‘Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree' Carves Bold Addition To Rogue-Like Genre With Weapon-Switching Focus

Geek Culture

3 days ago

Replayability, procedural generation and non-linear progression – these are the core pillars of rogue-likes, a subgenre of role-playing games (RPG) often lauded for creating unique and unpredictable experiences with every 'run', the term used to describe each playthrough of the game, where death means starting over almost from scratch.
With the roguelike genre dominated by titles that have perfected the formula, like Hades or The Binding of Isaac , what more can newcomers bring to the table that hasn't already been done countless times before? For publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer Brownies Inc., their answer lies in Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree , an upcoming 2D action roguelike oozing with charm and visual flair, and most importantly, offers a refreshing take on the traditional hack-and-slash format with its heavy emphasis on weapon durability and hot-swapping.
Over the course of a roughly half-hour gameplay preview session, we were able to experience a taste of what's in store for the ambitious title, and after trying out its innovative combat mechanics, left with an eager yearning for more.
As a studio known for turn-based RPGs like the Egglia franchise, or relaxing farming simulators like 2019's Doraemon Story of Seasons , Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree marks a bold departure for Brownies Inc., not only due to a shift in genre, but also the overall intensity of moment-to-moment gameplay.
This intensity isn't immediately apparent from the get-go, as the game presents a similar cutesy visual aesthetic seen in the studio's past titles, with heavily stylised designs for characters and environments alike. Players take on the role of Towa, the priestess of the fictional Shinju Village, who is tasked with gathering eight trustworthy companions, known as Guardians, as they embark on a quest to defeat Magatsu, an evil god who threatens to consume the land with his dark miasma and armies of creatures known as Magaori.
Unlike traditional roguelikes, though, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree features an overarching narrative that's directly influenced by the completion of runs, with the inclusion of a unique time-progression mechanic.
Due to Magatsu, time has come to a complete standstill in Shinju Village, with players needing to complete runs to progress the game's main plot. 'Once you defeat the final boss in each run, the village's time progression will be altered, constantly progressing with each run cleared,' explains game director Shuhei Yamashita in an accompanying interview session with Geek Culture and other Southeast Asian media.
'This is one of the unique essences of the title, as not only will each run feature multiple paths to choose from, but clearing them will directly affect the game's storyline and push its narrative forward.'
The essence of any rogue-like lies not only in its procedural runs but in the core combat mechanics that tie everything together. In Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree , players don't venture on runs alone, but always in groups of two. Furthermore, Towa might be the game's protagonist, but she doesn't actually embark on runs, instead leaving it up to her eight companions.
Players have a choice between two of the eight playable Guardians, each with their own distinct visual style and backstories to discover. Take Nishiki, for example, a towering humanoid Koi fish who laughably loves eating seafood and can't swim despite his appearance, or Origami, a woman who, like her namesake, wears a giant Origami boat as a hat, and Bampuku, a giant bipedal Shiba Inu who's the definition of the word huggable. Interestingly, the wacky designs of some of the Guardians weren't an idea inspired by other games, media or folklore, but rather the creations of Yamashita himself.
'We did want to make strange and interesting characters for the game, and we thought it was a good idea to make them stand out a little bit. I designed the looks of Nishiki, Origami and Towa, and it doesn't matter if they look strange, I mean, there are eight characters, so why not make some of them look a little weirder?'
It's not only looks that set the Guardians apart, as each also possesses unique movesets and abilities to mix and match. Players will take two Guardians across each run, one taking on the role of 'Tsuguri', the main damage dealer wielding two swords, and the other a 'Kagura', a supporting role which offers a choice of two spells, each bound to a trigger button.
Once a run begins, players will encounter the traditional rogue-like format of progressing through procedurally generated instances, choosing different paths with varying rewards along the way. What sets the game apart, however, is its focus on themes of duality in its core concepts, as apart from having two characters and their aforementioned roles, hot-swapping between weapons also plays a key part in combat.
No matter the character chosen as the Tsuguri, each will enter battles equipped with two swords, the Honzashi (Main) and the Wakizashi (Sub), with each character possessing unique attack patterns for both: Origami, for example, performs a slow but powerful sweeping attack combo with her Honzashi, while her Wakizashi requires the attack button to be held to charge up a ground slam that deals damage in a straight line. Shingin, a fox-ninja hybrid Guardian, throws his Honzashi forward to attack at range, while his Wakizashi calls down an explosion from the sky at range.
The use of both weapons is tied together by the game's blade sharpening system, which causes the quality of each weapon to degrade with every attack, reducing their effectiveness unless the player performs a 'Quick Draw', a move that causes the character to quickly swap weapons, striking with the new one while simultaniously sharpening the other. Unlike most games with a weapon degradation system, however, both swords lose their sharpness extremely quickly, usually after five or so attacks, making constant weapon-swapping essential and encouraging equal use of both.
With the combination of two swords, two spells, and a final ultimate move known as a 'Fatal Blow' that's unique to each Guardian, combat quickly becomes a dance of utilising everything at each character's disposal while dodging an enemy's telegraphed attacks, resulting in an addictive gameplay flow that's equal parts hectic and engaging.
After clearing each combat encounter, players will receive rewards based on a chosen path, which can range from materials, currency, or a choice of four Graces, run-specific upgrades that can enhance the capabilities of swords and spells, or provide new abilities like a window of invulnerability upon dodging. Instead of combat encounters, players can also choose a path after battle that leads them to a shop to exchange currency for a Grace, or a spring that refills their health. This pattern then repeats until the player reaches the final boss for the run, or until death.
Upon death, runs are reset, which removes all Graces earned, but players will still be able to retain any materials found. These can then be brought back to Shinju Village and used for weapon crafting and ability upgrading for the Guardians, although we were not able to try this out due to the curated nature of the preview. This limitation also extended to the game's time progression narrative, but in theory, these systems will serve to supplement to the game's already solid combat foundations by offering gradual improvements to each character, keeping gameplay engaging even after multiple runs.
Despite the relatively brief preview session, it's clear that Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is an ambitious title for Brownies Inc. There's always something impressive about a team willing to step out of their comfort zone, especially when the resulting game effectively balances familiarity with innovation. This could very well be the next sleeper rogue-like hit, which is impressive considering the project itself was a happy accident of sorts.
'It started with us trying to challenge ourselves with something new,' Yamashita concludes, 'We wanted to start a small project, and thought the rogue-like genre would be a good start. But it ended up becoming bigger than we expected, and now it's a super big project, and we're just bulldozing through it with sheer willpower.'
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree will launch on 19 September 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.