Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree Switch Review

Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree Switch Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 

I have been growing more attached to rogue-like games ever since I reviewed Warriors Abyss on the Nintendo Switch a few months back. There is something deeply satisfying about pushing through run after run, learning patterns, improving with each attempt, and finally taking down a boss that once felt impossible. Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree builds on that same sense of reward with a feudal-inspired, hand-drawn hack and slash adventure that is rich in lore and designed around repeat play. What’s it Like? Pick your battle buddy, sharpen your blades, and prepare for plenty of runs as we review Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree for Nintendo Switch.

Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree follows two intertwined storylines. First, you play as Towa, a goddess who watches over a Shinju village. She leads the Guardians of the Sacred Tree on a quest to fight Magatsu’s forces and reduce his evil influence over the land. When playing as Towa, you enhance your Guardians’ abilities and watch the village evolve over the years. Villagers assist you in crafting emblems and seals that your Guardians can equip to grow stronger.

You can also forge swords with different stats and abilities, giving your heroes a better chance of success in battle. On the hero side, you run through a series of areas, engaging in combat with Magatsu’s minions. After each room, you acquire new abilities in a system reminiscent of Warriors Abyss.

The twist is that you control two heroes at once, wielding the power of the sacred sword, Tsurugi, and the staff, Kagura. Each Guardian has unique abilities and their own set of swords, which makes every combat style and Guardian pairing feel distinct. This approach gives the game a fresh and interesting spin on the rogue-like formula, even if it does not always deliver the impact you might expect.

Combat in Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree takes place in an isometric top-down view across multiple arenas. The action feels fast and responsive, which makes battles exciting and engaging. The game adds another layer of strategy with each Guardian carrying two separate swords: the Honzashi, typically a slashing weapon, and the Wakizashi, usually focused on AOE attacks. This is an interesting concept, but it is complicated by the limited durability of each weapon. Players are forced to switch attacks mid-combat, which is meant to keep things varied. In practice, I personally found it restrictive.

In my run, I relied on AOE attacks as my main strength, only to be forced to switch to a slashing attack that felt almost useless. While it is possible to build up each sword during a run, the mechanic often felt unnecessary, almost like a “bolt-action sword” that needed reloading just as I had laid my AOE traps. Some players may enjoy this added layer of resource management, but it did not work for me and my particular AOE build.

Enemy encounters also tend to become tedious rather quickly. Rooms lack variety, and combat often falls into a repetitive cycle of dodging red zones, attacking, and repeating. Each character has their own health pool, and dodging red zones with the first character often leaves the second behind due to a slight delay. This frequently results in your teammate taking hits and being knocked out early. You can counter this with online or local play, but it’s something to keep front of mind while playing solo. You also have the ability to manually control the second character, but it’s often not feasible in the height of battle.

The first run feels like a satisfying length, but subsequent runs can become frustrating. You might fight two or three rooms full of enemies, face a boss, and then continue through multiple bosses, only to lose most of your health on a single encounter. This often forces you to navigate more rooms at low health before hitting another boss, sometimes leading to a frustrating restart of a long run. Health restorative items are scarce, which makes the game feel overly punishing, even on story mode, where each failure grants small buffs to help you progress.

It is such a shame because after the first two or so hours, I felt like I was hitting my stride, learning new combinations and knowing which upgrades to pick to suit my style. Unfortunately, the longer runs begin to drain enthusiasm, with each 35-minute attempt ending in failure and forcing you to repeat the same rooms and enemies. Some players will relish in this challenge; however, so don’t let my frustrations deter you.

Graphically, Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree combines a beautiful hand-drawn look with feudal Japan-inspired flourishes to create an inspiring art style. The environments are colourful and bright, and the hand-drawn sprites during story sequences look fantastic. Each hero is distinct and full of personality, ranging from samurai-inspired heroines to a buff koi fish and a chibi dog warrior. This diversity is clever and well executed, adding even more depth to the stunning visual presentation.

The game is locked at 30 frames per second on the Switch 2, never skipping a beat, while the Switch 1 version performs similarly, with only minor frame pacing issues in certain areas. For me, these occasional hiccups did not detract from the experience. All of this is supported by a beautiful soundtrack from composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, who expertly sets the mood and complements the gorgeous backdrops, enhancing the overall immersion.

For my Guardians looking into accessibility, there are some display and screen shake reduction options to choose from, but no specific accessibility options. The player can remap controls, but as always, I recommend further research into finding out if Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree suits your needs. At just under $55 AUD, Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree offers around 10-25 hours, depending on your approach to rogue-likes and skill level.

I enjoyed my time with Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree, despite my complaints. It is a bold attempt at doing something different in the rogue-like genre, and that ambition shows in the unique mechanics, dual-hero combat, and rich hand-drawn world. Players will either relish the challenge or find it frustrating, depending on their tastes. I recommend trying the demo to see how it resonates with you, as games that think outside the box deserve to be played. It is clear that a lot of love and care went into this game, from the art and music to the intricate systems that set it apart from other titles.

Frustrations aside, if you are looking for another rogue-like to challenge your skill, Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree offers some unique twists on the genre that are worth exploring.

So, What’s It Like? Towa and The Guardians of the Sacred Tree is like Warriors Abyss, with an added layer of mechanics.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by Bandai Namco, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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