you unlock are just as fun as the enemy designs. From electrified whips, to lightsabers, to even something as distinctly goofy and B-movie as a variety of different ray guns, the loadout here is a blast to play around with. While not quite the size of the loadout in something like the Ratchet & Clank games, and while you're likely to find two or three weapons from both the melee and ranged categories to focus on for most of the game, the rest of the weapons you discover throughout are always worth trying out, and are fun enough to not make it feel like a chore to do so.

    While the narrative here is definitely wholly unique and remains pretty interesting throughout, even if just to see what the director character has to say about what's going on (and make no mistake, this is an incredibly entertaining narrator), the ending of the game feels weak. Not to spoil anything, but during the last chapter, the game starts to kind of lose its aim. While the ending section is just as weird and intriguing as the rest of the game, it ends on a note that isn't exactly satisfying.

    When all is said and done, The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a short game (clocking in at around 7 hours for completionists) that manages to do a lot of unique, fun, and interesting things. I believe "unique" is the key word in its equation though. Thanks to the stunning sense of verticality, its intricate and compelling level design, and lovingly designed world and monsters, I still haven't played anything quite like this. This is the best homage to schlocky B-movies since Zombies Ate My Neighbors or Destroy All Humans!. It really is that good, and is only brought down by very minor technical aspects and an ending that doesn't exactly feel as realized as it should. That said, everything beforehand absolutely did feel fully realized, and I'd have no problem recommending this to anyone that is remotely interested in this concept. While certainly not a perfect game, it's by all means a great one.
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  4. Mar 13, 2017
    7
    The Deadly Tower of monster è un capolavoro dei giochi satirici.
    Dal punto di vista della comicità e della satira è eccelso.
    Dal punto di
    The Deadly Tower of monster è un capolavoro dei giochi satirici.
    Dal punto di vista della comicità e della satira è eccelso.
    Dal punto di vista del gameplay ha invece parecchie pecche.
    nel complesso un tutto sommato discreto 73/100.
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  5. Nov 3, 2016
    7
    The draw of The Deadly Tower of Monsters is the authentically B-movie level effects, including jerky claymation dinosaurs and bats flying onThe draw of The Deadly Tower of Monsters is the authentically B-movie level effects, including jerky claymation dinosaurs and bats flying on visible strings. The actual game play is standard top down shooter stuff with some minor platforming. Behind the entire games runs an audio track from the "director" of the B-movie. One can imagine a more engrossing experience but this is a budget title with budget expectations. Given that, it's pretty clever stuff, with each death being commented on as a deleted scene made to confuse the press, an obvious mistake, or the unfortunate death of the original lead actor. It reminds me a little of Call of Juarez: Gunglsinger, except that game was a budget title FPS. The addition of a weapon and ability upgrade system in Deadly Tower of Monsters seem entirely unnecessary given the game's length and scope. All in all, it is a brisk arcade experience with some humor and neat ideas. Seeing as it's the November freebie for PS Plus members, I recommend trying it. Expand
  6. Nel
    Jun 29, 2017
    7
    A diamond in the dust to say. It has some nice mechanics to it, and it feels very fun to play, it's kinda like an rpg shooter where you climbA diamond in the dust to say. It has some nice mechanics to it, and it feels very fun to play, it's kinda like an rpg shooter where you climb a tower and pick up upgrades for your weapons along the way. The game doesn't take itself in a serious way, which makes for some hilarious moments on the way to the top Expand
  7. Nov 24, 2016
    4
    The B-Movie VHS style presentation helps make The Deadly Tower of Monsters more interesting than it may otherwise have been but it is stillThe B-Movie VHS style presentation helps make The Deadly Tower of Monsters more interesting than it may otherwise have been but it is still not enough to make up for the rather mediocre, and repetitive, gameplay. Expand

See all 19 User Reviews