This game is why I wished Steam's review system wasn't a binary choice between Negative and Positive, because Twisted Tower isn't either of them.
Starting with the positives:
The mechanics are all easy to learn and use. the guns didn't seem overpowered nor underpowered with the game's progression.
The visuals and art style fit the setting very well. An evil carnival with scary mascots was promised, and one was delivered (with a caveat I'll get into later).
The story itself is passable. The background being told through notes and tapes offered enough information to the characters while also doing good at laying the groundwork for the twists at the end.
Now for the negatives:
There's far too little enemy variety in this game. Once you've encountered an enemy once, you'll likely know all their tricks and what to watch out for. On it's own that's not a bad thing, but with how few enemy types there are, and there being practically no variation between them to spice things up, this makes the game a bit too easy (I played on normal mode). Once all the enemies are revealed, there are no more curveballs or wildcards left.
Remember when I said there was a caveat with the evil carnival and scary mascots? That would be that while visuals are scary, the game really isn't. Calling Twisted Tower a survival horror game is a massive stretch at best, as there are many healing and ammo drops to be found.
As far as the alternate path in Adventure Plus, it's not worth it. I didn't really feel any different within the different paths; there was no sense of exploration, or dread at what's to come. Though the layout is different, they feel the same as the base paths.
Speaking of feelings, despite being a game about a man rescuing his beloved in a scary carnival with lost of guns, blood, and gore, this game doesn't evoke much emotion; fear, excitement, dread, anticipation, I felt nothing while playing this game (I barely even felt frustrated at enemies killing me). When I play this game, it's like how I imagine looking at a zombie would feel like; the body may be functioning, but you can feel beneath there's nothing there.
All of this makes me give the game one of the worst labels a video game can have; boring.
As far as the plot goes, Overall it's not as bad as the gameplay. Throughout the game when you find the notes and tapes, and the interactions that piece together the overarching story, it all forms something passable, right up until the end.
[spoiler] In the end, it's revealed that V.C. Twister is Vincent's father. I guessed this pretty early on in the game, so the reveal wasn't surprising. However, the reveal itself wasn't that good. Essentially, it's just Twister telling Vincent he's his father. There's no emotional reaction from Vincent, he just goes on to the final battle. [/spoiler]
[spoiler] Going back to the gameplay briefly, the boss fight was very disappointing. The game was hyping up the Twisted Beast pretty early on, and the whole building shook on several occasions further hyping what it was. Instead, it was Mr. Twister riding a hot air balloon, firing projectiles. [/spoiler]
[spoiler] For the ending, this is where the plot nosedives: it's revealed that the whole adventure was just fake, including the part about Charlotte loving Vincent and being the victim of a kidnapping. That alone isn't bad, there are some hints that even implied she was a part of the scheme (which I also guessed early on). Where this goes off the rails is when it's revealed Charlotte and Vincent are siblings. [/spoiler]
[spoiler] This is completely pointless. Charlotte already had motivations to work with Mr. Twister; she was a struggling screenwriter who wasn't making enough money for rent, and she was a fan of two of Mr. Twister's movies. Financial desperation and/or being a fangirl starring in the sequel to a movie she loved as good enough motivation. Making Charlotte Vincent's sister (not to mention she has romantic feelings for him that he seems to partially reciprocate) just feels like cheap shock value. [/spoiler]
Honestly, Twisted Tower is the type of game you play once, and (while not disliking it) never play again.
TL;DR:
The game doesn't have enough wild cards for replayability, and the end twist is lazy.
Would I go so far as to say it's not worth buying? Not at the price it's sold for. If you really want to get it, get it on sale when it's $10 or less.
