On April 19, the Closed Beta for Tower of Fantasy (PC, Android, iOS) started. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch has already spent 15 hours playing the PC version and is quite impressed with the combat system, the open world, and the many quests. For him, it is already the MMORPG that Genshin Impact should have been.
Genshin Impact was the big surprise in service games in 2020. Due to the beautiful game world, the simple yet fun combat system and an interesting story, it captivated many players – including me.
However, after about 40 hours of gameplay, I quit, mainly because the multiplayer aspect was, in my opinion, poorly implemented. Playing together often felt more like a punishment than a reward, and I am someone who simply cannot play single-player games anymore. I understand that Genshin Impact shouldn’t be an MMORPG, but I would have liked it to be one.
That’s why I have been keeping an eye on Tower of Fantasy since early 2021. Visually and content-wise, there were many parallels on paper, such as the colorful open world full of things to discover. The Closed Beta allowed me to dive deeper into the game – and it was worth it.
For me, Tower of Fantasy has already made it clear within a few hours of gameplay that it is ahead. This is partly due to the combat system and the real MMORPG feeling, but also because I actually play my character – and not fixed heroes like in Genshin Impact.
Lots of story and little multiplayer to start
Right off the bat: Tower of Fantasy is a free anime MMORPG with a colorful sci-fi world, an active combat system, and gacha elements for weapons and avatars. The game relies significantly on randomness for monetization, as you can earn some items only from chests for a currency that can be obtained in-game, but also with real money.
Those who had fun with Genshin Impact or are looking for a new anime MMORPG should definitely keep reading, as the game has already excited me in the first hours.
You can follow my first 60 minutes in Tower of Fantasy here:
The introduction to Tower of Fantasy is filled with cutscenes and dialogues. I learn that I am on the planet Aida. There, people have built the Towers of Fantasy to extract a rare material – Omnium. However, a temporary rift occurred, destroying large parts of civilization. I now fight against the scientists who continue to cling to the technology.
Anyone who wants to dive deep into the story can do so here. There is, however, the option to skip many cutscenes and dialogues if you prefer to focus on gameplay. Even in the Closed Beta, most of it is equipped with proper English voice acting. It is currently unclear if a German localization will be available at release.
After the first steps in the tutorial, I get the chance to design my character. I can choose from two genders, different hairstyles, faces, and body proportions. The character editor isn’t as detailed as in Black Desert, but it’s sufficient to distinguish myself from other players.
It is important that I do not choose a class, but only determine my appearance. I will learn abilities and combat styles later through the choice of weapons and Simulacra, avatars for my character that will be explained in more detail later.
I spend the first 20 levels almost entirely in single-player mode. I follow the story quests but also find numerous side quests in the open world. Around level 15, I also discover the daily tasks, which include the following:
- Bounty hunts in the open world
- Exploration tasks in the open world like special chests or locations that I should uncover
- The Ruins, a solo dungeon
- The chef for whom I just need to try three random dishes – which brings good experience points
However, I am already captivated by the cool open world and movement in these levels. I can sprint continuously, swim, climb, and have a jetpack to cross larger chasms. There are also mounts, including a cool motorcycle that I get right at the start.
Additionally, there are chests and materials everywhere in the world that I can collect. I enjoyed that in Genshin Impact as well.
Another highlight is the action-packed combat system, which may not offer too many abilities but contains several details that need to be mastered first.
Weapon switching, fights in the air, and perfect dodging
Tower of Fantasy focuses on an action-packed combat system, albeit with aim assist. I have an enemy firmly in my sights and attack them with my strikes – but I also hit nothing if I’m not close enough to them.
There are 19 different types of weapons in the game, including swords, spears, and bows, as well as firearms and a chakram, a futuristic ring that I can use to pummel enemies. In battle, I can equip three weapons simultaneously and switch between them at any time during combat.
In my current setup, I use a scythe for damage to multiple targets in melee combat, a spear for targeted damage to a single target, and a bow for ranged damage.
Each weapon has its own auto-attack (left mouse button), a skill (default on 1), a special effect when switching weapons, and an element that determines the damage type. At first glance, that may not sound like much, but since attacks can also be executed while jumping and in the air and I have to constantly dodge, a lot of dynamics come into play and special combos can be executed.
Dodging also has another interesting and important effect. If I perfectly dodge a hostile attack – timing is everything here – I create a dome in which all enemies are briefly frozen. My team members or other players in the open world also benefit from this. The game rewards good reading of enemies.
Overall, Tower of Fantasy feels much more action-packed than Genshin Impact, but not as fluid. Some animations are choppy and enemies sometimes behave a bit stiffly, which seems to allow for perfect dodging.
Personally, I find it more enjoyable than Genshin, but I can understand anyone who prefers the other combat system.
To improve in the game, I need to upgrade my weapons. This is done with the right materials. The nice thing about Tower of Fantasy is that I can click on any material in the interface and then see exactly where I can get it from. This makes targeted searching and farming much easier.
Additionally, I can also enchant my weapons with suitable enchantments, which brings new effects and more damage.
I can unlock new weapons through the gacha system. Here there are boxes that I can buy for a currency and from which a random weapon comes. However, some weapons can also be obtained through Simulacra. The Simulacra are characters whose play style I can learn. I also unlock these through a gacha system, similar to the characters in Genshin Impact.
Each Simulacra has its own story that I can actively play, can be provided with gifts, and has its own appearance and special animations for abilities. However, I can also disable the Simulacra visually, so I only benefit from the play style while still representing my character.
The first dungeons and encounters with other players
At level 20, I basically unlock multiplayer. Before that, I had only randomly encountered other players in the open world.
In the weekly activities, I first find the operations, similar to dungeons for three players. These are available for levels 20, 25, 31, 37, 43, 50, and 60. I can join them via a LFG request or an automatic queue.
With each level, more group activities are added, including trials where I fight directly against tough bosses. Later, PvP will also be unlocked, including a 1v1 arena.
Admittedly, I have only completed three operations and a few solo dungeons so far. At least at the low levels between 20 and 27, they were quite easy. PvP is next on my agenda, and I will update this section as I dive deeper there.
By the way, anyone who fears spending all their time in dungeons can rest easy. You can
- Continue following story quests where you take care of the Towers of Fantasy in the game
- Complete side quests
- Play the stories of the Simulacra
- Explore all areas thoroughly
- Chase achievements – so far, I have just completed 84 out of 2,600 possible achievements
Another advantage of Tower of Fantasy is the crew system. I can join a guild, discuss in a chat there, and expand the guild by donating and completing special crew missions. This is fun and fosters cohesion.
Gacha and confusing shops
I’ve mentioned it several times: Tower of Fantasy relies on randomness with the Simulacra and new weapons. You can buy openings of chests with the currency Gold Nucleus. This currency can be obtained from Dark Crystals. Dark Crystals can be earned in-game from chests, daily quests, and achievements, but can also be purchased directly for real money.
Compared to Genshin Impact, I get Dark Crystals significantly easier in Tower of Fantasy if I only play in-game. In the 15 hours, I was able to open about 20 weapon chests without any issues.
There is also a season pass for real money that contains upgrade materials and more openings for the gacha system.
What bothers me more than the obvious gacha system are the many shops. There is a Crystal Dust Store, a Weapon Store for upgrade materials, a Crew Store, and three others, the purposes of which I don’t know yet because I haven’t unlocked them.
This comes with several currencies, which I probably will only be able to comment on in more detail later in the game.
It is currently unclear to me how the gacha system for weapons and Simulacra affects PvP. It is possible that Pay2Win is present here.
Conclusion: After 15 hours, I’m having a lot of fun, but not everything is clear
Tower of Fantasy is what I would have wished for from Genshin Impact from the very beginning. I play an action-packed anime MMORPG where I can embark on adventures and beat enemies with friends, my guild, or even complete strangers.
The world is beautifully designed, offers much to discover, and many interesting means of movement. I didn’t expect it, but permanent sprinting and mounts make exploring significantly more varied and enjoyable.
Additionally, at every corner, there are enemies that I can smash at will. Here, Tower of Fantasy clearly plays to its strengths with the action-packed fights and the “perfect dodging”, although the animations could be a bit smoother.
Overall, Tower of Fantasy makes an excellent impression regarding the scope, such as dungeons and PvP, but also in general gameplay. However, there are points deducted for somewhat opaque shops and the gacha system. Criticism of these systems is absolutely justified, and it is entirely possible that Pay2Win prevails here.
However, I can say that after 15 hours, I had a lot of fun, and I will definitely continue playing Tower of Fantasy. For me, it has clearly surpassed Genshin Impact. Whether the game will remain enjoyable in the long term and deliver good, new content will only be revealed over time. However, since it is Free2Play, you have nothing to lose apart from a bit of time.
Alexander Leitsch
MMORPG expert at MeinMMO
When does Tower of Fantasy release? The MMORPG was released in late 2021 in China and is expected to come to the West in 2022. There is no specific release date yet. However, there are several other MMORPGs that are scheduled to release this year:
