Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree | hands-on preview

Bandai Namco showed up at the Summer Game Fest Play Days with a rogue-lite game from Brownie: Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree.

The 2D action-adventure title debuts on the consoles and PC in September.

It’s a button-mashing rogue-lite set in a mystic realm where ancient forces are threatening Shinju, an idyllic village at the foot of a living sacred tree. You have to fight with a couple of warriors paired together and control both of them with a single game controller. You have to forge weapons and bonds.

Towa is a priestess, a child of the gods and protector of the wondrous village that sits at the base of a living sacred tree. The village was her home and she lived for ages among the villagers.

But the peace and happiness was broken by the evil god Magatsu, who spread his miasma throughout the lands. And from that poisoned haze, the Maga Ori beasts emerged. The evil beasts claimed more lands and crept closer to the village.

Towa has to recruit eight different warriors from the village — prayer children. They are granted special staffs and swords. The warriors include resolute blade master Rekka, virtuous seeker Nishiki, and a couple of others.

Before each quest, you choose which of them will be your Tsurugi (the lead fighter with a sword) or Kagura (the support fighter with a staff). As you enter each area, you the Maga Ori beasts materialize and you have to go on the attack. But you have to avoid damage by dashing around. So the action is very fast.

I found it moved so fast I had to concentrate and avoid panicking as the beast came after me. Using my special powers at the right moment mattered a lot. Of course, if you die, you have to start all over. It’s a rouge-lite, for sure.

Each time you are defeated, you return to the village and can choose different warriors for your next attempt. But your progression stays with you. The priestess turns back time and enables you to try again.

The hand-drawn style character art and painterly backdrops are beautiful and rooted in Eastern mysticism. The music soundtrack comes from composer Hitoshi Sakimoto.

The game comes out on September 19 and you can pre-order it now. it will be out on the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Nintendo Switch.

As you fight and level up, you can receive a Grace, like a strength boost, a drifting cloud strike, a cloud rendering slice or a drafting cloud attack.