Tower of Fantasy

Tower of Fantasy Review

By Pat Roklos

Tower of Fantasy is a free to play open world sci-fi fantasy action RPG with MMO elements developed by the Chinese developer Perfect World and published by Level Infinite (Tencent). While the game is first and foremost a mobile game, it’s also available on the PC both on and off Steam. Players have a large open world to explore and the freedom to do so at their own pace while being guided by a main story quest. While the game features traditional Gacha elements, Tower of Fantasy does look and feel like an ‘MMO’ which helps differentiate it from similar titles (ie. Genshin Impact). The game also has no auto-play features, so players must actively play to make progress.

Starting Your Adventure / Lore

Players begin their adventure in Tower of Fantasy by first creating their character. The character customization options are surprisingly detailed and allow players to create truly distinct characters. While not nearly as detailed as the Black Desert Mobile character creator, Tower of Fantasy manages to do more with less as even though there aren’t as many options here, characters in Tower of Fantasy look more distinct than anything I’ve seen in Black Desert Mobile.

Tower of Fantasy is set on the planet of Aida, which is where humanity fled to after environmental collapse on Earth. While most MMOs, especially mobile ones, feature throwaway lore, Tower of Fantasy at least makes an effort in this department. The game features fully voice acted cut-scenes and narrative driven storyline. While the voice overs were very hit or miss, the overall production value in terms of visuals and background music were excellent.

Players can control their own character or take the form of a ‘simulacrum’ while exploring Aida. Simulacrums are avatars that players can embody which change the look of their in-game avatar. These are mostly cosmetic early on, but later in the game players can ‘awaken’ simulacrums to unlock special bonuses while using them. Players can unlock various simulacrums just by progressing through the main story, while others must be drawn from the game’s weapon draw gacha system. It’s worth mentioning again that simulacrums are almost totally for visual effect and that progression is tied to upgrading weapons.

Fast Paced Action

Combat in Tower of Fantasy is fast paced and action oriented. It’s similar to Genshin Impact in terms of pacing and smoothness, but the game also has a dodge mechanic, which when timed perfectly freezes enemies in place for a few seconds. Timing these perfect dodges feels both rewarding and satisfying. The core combat is Tower of Fantasy just feels great because attack animations are incredibly polished and feel viscerally satisfying.

While most enemies in the open world and trash mobs in dungeons can be beaten by mashing the attack button, the tougher bosses do require careful coordination and timely dodges to defeat. The tougher bosses in Tower of Fantasy’s high level ‘Joint Operations’ are no joke and do require all players in the party to memorize attack patterns to succeed.

Combat is Tower of Fantasy revolves around the 3 weapons players have equipped. Players can switch between these weapons at will during combat with each having 1 of 4 elemental types and 3 roles (DPS, Defense, and Support). The roles are self explanatory, but the interesting aspect here is that switching between weapons is instantaneous and with each weapon having its own pros/cons, there’s a ton of variety in terms of total combinations. Certain combinations of weapons will also grant special bonuses which allows players to create specialized ‘builds’. Having 2 ‘DPS’ role weapons for example increases final damage by 10% in solo play and 40% in groups. Equipping 2 support weapons boosts healing by 100% in solo play and double that in group play.

Currency Galore / Gacha

Like every other mobile RPG, Tower of Fantasy has numerous different currencies with the 2 most important being ‘Golden Nucleus’ and ‘Black Nucleus’ which can be used to draw Weapons. Think of weapons in Tower of Fantasy as characters in Genshin Impact or Fate/Grand Order. They determine your character’s abilities and stats. Tower of Fantasy features 3 rarities of weapons: Rare (which have no advancements or unique traits), Super Rare (they have advancements but no unique traits), and Super Super Rare (They have both advancements and unique traits).

The SSR rank weapons also unlock their own exclusive Simulacra which is associated with that weapon, but weapons aren’t exclusive to a Simulacra and can be used on any avatar. The Super Super Rare weapons are objectively the most powerful weapons in the game and most players will aim to use 3 different SSR weapons, as they have the most upgradability.

While unlocking SSR weapons is super important, its largely accessible to everyone (including free to play users). Players can earn ‘Dark Crystals’ in Tower of Fantasy simply by completing daily and weekly tasks. These ‘Dark Crystals’ can be converted to many valuable in-game resources including Golden and Black Nucleus which are used for gacha draws (as well as plenty of other valuable items which can be used to upgrade gear).

Players can also earn a ton of valuable currency simply by exploring the vast open world of Aida. Completing dungeons, clearing camps of enemies, and even gathering resources yields premium rewards through the game’s achievement system. Once these rewards run out though, the primary method of earning valuable currency is from weekly and daily missions which although is time gated, offers an unlimited supply of valuable currency (Dark Crystals, Black Nucleus, and Gold Nucleus).

Guided Exploration

What makes Tower of Fantasy fun and approachable for me is that the game offers both a ‘guided’ experience as well as the option to explore the game at your own pace. There are a ton of side quests and daily missions to complete when you’re looking to make progress at your own as well as a primary ‘main story quest’ which takes players on a more guided path across the world. Early on though the game feels very linear, but it opens up a lot after level 30ish.

There’s a lot to work on in Tower of Fantasy and a reason to log in every day. A fatigue system (called vitality) ensures players can’t just grind away at the most rewarding content, so players have a reason to log in every day as they regain vitality.

Tower of Fantasy’s ‘adventure’ button is also helpful as it easily shows in one menu everything players can do that day to make progress in the game. It will remind players to do their dailies as well as let them know about all the other content available to them in one easy to use menu.

PvP Combat

Tower of Fantasy features several PvP options with the most prominent being its arena matches (called Apex League). PvP in arenas are skill based as weapons and stats are ‘equalized’ between opponents, so paying players don’t have any advantages. Still, for PvP to be ‘fair’, players do need to have access to a weapon to play on equal footing. Someone with fully upgraded Matrices (items embedded in weapons to enhance their stats) won’t have any advantage over someone who has low level Matrices in PvP. Still, if you don’t have access to a specific SSR weapon, you won’t be able to use it in PvP, which would put you at a disadvantage.

Tower of Fantasy vs Genshin Impact

Many have compared Tower of Fantasy to Genshin Impact at launch and while Tower of Fantasy clearly borrowed (copied) many gameplay elements from Genshin, it did improve on many things. Most notably, Tower of Fantasy looks and feels like a multiplayer game. It was built from the ground up with MMO elements in mind, whereas multiplayer features feel ‘bolted-on’ to Genshin.

A short list of activities players can do with their friends in Tower of Fantasy include world exploration / resource gathering, Joint Operations, Interstellar Exploration missions, Dimensional Trails, and World Bosses.

It’s also worth mentioning that while Tower of Fantasy is an overall great game, it lacks much of the polish that Genshin Impact has. I can safely say that Genshin Impact as a whole feels like a much more polished game with better production value. Everything from its character design to world feels more well thought out while many elements of Tower of Fantasy feel a bit more lacking in soul. Still, while both games are solid, those looking for a multiplayer experience will enjoy Tower of Fantasy more, even with its much weaker production value.

Final Verdict – Great

Tower of Fantasy is a polished action RPG that’s simply a joy to play. It’s a massive step-up in terms of quality from the previous generation of mobile MMOs which were largely auto-play. The only real drawback is that the main storyline itself is pretty generic and the voice acting isn't as polished as the rest of the game. Anyone looking for a solid mobile RPG without auto-play elements should definitely give Tower of Fantasy a shot.

Tower of Fantasy Screenshots

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Tower of Fantasy Videos

Tower of Fantasy Links

Tower of Fantasy Official Site
Tower of Fantasy Google Play
Tower of Fantasy App Store
Tower of Fantasy Steam Page
Tower of Fantasy Epic Game Store
Tower of Fantasy Twitter
Tower of Fantasy Facebook
Tower of Fantasy Reddit

Tower of Fantasy System Requirements

PC Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit
CPU: Intel i5 or equivalent
Video Card: Nvidia GTX 1030
RAM: 8 GB
Hard Disk: 22 GB

PC Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Intel i7 or better
Video Card: Nvidia GTX 1060 or better
RAM: 16 GB
Hard Disk: 25 GB or more

Android Minimum Requirements:

OS: Android 7.0 or above
CPU: Kirin 710 / Snapdragon 660
RAM: 4 GB
Storage: 12 GB

Android Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Android 8.1 and above
CPU: Snapdragon 855 / Kirin 980 and above
RAM: 6 GB or more
Storage: 15 GB

iOS Requirements:

Operating System: iOS 9.0 and above
Storage: 12 GB
Supported Devices: iPhone 8 Plus and newer

Tower of Fantasy Music & Soundtrack

Coming soon!

Tower of Fantasy Additional Information

Developer: Perfect World, Hotta Studio
Publisher: Level Infinite
Engine: Unreal Engine 4

China Release Date: December 16, 2021
Global Release Date: August 11, 2022

Steam Launch Date: Oct 19, 2022.

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, Steam, Epic Games Store

Development History / Background:

Towe of Fantasy is a shared world RPG by Chinese developer Perfect World. The game was heavily inspired by the success of 2017's Genshin Impact. Tower of Fantasy was released in China in late 2021 and saw a global release on August 11, 2022. The game distinguishes itself from Genshin with an open world where players can encounter one another and with its hybrid sci-fi/fantasy game setting.