Tower of Fantasy is Great for Beginners

One of my failed 2022 goals and projects was to really dive into Genshin Impact. I have a few friends that play, and I wanted to see how far I could get without spending a dime. The problem I found with Genshin wasn’t the microtransactions though, it was the overwhelming amount of content. Granted, that’s a strange complaint to have for someone that plays 100+ hour JRPGs without breaking a sweat.

However, with the steady content updates, which aren’t necessarily bad in themselves, Genshin Impact is a monolith that just seems to be growing. With new mechanics and environments being added all the time, not to mention limited-time events, it’s difficult for a new player to really sink into it without feeling overwhelmed. Because of that, when the developers of Tower of Fantasy reached out to ask about possibly doing some content, I was curious.

Another friend of mine had been playing Tower of Fantasy recently and mentioned that it was a lot more digestible because the game was a bit newer and simpler. While I love the attention to detail that HoyoLabs puts into Genshin, I was intrigued about a competitor that might be more beginner friendly. I can honestly report that I fell into Tower of Fantasy a lot more easily than I did Genshin.

With that being said, the games are similar in practice. You play a mysterious character who meets and befriends others, exploring a massive open world. As time goes on, Tower of Fantasy adds content, and limited-time events, and has rotating weapons you can purchase via the Gacha system just like buying characters in Genshin. The weapons are tied to characters, or simulated versions of them called Simulacra, that can change your look and various abilities.

There is an emphasis on exploration and mobility too, so if you are familiar with Genshin (or even Breath of the Wild), you’ll know what you’re in for as far as traversal goes. Where Tower of Fantasy really shines to me though, is that there is a lot of stuff to find out in the overworld as a free player. I was provided a starter pack from the developers with some premium currency, but I held onto it to see how much I could progress without it.

I ran into a few issues playing with a controller but truth be told, the Xbox One controller I use on my PC is a few years old, so it could have been the hardware. In terms of easing into things though, not only can you learn the basics of the game through an easy-to-understand tutorial, but the game itself signposts finding various items, resources, and currencies pretty frequently.

Contrary to my time with Genshin, I found that Tower of Fantasy gave me a lot of variety of gameplay options, without making me feel overwhelmed with too many things to do all at once. Granted, if I had more time to spend with Genshin I might feel more comfortable, but as a beginner experience, I think Tower of Fantasy does a great job of easing you in and then turning you loose to play.

Other than a few select characters, I didn’t find Tower of Fantasy’s cast to be as memorable in the opening hours as Genshin’s evolving roster has become. At the same time, I like the melding of Sci-Fi with the fantasy elements at play, and the story itself feels a little more direct in terms of what is going on.

Overall, I can see why Genshin Impact fans might be turned off by Tower of Fantasy. They have a lot of similarities in structure and even in their plot setup. However, I think Tower of Fantasy is much more friendly to people who have never played Genshin Impact and might encourage people to give both games a try once they’ve had a chance to dip their feet into a less-involved game. Between the tutorials, various guidance systems, and an overall simpler and more focused experience, Tower of Fantasy offers a lot to beginners.

The best part is, if you don’t want to spend a dime you can go quite a long way without it. I’ve always been a fan of mobile/mobile-adjacent titles that can be played for free. Tower of Fantasy gives you plenty of room to do that, at least in the early hours. The currency does give you decent value though if you spend it wisely.

Perfect World Entertainment provided a digital code for 15,000 Dark Crystals, a premium currency for Tower of Fantasy to get us started in this article.