It was in September of last year that Stoic, the studio behind The Banner Saga series, released its latest project: Towerborne. The cooperative play-focused side-scrolling beat 'em up experience landed on PC as a Steam early access release back then. The Xbox Game Studios-published title now finally has a release date on Xbox platforms and some news on incoming features and reworks.
Towerborne is officially releasing on Xbox Series X|S and PC via the Xbox app on April 29. The title is finally hitting Xbox and PC Game Pass on the same day, too, injecting a massive number of new players into the indie title. Cross-platform play across all platforms and couch co-op on Xbox consoles will be supported as well.
Alongside the new platform launch, Stoic is planning to drop a massive update to the beat 'em up. Dubbed the Class Mastery update, this involves almost a complete makeover for the class system, the world map and questlines, enemy types, and even some hugely requested social and matchmaking features.
Here are the coming changes in full:
- Class Skills: Probably the biggest change to the game itself, Class Mastery is an all-new progression system that makes every Ace unique, based on individual player choices. By completing missions, players earn Skill Points, allowing you to fine-tune your chosen class, unlocking Focus Skills and Class Mechanics that drastically change how you play. And don’t worry, you can swap your Skill Points freely between missions, meaning you can experiment and find the perfect build.
- Reimagined World Map and Questline: Responding to feedback from Early Access players, Towerborne’s map has been remade to offer a more refined questline, relocates bosses to make for more exciting progression, and offers over 50 new handcrafted missions.
- New Umbra: Umbra are your spirit companions, offering a range of abilities, depending on who you choose to bring along with you into battle. With the new update, two more are joining the roster in the form of Boshi and Querida, bringing the total number to 11.
- New Enemy Type: The Merk Brawler is a new, high-impact opponent, ready to put you and your party to the test, with more to come in the future.
- New Legendary Items: A new suite of legendary weapons is available, with perks that enhance Focus Skills.
- Gameplay Improvements:
- Mender’s Flask: Lives and automatically reviving are out, and the new Mender’s Flask consumable is in. Aces can use the Flask mid-fight to heal, but they must be more mindful of their health in combat. Friendly Aces can still revive their downed comrades, however.
- Aspect Overhaul: The impact of Aspects (items slotted into your gear to add extra benefits) has been enhanced and rebalanced to support the new Class Skill progression system, addressing previously overlooked statistics to ensure your Ace is best prepared to defend the Belfry.
- Job Board: More daily jobs, greater variety, and a refreshed interface to track progressto help your effort to earn Writs.
- Keybinds: Remap controls to match your playstyle.
- Item Badging: Newly acquired items are now clearly marked for easy tracking in your inventory.
- Social Play Improvements
- Improved Group Finder: The new Group Finder feature consolidates multiple groups of the same type into a single, streamlined group, allowing players to quickly find and join compatible teams without the hassle of sifting through individual groups.
- Player Interaction: See a group of Aces gathered around the World Map? Interact with nearby players, invite them to your group and get adventuring in the Wilds together.
- Improved Friends list: It’s now easier to identify and connect with fellow players cross-platform, thanks to clearer sorting and online-status indication.
In Neowin's own review of Towerborne in September, I rated the PC early access version an 8 for its enjoyable combat, cooperative focus, and gorgeous art style. The upcoming update seems to be aiming at fixing almost every issue I had with the title too, making it a definite upgrade for those looking to jump in.
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