On default settings the multiplayer matches are usually played to a total of ten kills, each of which will come in a series of brutally quick last-man-standing rounds laced with power-ups that range from bizarre to completely game-changing. New players tend to tentatively take cover behind walls and venture out only to retrieve their precious missed shots, but after a couple of hours you’ll inevitably find them jumping up walls, curving their fire around corners and dashing into oncoming arrows to pluck them out of the air before returning the favour. Second only to Nidhogg as my favourite competitive multiplayer game of the year, Towerfall’s simple control scheme hides an ocean of depth as players bounce around each arena before delivering death from above or below.
But as that platform crashed and burned mere months after release, the developers saw fit to expand their audience to PS4, and thanks to a PS Plus deal, many of you will already have it sitting in your collection. If there was one reason to buy the poor little Ouya, it was Towerfall. Nidhogg is absolutely enthralling to play or watch, and if you’ve a competitive streak, this should absolutely be in your rotation. After hours of play, we’re still finding room for experimentation within its suite of athletic manoeuvres. With that constant ebb and flow comes a demand for nerve, ingenuity, bluffing and timing, and the sublimely balanced combat gives Nidhogg a surprising amount of depth. Rounds can last for less than thirty seconds or stretch to well over ten minutes, while last-ditch reversals and brutal counter-strikes spike the tension with relief or elation. The prize for victory is to be eaten by a gigantic dragon. The action always flows in the direction of the player that manages the last kill, so defence can quickly turn to offence, with victory secured after gradually whittling down your opponent’s territory and then making a mad dash for the finish line. The victor wins the ability to run towards their opponent’s base and secure victory, but after a few seconds, the previously-dead fighter respawns in their path and attempts to block progress once again. Two silhouetted fighters face each on a side-scrolling 2D level, commencing battle with rapiers in hand. Of all the games that were played in my living room last year, Nidhogg undoubtedly drew the loudest laughter and longest moments of sheer, nail biting tension.
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