Tower of Dreams Early Access Review - A Roguelike Platformer With An Amazing Soundtrack

Tower of Dreams, a charming yet challenging roguelike platformer in Early Access. Get insights on gameplay, visuals, and the amazing soundtrack. Find out why this game could be a 2025 must-play!

This is a new series for reviews of games in Early Access. The initial review of how things are in Early Access and then a follow-up review will come out when the game comes out of early access.

---

Early Access

Welcome to the Good Game Lobby review of Tower of Dreams, a roguelike platformer that’s as adorable as it is ruthless. After playing through the available content, I think it's a solid start and on its way to becoming a great game.

If you're new to Early Access, it’s a stage where gaming studios release an early version of a game they believe has its core elements fleshed out enough for players to enjoy and engage with. You can purchase it at a discounted price, react to it, and provide feedback, contributing to a collaborative effort to create a truly polished game. It’s also a way for studios to secure funding and support ongoing development.

---

Dream State

In Tower of Dreams, the foundational aspects of a platforming roguelike are all here. The graphics and art style are charming, the gameplay borrows from the sword-hopping mechanics of Hollow Knight, and you’ll find many unique items to assist each of your runs, all set to an awesome soundtrack. It's an experience I recommend. My plan is to do a part 2 review once the game leaves Early Access next year.

In the meantime, let's touch on the game mechanics, art style, and soundtrack. Let's dive into the gameplay and level structure.

---

Roguelike Sword-Hopping Knight

The game starts with simple instructions: move the knight with the D-pad or thumbstick, and press A to jump. You can wall jump to climb higher and collect gems, which you can use to upgrade projectiles, unlock new ways to collect gems, increase your hearts, or even add shields. There are 36 unique items in total. As you progress, you’ll find a sword, unlocking the main movement mechanic: sword-hopping. You’ll use this to kill enemies or jump higher with items and projectiles. The enemies are straightforward, moving side-to-side, flying around, or throwing projectiles. Some are metallic, so you’ll have to avoid them and use them as platforms to hop to the next area.

Warp pipes are scattered around levels where you can either shop for upgrades using gems or unlock free buffs from a frog vendor who’ll also buy back items for gems. Why do all awesome games have frogs? Is this a rite of passage for indie developers? I've reviewed several games recently with frogs as characters like in Caravan SandWitch—or even stars like Bubble Frog! No complaints here—I love it. 🐸

That’s the gameplay in essence, with level mechanics evolving to offer more challenging runs and incentives to experiment with items and strategies to conquer the tower.

It took me about 45 minutes to finish all three main floors, averaging a B rating across them. A board displays your best runs, so you can replay levels to improve your scores. Although I completed the game in 45 minutes on my first playthrough, I ended up spending an additional 2 hours adjusting my upgrades, increasing hearts, armor, and collecting cosmetics.

Sour Lemon Studios has shared that the game is about 75% complete. They plan to add a final floor with a boss battle within the next 6-12 months and potentially expand the first three floors. I’m excited about the boss battle addition, which could let players showcase their unique fighting styles and might even add some lore to Tower of Dreams.

You can follow their Twitter and YouTube accounts for insights on design decisions and current projects. Recently, they completed a compendium for enemies, items, and more, which looks like a Game Boy within the game. Here’s a video for context.

Speaking of the Game Boy aesthetic, doesn’t this game just look brilliant? The typeface for text and the tiny knight protagonist, combined with the greens, blues, and purples, create a fantasy-like world with lively NPC animations that make the atmosphere playful and immersive. The precision timing with the retro-inspired visuals makes for an engaging experience that feels fresh on every run.

---

Retro Funky Vibes

Now that we’ve covered the gameplay and visuals, let’s talk about the soundtrack—this one truly spoke to me. The music complements the sword-hopping mechanics and the vibrant tower perfectly. The main theme is a fantasy-inspired tune you can hear in the background now. As you progress through different floors, you’re treated to new songs, and the upgrade rooms, shops, and main shop area each have their own themes. I especially love the theme in Stamper’s Supply—it’s reminiscent of a Katamari Damacy track, and I had to pause my run just to enjoy it. Tom Sanborn’s entire soundtrack is on YouTube, and I highly recommend listening to the whole thing. Here’s a taste of “Stamper’s Shop”—enjoy!

---

Knighted

If this is only 75%, it’s already a great start. Adding a bit more story, new levels, a final floor, and a boss fight could make Tower of Dreams a standout must-play for 2025. My only minor concern is the $12 price point, which, of course, may have a discount upon launch. Early Access notes also mention the price will increase at launch. While I think it’s a little high for what’s currently available, the game is fantastic and will likely keep improving.

Sour Lemon Studios is very responsive to community feedback, so there’s great potential here. They’ve said, “I have an active Discord server for playtesting and feedback, and will be paying close attention to the game's reception to prioritize what to work on and fix for the full release.” With this attention to community feedback, the promise of additional content, and an already fun roguelike experience, Tower of Dreams might be worth it even at this price.

🎮Tower of Dreams | Steam
🎶Tom Sanborn | Twitter | YouTube
🗓️Release Date | Out Now in Early Access Full Release 2025

---

I’ll see you for part 2 of the review when the game launches next year. Thanks for reading the review and make sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the newsletter for more indie game reviews and weekly updates!