What TowerFall Ascension is
TowerFall Ascension is an archery combat game built around short, sharp versus matches. You play as one of 8 archers, jumping around 2D arenas and loosing arrows at whoever is standing. The controls are simple enough to pick up in a round or two, but the depth comes from timing, positioning and reading your opponents. Combat is fierce and rounds end fast, so a match keeps moving even when someone is clearly losing. Treasure chests drop power-ups that can flip a round on its head, including Drill Arrows that burrow through walls. You can also catch arrows out of the air and turn an enemy's shot against them, or drop onto a foe and stomp them into submission.
Playing it with a group
This is a couch game first: up to 4 players in local versus, sitting together and trading rounds across a huge set of arenas. Ascension ships 120 unique maps, so the arena rotation stays fresh for a long session. On top of that there are 75 variants that change the rules of a match, which is where a group can really set the tone of the night — mix things up, pick a variant everyone likes, and run it back. Four new unlockable archers join the original roster, giving each player a character to claim. The game is designed for competitive play among friends in the same room, and the Steam feature Remote Play Together lets people join in remotely as well.
Quest mode and things to know before starting
When the group is smaller, or when you want a break from versus, Ascension adds a 1- or 2-player co-op Quest mode. Players team up and fight through monsters and enemy archers across the land of TowerFall, working together instead of against each other. It's the mode to reach for when there aren't enough friends around to fill a versus match.
Expect a learning curve: the mechanics are accessible, but mastering arrow catching, power-up timing and arena movement takes practice. Rounds are quick and losses are frequent, which is part of the appeal rather than a flaw. There are hidden secrets and surprises scattered through the game to uncover together, so it pays to poke around instead of only chasing wins.