TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity Switch Review – Climb the Random Tower!

Roguelikes have definitely climbed the gaming ladder over the last 20 years, and it seems like we get new ones just about every week. TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity is a roguelike platformer about climbing a terrifying tower that is constantly changing, and you get to do this as cute little Chibi characters. There are a lot of excellent roguelikes/roguelites out there, so it may be difficult to compete with them all.

So is TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity a new roguelike platformer that will challenge the greatest players? Or is this just another game in the genre? Let’s find out!

The story of TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity is a bit convoluted and silly. Something about the tower calling upon “worthy souls”, and then you arrive on the scene wondering what is going on and why this tower is appearing and calling out to you to, “Want me, love me, till your entire body withers to dust.”

Yeah, I never expect anything storyline-wise from these types of games, but the fact that TOKOYO tries to have a story kind of hurts it, because it honestly does much of nothing with it while also trying to make you care.

There are random conversations with characters as you climb the tower that unfortunately do not add much to the experience, but I guess since everything is really cute, that does not matter.

TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity is a roguelike platformer with some pretty simple, yet kind of weird, controls. For example, you can jump and double-jump, which are the standard platforming thing, but your attack is subject to a “stamina” bar that needs to fill up in order to use. For a roguelike, this is a strange idea for attacking, as you attack is limited to a certain amount of time, and it cannot be reused until the blue bar fills up again.

As is the case for most roguelikes out there, certain items and upgrades become available to you as you as you progress, and as is standard affair in this genre, bosses will also be waiting for you at certain intervals. The bosses are rather fun and varied, and they comes off as bullet-hell experiences where shots are being fired all over the place and you need to dodge them well and find your openings to attack (You can even access boss fights from the lobby after first defeating them). Other enemies are fairly simple, for the most part, except for the fact that the short-timing on your attack bursts can stop at the wrong time if you end up running into multiple dangerous, projectile-wielding enemies. That means you have to use your attack sparingly and wisely, which definitely changes strategy for gameplay.

The platforming mostly feels good, but it does have a stiffness about it. It has a similar connection to mediocre platformers back on the NES and SNES that did not quite have the fluid feel of the better ones out there, like Super Mario World. TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity plays fine, but it is not refined, if that makes sense. Basically what I mean is that it works, but it definitely is lacking in the fluid natural of a top-tier platformer.

At random intervals, you will encounter choices that will affect later areas of the game, which is a nice thing that many roguelikes do to keep gameplay mixed up over time. This helps, but at the end of the day, TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity is not nearly as big of an experience like others out there. This one tends to repeat areas more often, and based on my many hours of play, I definitely saw the same rooms with the same enemy positions dozens and dozens of times.

Aesthetically, the game is fine. It has a nice pixel graphic design that looks good for the most part, but some areas look way more detailed than others. Not only that, but there are plenty of times where enemies blend way too well with the almost identically colored background that they are standing in front of. Also, there are a few points where placeholder text is in the boxes, which means they didn’t translate all the lines in the game. Finally, I did run into a few different bugs that slightly soured the experience, like enemies popping up out of nowhere and error codes randomly stopping my games.

Thankfully things get better with the soundtrack, because TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity has some excellent songs that ramp up the experience even if what is happening on screen isn’t quite as exciting. It says a lot about a solid soundtrack and how it can make or break a game, and for TOKOYO, it definitely helps with the overall experience.

When all is said and done, TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity is hurt by just the sheer amount of excellent roguelikes/roguelites that already exist within the indie market. It is not a bad game itself, but after playing other titles, especially excellent roguelite platformers like ScourgeBringer, this one just feels like it is not at all on the same level, especially when the pricepoint is equal to other giants out there.

If you are looking for a new roguelike experience and are a fan of platforming, then TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity is definitely something worth checking out, especially on a sale. However, if you are seeking a new top-tier roguelike challenge that is going to blow your socks off, then you have plenty of other options on the eShop that excel in ways TOKOYO does not.

TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Playism, Active Gaming Media
Developer: //commentout, Saebashi
Release Date: June 2nd, 2022
Price: $11.99, £8.99, €9,99
Game Size: 230 MB