Yummy Games’ upcoming new title mixes third-person shooter with bullet hell, all powered by Unreal Engine 5. In just thirty minutes of the game, we experienced combat snippets, the intriguing morphing ability of our character, a demanding boss fight, and exciting hints of the sci-fi narrative the game will have. For a game that is on a very tight deadline, there is already much that is thrilling about Yummy Games’ latest project. Yummy Games describes Project Tower as a blend of “intense bullet hell combat with a unique morphing mechanic, enabling players to transform into diverse forms and experience varied perspectives as they navigate through the game. The soliloquy continues: “In a universe threatened by the Hiks, survivors of humanity are prisoners forced to fight in towers as part of Project Tower.” Not much was given away in the latter regarding its influence toward the plot, but the cutscene leading our session gives every indication that it will tell a story involving a bit of testing on the protagonist’s part toward the limitations of the tower AI.
Combats and Gameplay
The environments in Project Tower served as a spectacle on the graphical end, showcasing grotesque structures made up of tentacles and atypical alien phenomena against the contrasting backdrops of desert and tropical biomes. Combat mechanics were pretty usual, but a fresh twist was to have the player roll to safety instead of dashing. The primary weapon was a pistol with unlimited ammunition and light attack projectiles; the reload was seen to be a bit slow. Towards the end, we managed to unlock an assault rifle, but did not get the chance to test it out yet.
Boss Battle Experience
The last moments of the demo threw us into a boss fight reminiscent of the best takes from NIER: Automata. Going up against a colossal alien dinosaur that spits light beams and massive fireballs at me simultaneously was—at the very least—an exhilarating experience. And with the complex bullet patterns in those open spaces, it did remind me a lot of RETURNAL: a strong idea for a game that doesn’t shy away from being grandiose or hard.
Morphing as a Key Mechanic
One of the biggest points of interest in Project Tower is morphing. In our demo, the forms we took were of a slug and a totem. The slug allowed us to morph into it to collect health by slipping through enemies that were also slugs and tight crawlspaces. The totem allowed us to solve environmental puzzles with block movement. It is hard to tell how these mechanics will be used in general bullet hell in the third person. The morphing ability offers a hint of stealth and puzzle-solving aspects, typical enough in the genre of inspiration for now to be extraordinary but promisingly effective.
Final Thoughts
Project Tower has caught our attention in more ways than one as it fuses fast-paced shooter action with bullet hell challenges and the unique morphing mechanic. That little demo was but a glimpse of what can be a gorgeous experience, both visually and mechanically rich. Yummy Games, with a staff of four developers, pours something into Project Tower that is both visually impressive and silky smooth in execution, promising great things. Mystique surrounds the morphing mechanic, and while it hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet, it’s doubtlessly one of the factors that will set this shooter apart from others. The gunplay and enemy bullet patterns call for games with good boss fights along the lines of the latest titles, and the look of this game needs no introduction. The Project Tower demo is set to hit later this month—it’s looking to be a treat for fans of the genre.
Key Highlights:
- Yummy Games announces Project Tower for PC and PlayStation.
- Make your way out of a high-tech tower prison while battling Hik invaders.
- Be thrust into an extra layer of your third-person shooter experience with bullet hell gameplay.
- Solve puzzles by morphing into different forms.
Conclusion
Project Tower is shaping up to become a wild mix between blistering action, bullet hell intricacies, and never-before-seen power to morph into other forms in the genre. We are looking onwards to how Yummy Games is going to keep on pushing and honing this ambitious project, with a planned release sometime in Q3 of 2024.