Building a living space like a home or town, gathering and utilizing resources, and expanding and discovering new ways to interact with your environment are themes that have universal appeal and many players find tremendously satisfying. Now, independent developer Dreamlit Inc. is readying a fresh new take on the building genre with Towers of Aghasba, launching into Early Access on November 19 on PS5. Towers of Aghasba is a visually stunning game in a vibrant, fantastical environment that combines open-world exploration, combat, and adventure with the building and resourcefulness of life sims. We recently got the chance to preview new gameplay and gain some insight from devs on this upcoming enchanting adventure.
Withering heights
A long time ago, the Shimu people were forced from their ancestral land–the titular Aghasba–by a destructive force called the Withering. Fate has intervened with a shipwreck on Aghasba, and the time has now come for the Shimu to reclaim what was taken from them. Stepping into the shoes of the tribe’s Junior Architect, you have many roles to fill: adventurer, hunter, explorer, archaeologist, crafter, fisherman, planner, gatherer, and builder. All of these skills (and more) will be necessary to learn about the Withering and to put an end to the dark force once and for all.
While there are dark forces and belligerent creatures in these lands, you are not thrust into combat, but instead taught the ways of cultivation and construction. By revitalizing the world’s ecosystems and building communities, you work to take back the Withered lands and create new places filled with color and life.
Rebuilding your way
You start small by choosing a parcel of land and planting seeds. The first seed you plant sprouts a strange, small plant creature alongside a Colossal Tree. The tree and numerous plants that grow–over 120 different varieties–bring in other kinds of life and provide resources to build and craft with. By bringing in and planting different seeds, you can cultivate a local ecosystem, and from there build towns and agricultural establishments. The way these lands transform is entirely decided by your actions.
Player agency and choice are the guiding principles behind much of Aghasba. Besides choosing what you plant, you can decide how to interact with the world’s fauna through acts like hunting, fishing, feeding wildlife, rebuilding towns, and making a wealth of customization items.
As you explore and cultivate, you begin to find remnants of the old Shimu society, and hints as to why the people had to abandon this land.”There is a narrative around the group of people you arrive with,” explains Towers of Aghasba designer Dave Nguyen. “You are all trying to restore the land together, and along the way, there will be branching of quest lines and many optional quests as well as freedom to explore. Through NPCs and by discovering relics scattered across the land, the player will uncover bits and pieces of history around this land and the older civilization that once was.”
It’s not all rebuilding and exploring, however. Sometimes you will be forced into conflict, be it through the need to hunt for supplies or to battle creatures corrupted by the Withering. At the start of the game, roughly 70% of the world is covered by the Withering’s blight, leaving you plenty of work to do to reclaim it. Whether you want to take your time rebuilding to craft gear and items before trying to tackle the Withered monsters or attempt to conquer these areas ASAP is, as typical for this game, up to you.
Aghasba the beautiful
One of the most striking elements of Towers of Aghasba is its visuals. The enchanting environments, strange creatures, and mysterious structures that dot the landscape create a world rich in appeal and intrigue. The best part is that you’re free to explore it as you please.
The team behind the game discussed many of their inspirations behind the graphic design in our preview session. Ancient civilizations from Africa, as well as the Aztecs and the Jomon peoples, were referenced to give the game’s visual identity a distinct feel. The team also expressed their great admiration for the beloved anime films of Studio Ghibli, especially Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke. In fact, there’s a direct connection to Studio Ghibli in Towers of Aghasba: Many of the game’s textures were hand-painted by Ghibli artist Yoichi Nishikawa.
PS5 gamers can also take heart in knowing that they’re getting an especially optimized sensory experience. The 3D spatial audio has received particular attention, immersing you in the world as you explore. “You’ll hear bugs flying around and the waves crashing along the shorelines, and you can turn your camera around and really get a good sense of where sound’s coming from,” notes Nguyen.
Players can also expect the DualSense wireless controller to play a key part in the Aghasba experience. “We use the controller lights to indicate low and critical health. Haptic feedback is used during combat and many events that will pull the player into an immersive experience, such as being near a large creature’s footsteps or feeling the power behind their roar. Adaptive triggers are also used to give a sense of weight behind swinging different melee weapons and also during the drawback of a bow,” Nguyen continues.
Towers of Aghasba is one of the handful of promising titles to launch in Early Access on PS5 this November 19, with further content and updates regularly.
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Author: Heidi Kemps (she/her)
