Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is a roguelike RPG that's unafraid to ask some tough questions

When I checked out Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree during Summer Game Fest, I was intrigued with what I played - but the demo was far too short to come to any lasting conclusions about how the game would feel as an overall package. I wanted a chance for a longer hands-on with the game; thankfully, Bandai Namco agreed. Earlier this month they held a digital preview event, letting us check out the first 4 hours of the full game ahead of the title's September 19 launch.

Today's preview embargo coincides with another trailer drop, this time explaining a core element to the gameplay that was previously unknown; finishing a run in Towa isn't the ending, but rather the beginning. While you can choose which character wields the Tsurugi and which wields the Kagura, you're doing more than just choosing who will be actively fighting during a run and who will be the support; you're deciding who will be sacrificed by the sacred rite, and who will be doing the deed.

If I was already interested in Towa, this mechanic is what's got me truly paying attention. Choosing your characters is not just a passive choice, but actively deciding who gets to live and who dies; with each successful run, the following run will be harder. As each journey becomes longer, you're also dwindling your number of remaining guardians. There are some caveats that don't make this as punishing as things could've been - when you spend resources to unlock skill points for characters, the unlock applies to every guardian; the same goes for spells with the Kagura, for example. Different spells you can unlock are usable by multiple guardians.

One element of progression that was only hinted at during the previous preview opportunity was the ability to forge new swords; the process delegates the player with designing the shape of a blade, supplying a base ore that will determine the starting stats of the weapon, and then completing a series of minigames that will determine the quality of the final product - including durability. While its the Guardians who engage in battle to defend Shinju Village, forging swords is one way in which Towa can showcase her own support, and allow for players to showcase their own expression. Depending on the choices you make, you can impact how much damage each type of attack will dish out, and under which sword slot a Guardian will use it.

Speaking of Guardians; each has a drastically different moveset for both of their swords. Mutsumi can charge up her attack to dive onto enemies with an AOE, while someone like Akazu can alternate between a charge attack that sends out rotating projectiles - or a steady stream of stabs that rapidly deplete durability. While I wasn't sure how different each Guardian would feel in practice, it's unquestionable that each brings their own unique fighting style that might synergize better with certain blessings over others, and with specific Kagura spells.

While I still have some lingering questions about how Towa will shake out in the end - how townbuilding evolves over the course of the story, how buildcrafting and sword blessings will look near endgame, among other things - it's beginning to become clear that Bandai Namco and Brownies may have something special on their hands. I can't talk about the story in any specifics, but I'm intrigued at where it may be heading; I'm curious how long and taxing runs might become by the end of the game, as Guardians dwindle and you're left with only a handful of your chosen warriors. Heck, I still need a chance to really explore how each Guardian feels to play; I'm curious how the others that I haven't had a chance to do a run with might shake out.

Thankfully, the wait isn't that much longer. Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree launches for PlayStation 5, PC, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|X on September 19. A demo for the game is available now.

Preview code was provided by Bandai Namco to RPG Site for this article