A B-Movie Classic – The Deadly Tower of Monsters Review

When Chile developer ACE Team announces a new game, you know you’re in for a unique treat. This is exactly what you get with their latest title, The Deadly Tower of Monsters, a top-down twin-stick shooter adventure that pays homage to the classic 1970 Science Fiction movie, where the special effects looked horrible and the acting was just as bad.

In fact the homage factor actually is taken a step further in Deadly Tower as the game is played out like a DVD commentary. In the game, The Deadly Tower of Monsters is actually a movie Science Fiction “Masterpiece” from egotistical director Dan Smith, who has been brought in to record commentary for the DVD re-release of his movie.

The game has you in the role of Dick Starspeed, played by the fictional Jonathon Digby, who crash lands on an alien planet which is ruled by an evil emperor who built a giant tower filled with monsters. Dick along with his two companions, the emperor’s daughter and his trusty Robot, must climb the tower to save the inhabitants of the world.

As the player climbs “The Deadly Tower of Monsters!” they encounter a series of B-Movie class monsters including stop motion dinosaurs that breathe fire, Nuclear Ants, Stunt-men in space suits, hand drawn neon monsters, and Crocodile Spacemen who look like they’re floating but are really being lifted by a string.

To combat these creatures, the player is given a variety of weapons, which are household items masterfully redesigned as sci-fi weapons, like a shaver which is actually a laser shotgun, or a water-gun that acts as a flamethrower, or a… personal massage item… which is used as a machine gun.

Players are also given access to a small variety of special powers, which are used to help in battle or used to enter secret areas. These powers require a cooldown timer, but during my time playing the game I hardly used the additional powers unless it was to needed to enter the next area which would be locked until gathering the item. These items are purposely made to promote going back through the tower to find additional secrets and Cogs to upgrade your various weapons.

This is also where The Deadly Tower of Monsters has its biggest drawback. The game has a lack of replay value, there are no benefits of beating the game with the different characters, and there is no New Game + to start you back with the weapons and power-ups you’ve unlocked. The game is also relatively short and takes about 4-5 hours to complete, however this does keep the comedy and the game’s aesthetic from becoming a gimmick and tiring.

Overall, The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a fun romp and would feel at home for fans of shows like Mystery Science Theater, or classic B-Movies that are so bad that they’re good. With solid gameplay, and some great 4-wall breaking comedy, you may find yourself climbing the tower after some time has passed.