Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview

Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview
Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview

Despite the issues that can arise from a title in Early Access, Towers of Aghasba shows great promise and creativity. It may align itself amongst a bevy of survival and crafting titles but the bones of its delightful world could serve to be a worthwhile playground.

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Crafting games are often only limited by the creativity of players and the flexibility of developers. At some point, Minecraft was no longer just Mojang’s creation and instead a product of the millions of creatives who unlocked its potential. I see players who have farmed in Stardew Valley as long as hardcore raiders in World of Warcraft.

A sense of unbridled freedom is a big ask, especially when a community is so eager and quick to break the boundaries of a world. No Man’s Sky was meant to be an unfathomably expansive universe. And while years of updates have built it into such, Hello Games’ ambition still proved that innumerable worlds to explore had limitations. And lately the genre of “cozy” games has become more of a mood, bleeding into a variety of concepts.

At first glance, Towers of Aghasba from Dreamlit inc. looks to instill a grandeur, a leviathan scope hinting at boundless possibility.

I mean, take a look at this breathtaking launch trailer:

Notes of Shadows of the Colossus. Echoes of Breath of the Wild. But its world is distinct, animalistic, weird. Many would watch that trailer and not only miss Towers of Aghasba‘s genre but the fact that it is launching into Early Access on both PC and PlayStation 5.

Unsurprisingly–and knowing those details–that splendor seen in the trailer is not immediately granted to the player. As with many survival and crafting games, the locomotion towards heightened pleasures is infrequently steady, often detouring into resource gathering, countdowns, and a bevy of mechanics and checklists.

But, most importantly, Towers of Aghasba is not feature complete and likely won’t be for quite some time. And despite being in an “unfinished” state, initial impressions have revealed a game ripe with vibes. It certainly makes a case for its own existence, especially in a crowded ecosystem and exists in a current state where issues are likely to be stamped out by both Dreamlit and a community eager to inject worthwhile feedback.

Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview

The premise is relatively simple, telling the journey of the Shimu people journeying back to their ancestral land of Aghasba after their current home has been ravaged by a terrible force. The ship carrying the survivors has crashed on the shore and it’s in the control of the player to slowly establish the Shimu presence while avoiding the corrupted Withered that seem to be plaguing the land.

Over the course of its initial hours, Dreamlit works to make the small community of Shimu exude personality through their unique spoken language and exaggerated characters. As a first task, the player must go to the Shimu’s wrecked ship and collect essential supplies. From there they can speak directly to everyone at the camp and each member has at least one or two lines of dialog to offer the player. While it’s not much, it provides the sense that Towers of Aghasba is aiming for a narrative structure that gives purpose to the gameplay. And then players will meet the cocky Shimu engineer who takes credit for the hard work of the player, or Pawel, the extremely enthusiastic youth with ridiculous facial expressions who is thrilled at all the player accomplishes.

It was strange to find myself mystified with laughter at a crafting game but it’s unquestionably smart to put moments like this front and center for players. It would be easy for a small team like Dreamlit to use only text or sparingly have NPCs speak. But not only are the initial quests given by a variety of archetypes, they are exaggerated enough that they stand out, not being too serious and making Aghasba itself a chore.

Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview

My first several hours with Towers of Aghasba were fundamentally familiar moments of survival games but orchestrated in a way where they didn’t feel as such.

The initial string of tasks players do consist of establishing a kind of base of operations and then propagating an ecosystem near that base. First, a flat patch of land must be established. From there, players must take a special seed close–but not too close–to the base to plant a seed that will kickstart a massive process of growth. When the tree sprouts for the first time, mystical ancient beings of Aghasba appear and aren’t thrilled at the presence of the Shimu. These ancient beings know that the presence of people will only lead to destruction eventually. But after convincing, a sprite-like entity accepts the player, as long as they can prove their good intentions.

In Towers of Aghasba, Amity acts as both a currency and the living force that runs through the world. Kill an animal, cut down trees, consume resources and the player is literally stripping Aghasba of its Amity. Conversely, kill Withered, feed animals, plant crops, and repair ecosystems to receive Amity. This interesting tug of war makes sense thematically and does make the player think there will be some kind of tradeoff. Amity is needed to build and upgrade but the world must be harvested for its resources to help the Shimu grow.

Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview

Perhaps it was because I was not only being mindful of this process but because I truly hate killing animals in games that I rarely saw drastic reductions in Amity. The game strongly emphasizes a kind of feedback loop early on with its questing. The initial tree planted is capable of routinely dropping seeds that can be planted to grow new crops. And when enough tasks are completed, the tree can grow again, producing new types of seeds and drawing in larger animals in its vicinity.

Early on, I was obsessed with the process of hunting out the necessary elements to grow the tree, feeding animals, and jumping off tall heights to glide to my next destination. Smartly, the first few hours of the game are by no means tedious. The needed components to craft basic harvesting tools aren’t far away and there are minimal dangers, the only true opponent being Withered spiders that can come out from nowhere and kill the player in three hits.

Despite the massive sandbox a crafting game can provide, I often find the embarrassment of riches to ultimately be overwhelming. I simply do not have the hours upon hours of time to not only lose myself in the confines of a world. Nor do I have the patience to finely tune an aesthetically appealing village, let alone one provides seamless access to all facilities.

Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview

Yet Towers of Aghasba really begs for attention. As routine as it felt slowly inching outward from the base to gather more resources to further fulfill the requests of quest givers, I was lost in the creativity of the world. A scan through the menu indicates increased rarities, blueprints for new facilities and visual upgrades, and a codex–or Shimudex–of things to see. But I’m absorbed in the natural wonder of Aghasba, especially as lush vegetation continues to stretch its fingers as the core tree begins to grow. I’ve only ventured past a key bridge that leads deeper into the lands, exposing me to a number of fantastical sights. These are weird looking creatures that make sense in this world, ones that I can tame or climb… definitely not ones I wish to kill

Of course, being in Early Access, Towers of Aghasba has plenty of room to grow. While I suffered one crash, it seems to be a big issue on PC. Combat definitely needs improvement because it lacks heft and it’s hard for me to imagine what may happen in fights against massive enemies. Inventory space leaves a lot to be desired, especially because I felt like I ran out of space fast. But resource economy is one of the more daunting things in a crafting game. How does the developer not give a player everything and ensure the process of crafting doesn’t feel like a constant churn for upgrade fuel?

Towers of Aghasba Early Access Preview

Honestly, it is easier to be more forgiving of these flaws and problems because Towers of Aghasba is not deemed to be “finished” in any kind of way. Even at this early stage of play, there are plenty of bright spots that excite me for not only future updates but for what lies in wait of what currently exists in the package. It is a smart move to have Towers of Aghasba not just on PC but on console because it’s very rare for Early Access titles to weasel their way into the space. I think in the months to come it is going to be essential for Dreamlit to be receptive of its community. While changes may not happen instantly, it’s more important to show players that feedback is being heard and worked on for future implementation.