It says something when it takes a smaller indie studio to give you the slice of Bioshock you’ve been waiting years for.

Infinite came out in 2013, over 13 years ago – and ever since it’s been slim pickings – but a little game called Twisted Tower by Thomas Brush has finally given us a taste of that magnificence all over again.

Set in an old abandoned 1950s theme park, Twisted Tower leans a little closer to modern horror games like Poppy Playtime and Choo Choo Charles, but sets it in an environment filled with quirky clowns, vending machines, toy weapons and chirpy, nostalgic music that immediately sets a distinct tone.

However, the thing that immediately impressed me is the feel of the game. This isn’t just a Bioshock-lite, the movement actually feels good, weapons are impactful, there’s a decent amount of exploration needed to get to where you’re going, the story is just about compelling enough and you’re constantly on the look out for little Easter Eggs.

It handles really well, all told, and looks stunning at points with its use of lighting, camera trickery and perspective, always putting the player on edge. All at a budget indie price of less than £15, which is kind of wild.

Of course, for that you won’t be getting the wild production values of a Bioshock, so expectations probably need to be set there, but there is absolutely cause for celebration as the game can take anywhere between 7-9 hours to beat across its five levels and each gives you something a little bit different to digest from merry go-rounds to water rides. And the sense of not really knowing what it is you’re walking into.

There’s even multi-paths to choose from, so there’s some great replayability here as well if you want to go back and learn more about the game through alternate routes.

Being honest, I did find the game dragged a little towards the second half. Once you get through the initial sections, you kind of get a sense of what’s coming next and what the game is going to put in front of you outside of the scripted sequences. While the game does play a great hand in general, it plays it early and inevitably, often.

All told, it runs and plays smoothly and the ideas in the game are interesting enough, though I would have loved to have dual-wielded with some of the Bioshock like powers as well as the weapons. In that regard, the game definitely is lacking, as well as a enemy quite as iconic and bad ass as a Big Daddy.

Generally, Twisted Tower is quite linear outside of the optional pathways and the difficulty does feel like it offers a good blend of not too hard, not too easy. And for the price, it feels like a no-brainer to get just the slightest taste of a game we all know and love.

That said, by the time you hit the halfway point, the vibes do wane and the game loses some of the cool it kicks off with. But the content here suffices for what the game is between a New Game + and optional pathways, it’s just a question of whether you’ll want more once the credit rolls.

I had a mostly great time with this oLne and enjoyed the wider experience, but if anything this has actually made the wait for a new Bioshock just that little bit harder than it was before.

Verdict

Twisted Tower plays to its inspirations quite nicely and for the price, offers a very generous, mostly enjoyable package. It definitely slows from its second half and becomes a bit limited once you’ve seen its fancy tricks, but with optional pathways and New Game +, there’s definitely still room to keep coming back to this one if you’re so inclined. And the game feel, movement and general vibes somehow manage to hit their intended marks.