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I can say, without an ounce of hyperbole, that I have never shouted, cheered or laughed so much playing a game in my life. TowerFall Ascension is designed to evoke these reactions in every single match, and it always, always does. Regardless of how its settings and variables have been tinkered, or the relative skill levels of its players, the matchup is exciting and dynamic every single time. For those unfamiliar with the original version, which launched on Ouya last year, TowerFall is a multiplayer-centric 2D arena game. Players take on the role of archers, and attempt to dispatch one another using either their bow and arrow or a well-placed head-stomp. Archers can also dodge in any direction on the ground or in the air, letting them dash out of the way of danger or, if performed with split-second timing, catch an incoming arrow. “ the matchup is exciting and dynamic every single time” Those simple core mechanics can shake out in so many different ways in a brawl, which is part of TowerFall's brilliance. In the span of a few seconds, you can snatch a volley of arrows out of the air, return them to sender, dash onto the head of another foe and fire a miracle shot across the stage to take out a third. Occurrences that exciting aren't even rare; in fact, they happen in basically every match. TowerFall has been favorably compared to Super Smash Bros., which is apt in more ways than one. Power-ups can throw curveballs into the mix, changing your arrows into explosive darts, environment-piercing drills or bouncing lasers. There are dozens of variables you can apply before starting a match, letting you tailor (and save!) custom multiplayer gametypes. Everything, from the number of arrows players start with to the power-ups that spawn in the match, is there to adjust. Party modes TowerFall Ascension's replay value is bolstered significantly by the multiplayer variants, which you can adjust and save to one of three slots for later use. Here are just a few of the options that have been huge successes on game night: Start players with just one arrow, forcing them to pick their shots wisely and scavenge arrows around the battlefield. Start players with six Drill arrows, which can burrow through walls and floors, leaving no safe inch of space in the level. Turn off arrows entirely and turn on Super Dashes, sending players flying into the air as they try to jump on each other's heads. Each adjustment, each combination gives rise to a variety of jubilant moments. When you think you've seen it all, something happens — a laser arrow trick shot, a Super Bomb multi-kill — that shatters your expectations. It's genuinely thrilling every time it happens, and TowerFall smartly lets you save your replays as animated GIFs with a single button press. The game's lack of online multiplayer certainly makes it harder to get four archers in a match together. But schmaltzy as it may sound, when shared with a roomful of friends, TowerFall nights can be an unforgettable affair. Ascension does add a few solo options to the game, however, including "Trials" mode, a refined version of the original's target practice levels. Each Trial is set up like a miniature puzzle, tasking you with using the game's power-ups to clear a screenful of targets in just a few seconds. It's a good tutorial for the game's additions, and a surprisingly compelling score-chaser, to boot. The biggest addition by far is the game's Quest mode, which turns each of TowerFall's multiplayer stages into a Horde-esque survival challenge. One to two players have to hold off waves of increasingly deadly AI enemies while trying to stay alive and chain together kill combos. The new modes are surprisingly addictive, and a welcome option when getting a group of friends together just isn't possible. But, polished as they may be, they're ultimately the supporting cast to together just isn't possible. But, polished as they may be, they're ultimately the supporting cast to the game's competitive offerings. It's not that the Quest and Trials modes are lacking in quality; it's that the multiplayer, and its toy box full of variables, possesses the stuff in unparalleled quantities. Wrap Up: About Polygon's Reviews 9.5 Win 9.5 PS4 Latest Reviews 9.5 Review TowerFall Ascension review: bowstring symphony Griffin McElroy 9.5 2.0 Review Basement Crawl review: cutting room Danielle Riendeau 2.0 9.0 Review The Walking Dead Season 2: Episode 2 review: bleak house Philip Kollar 9.0 8.5 Review South Park: The Stick of Truth review: pen and paper Justin McElroy 8.5 5.0 Review Dustforce review: dirty deeds Danielle Riendeau 5.0 8.5 Review Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare review: turf war Arthur Gies 8.5 5.0 Review Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 review: bad blood Philip Kollar 5.0 8.0 Review Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc review: deadly combination Megan Farokhmanesh 8.0 6.0 Review Thief review: in the dark Arthur Gies 6.0 7.5 Review Earth Defense Force 2025 review: kill 'em all Chris Plante 7.5 8.5 Review Strider review: running man Arthur Gies 8.5 8.5 Review Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review: summer boy Danielle Riendeau 8.5 Prev Next There are 59 Comments. Show speed reading tips and settings Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely. C - Next Comment X - Mark as Read R - Reply Z - Mark Read & Next Shift + C - Previous Shift + A - Mark All Read Comment Settings Live comment alert: Hide it! MichaelStevens That’ll do. Mar 7, 2014 | 6:16 PM Reply BlatantNinja23 excited to finally play this Mar 7, 2014 | 6:19 PM Reply 1Legend TowerFall vs TitanFall… Because they both end with fall… Mar 7, 2014 | 6:25 PM Reply amarohl #TeamTowerFall !! Mostly cause I don’t have an Xbone :/ Mar 7, 2014 | 6:43 PM Reply Freezenification But they’re both on PC! Mar 7, 2014 | 6:44 PM Reply amarohl Yeah… my ancient PC would run TitanFall like a wonderful slideshow. (if at all) Mar 7, 2014 | 6:48 PM Reply JTNJ I feel your pain on that one. I can’t even get simple 2D games to run at a decent framerate. Mar 7, 2014 | 6:58 PM Reply alexiddqd My laptop overheated to the point of shutting down when I recently replayed Gone Home :( That’s more a fault of the build quality though, the thermal paste around some components in my computer degrades over time so I went from maxing out Dishonored and Skyrim to crashing on a Unity game. It’s pretty funny actually. Mar 7, 2014 | 7:33 PM Reply mewfin It’s ok, titanfall is really overated. Mar 7, 2014 | 7:07 PM Reply alexiddqd Have you played it? I haven’t played it myself (I have a PS4, not an Xbox) but a game from the people who made CoD4 with this much positivity surrounding it seems to indicate a good game to me. Mar 7, 2014 | 7:34 PM Reply Shaun McIlroy Community Manager, Polygon The beta was enjoyable. Mar 7, 2014 | 7:48 PM Reply Konradak Os this a sly way of saying the full release isn’t as good ; P I know you guys have it! I know it! Mar 7, 2014 | 8:07 PM Reply Shaun McIlroy Community Manager, Polygon I don’t know.