| Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Review Overview
What is Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree?
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is an action roguelite set in a mystical realm where players control Towa, a god-born heroine, and her eight guardians. Tasked with stopping the corruption of Magatsu and saving Shinju Village, players alternate between managing the village as Towa—crafting swords, upgrading stats, and developing buildings—and taking two guardians into stages to battle protective spirits.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree features:
⚫︎ Action Roguelite Adventure
⚫︎ Mythical Story Premise
⚫︎ Guardian Pairing Combat System
⚫︎ Village Progression
⚫︎ Replayable Runs
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree's gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 PlayStation |
 Xbox |
 Switch |
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| $29.99 | |||||||
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Unique Guardian Sacrifice Mechanic that Keeps Rotation Fresh Swordsmithing Minigame is Fun and Tactile Vibrant Visual Direction |
Inconsistent Sword-Switching Flow No Significant Way to Heal Mid-Run Cosmetic Systems Lack Purpose Story Lacks Emotional Impact |
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Story - 7/10
The premise starts strong, with Towa’s divine origins and time-rewinding hook setting up an intriguing mythological tale. Unfortunately, the pacing dips after its opening and the villain Magatsu feels more symbolic than fully fleshed out. Still, the relationships between the guardians and the evolving village give the world much-needed heart. It’s engaging enough to keep you invested, but it never fully capitalizes on its narrative potential.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Gameplay - 7/10
The core loop of preparing in the village and diving into runs with guardian pairs is rewarding and varied. Swordsmithing and permanent upgrades create a solid sense of progression, while combat has the speed and flash fans expect from the genre. However, inconsistencies in sword-switching and with no significant way to heal mid-run, the harsh death penalty often punishes experimentation more than it should.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Visuals - 8/10
The game shines in its art direction, with vibrant guardian designs and mystical environments that sell its mythic tone. Environments evolve as you progress, giving a real sense of growth and change across runs. That said, enemy designs don’t really evolve, leaving encounters visually repetitive over time. Technical performance is stable overall, making the visuals one of the game’s most consistent strengths.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Audio - 7/10
The soundtrack sets the right atmosphere, mixing mystical tones with energetic battle themes, even if few tracks stick after the fact. Sound effects do their job in reinforcing the chaos of combat, but they’re not especially memorable. Voice acting for the guardians helps bring their personalities to life, though lines from NPCs delivery falls flat. It’s solid audio work that supports the game but doesn’t elevate it.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Value for Money - 8/10
At $29.99, the game offers plenty of content with long runs, meaningful progression, and replayability thanks to guardian rotation. Each attempt pushes you closer to stronger builds, plus the permanence of village upgrades adds replayability. Still, the balance issues and some underdeveloped systems make the value feel just shy of excellent.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Overall Score - 74/100
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree has a strong premise and some unique ideas that doesn’t quite live up to its potential. Solid mechanics and progression carry it a long way, but uneven execution in narrative, balance, and design hold it back from greatness.
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Review: Timeless Victory
Roguelite Forest Grows Ever Denser
Action roguelites are everywhere right now. It feels like every few months we’re handed another spin on the formula—a new twist on fast-paced dungeon runs, a different way to balance the line between temporary chaos and permanent progress. Some stick, some fade, and some completely reshape the genre. And of course, looming around the corner is Hades 2, the giant waiting to step back onto the stage and remind us why roguelites became the darlings of modern action games in the first place.
So where does that leave a game like Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree? I’ve had my eye on this one since it appeared during Summer Games Fest, partly because of its gorgeous mythic aesthetic and partly because it dared to present itself alongside heavy-hitters in the genre. The pitch was compelling enough, a time-twisting story tied into roguelite action, where gods, guardians, and destiny all collide in a battle against an ancient evil. But compelling ideas are easy—execution is what matters.
That’s the question I had in mind the moment I started playing, could Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree carve out its own place in a genre that’s become increasingly crowded, or would it get buried under the weight of its more polished, better-known peers?
The Premise and The Mythos
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree takes place in a mystical realm drenched in divine symbolism and mythic weight. At its center is Towa, a heroine born from a god, tasked with assembling eight guardians to fight against Magatsu, an ancient evil that threatens to consume everything. From the very start, the story throws you into the end of their journey, only for Towa to discover her unique ability—the power to rewind time, granting her and her companions another chance every time they fall—splinter reality into parallel universes.
Magatsu also wakes up earlier than they expected and in retaliation, casts the guardians to the end of time, and Shinju Village—the very place they sought to protect—is trapped in time. That’s where the player steps in, taking on two roles: as Towa, you walk the quiet village streets, forging weapons, tending to rituals, and preparing for the next battle. But when the moment comes to face Magatsu’s forces, control shifts to the guardians, two at a time, as they set out to defeat the eight protective spirits keeping Shinju frozen.
On paper, it’s a strong hook. Gods, guardians, mythological stakes—the kind of premise that makes you lean forward and wonder what sort of epic journey you’re about to embark on.
Narrative Cracks
That’s the thing, though, while Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree plants the seeds of a fascinating story, the execution doesn’t always let them grow. The pacing starts off at a high, almost cinematic pitch, only to suddenly sag once the introductions are done. The initial momentum, the sense of urgency in saving Shinju Village, fades into a slower rhythm that struggles to keep up with its own premise.
Magatsu, the big bad evil god looming over everything, doesn’t help matters. He exists mostly as a shadowy voice, a distant presence with very little substance beyond being "evil." I’m not asking for a fully fleshed-out backstory or nuanced villain monologues, but giving him at least some depth would’ve gone a long way toward making the stakes feel more personal. Instead, he ends up being more of an obstacle than an antagonist.
Thankfully, it’s not all missteps. The guardians themselves carry much of the narrative weight, especially in battle. Each pairing has its own little dynamic, small exchanges that flesh them out in ways the overarching plot doesn’t. It’s in those moments—seeing two companions bicker, joke, or encourage each other in runs—that the story feels alive again. And there’s another clever touch, as you defeat Magatsu’s protective spirits, Shinju Village slowly evolves, hinting at progress. But at the same time, it got me thinking… Wasn't the whole point that the village was trapped in time? The contradiction is never fully explained, leaving it unclear whether this is intentional storytelling or just gameplay bleeding awkwardly into narrative.
In short, Towa’s mythic premise has real bite, but it loses some of its teeth once you dig in.
Forging, Building, and Prepping for Battle
At its core, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree runs on a two-part loop: quiet preparation in the village, and chaotic combat out in the field. You spend half your time as Towa, walking through Shinju Village, tending to upgrades and side activities, and the other half controlling two guardians in roguelite battles that grow nastier the further you push. It’s a split personality structure, but it works.
One of the most important tasks is swordsmithing. Every time you come back with fresh materials, you can forge new blades through a series of QTE-style minigames—hammering, quenching, timing each strike. Do well, and your swords don’t just hit harder, they gain valuable status effects. Mess it up, and you’re stuck with something middling. It’s a clever way of making progression feel hands-on, like your own skill outside combat has a direct influence on your odds in battle.
There’s also some room for style—you can customize sword appearances, swapping hilts and scabbard patterns. In theory, that’s great. In practice, the isometric camera zooms out so far during fights that you’ll never notice your fancy new engraving once you’re actually swinging away. After the novelty wore off, I stopped bothering.
The Dojo works differently, but it’s just as essential. Here you can funnel resources into permanent stat upgrades—attack power, health, speed. Then there’s building construction, which doesn’t just expand the village but also grants buffs. In this way, the frozen little settlement slowly evolves, even though narratively it’s supposed to be trapped in time (a detail that never quite stops nagging at me).
There’s also the quieter side of village life like fishing. The point is, even when you fail a run, you can always go back to the village to regroup. There’s always some form of currency, some thread of progress that makes your next attempt more viable.
Guardians, Combat, and the Roguelite Loop
Then it’s time to leave the safety of Shinju’s lantern-lit streets and step into the fray. Each run sends you out with a guardian pair: one Tsurugi, who fights with dual swords, and one Kagura, who commands spells from a staff. The Tsurugi side is all about fast melee combat, and each of their two swords carries its own abilities. In theory, the swords deplete over time, forcing you to constantly switch between them to keep up the rhythm. In practice, though? The system feels broken. Sometimes swapping swords would instantly recharge the one I just put away, which killed any real sense of management. Other times, the new sword I swapped to would drain absurdly fast, leaving me scratching my head. What should’ve been a slick dance between weapons ended up feeling more like a stutter.
The Kaguras fare a little better. Their spells can evolve mid-run, and you’ll stumble across points in each stage where you can swap slots to experiment. Layer in stage variety—campfires to regain health, food stalls for buffs, graces for passive perks—and you’ve got the bones of a solid roguelite crawl.
What really pushes you to adapt, though, is the rotation system. At the end of each run, Kaguras are benched, removed from play to be sacrificed for the restoration of mana in the village. You can’t rely on the same duo every time—the game forces you to experiment, to discover dynamics between characters you might not have touched otherwise. It’s clever in concept, frustrating in practice. I had the bad luck of losing my favorite pair, Origami and Bampuku, on my very first successful run. Origami had been my Kagura, and watching her get whisked off the roster while I scrambled to fill the gap made for a rough adjustment. Still, the mechanic did its job, it pushed me to stop clinging to comfort picks and try new combos.
It’s not a groundbreaking gameplay loop, but there’s enough here to keep the wheel turning. You forge, you fight, you fail, and you come back just a little stronger—the classic roguelite recipe. Towa doesn’t reinvent it, but it does give it a slightly different seasoning.
Is Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Worth It?
Solid but Flawed
At the end of the day, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is one of those games that lives in the space between potential and polish. It has a premise worth rooting for, a set of systems that make each run feel meaningful, and guardian dynamics that add warmth and personality to the grind. But it also stumbles—with a story that loses steam after its opening hook, an antagonist who never really feels threatening, and combat mechanics that sometimes trip over their own ambition.
For $29.99, the package isn’t a bad deal. You get a generous amount of content, a progression system that rewards persistence, and enough variety in guardian pairings to keep things fresh. If you’re chasing the next Hades, this isn’t it—but if you’re simply looking for a roguelite that mixes myth with some clever twists on the formula, Towa delivers a journey that’s flawed but still rewarding.
It’s a game that won’t redefine the genre, but it doesn’t have to. Sometimes it’s enough to plant a tree that grows in its own direction, even if some of its branches don’t quite reach as far as they could.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
PlayStation |
Xbox |
Switch |
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| $29.99 | |||||||
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree FAQ
What Are Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree’s System Requirements?
| System | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 / Windows 11 | Windows 10 / Windows 11 |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-8100 / AMD Ryzen 3 3100 | Intel Core i3-8100 / AMD Ryzen 3 3100 |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 / AMD Radeon R7 250 | AMD Radeon R7 250 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 650Ti / Intel Arc A310 |
| Storage | 8 GB available space | 8 GB available space |
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Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Product Information
 |
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| Title | TOWA AND THE GUARDIANS OF THE SACRED TREE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | September 19, 2025 |
| Developer | Brownies inc. |
| Publisher | Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Genre | Action, Roguelite, Anime |
| Number of Players | 1-2 |
| Rating | PEGI-12 |
| Official Website | Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Website |
