The Towerborne "map is designed to be a candy shop full of tasty treats"

One of the most interesting titles revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase in June was Towerborne. It's developed by Stoic (The Banner Saga) and seems to be at least to some extent inspired by Castle Crashers with co-op for up to four people.

Xbox Wire has an interview with both the studio's co-founder and chief creative officer Arnie Jorgensen, and senior combat designer Isaac Torres, where they shares some new details about the game. Amongst other things, the former reveals that they wanted to make it really easy to pick up and play, without sacrificing depth or just making it about button mashing:

"The game is simply easy to pick up and dive into, and even better with friends. Anyone can grab a controller and have fun mashing buttons and getting loot to improve your character with. The combat is bouncy, and accessible to a wide range of people. As you play more and go deeper with the weapon specific combos and abilities, you realize the combat is far deeper than you first thought. You see a boss enemy's head sticking out of the clouds up ahead on the world map and have a new goal to shoot for, but to defeat it may require reforging your Warclub and leveling up some gear... the game just pulls you in and it's not a stress simulator, it's just a good time."

Regarding the inspiration, it seems like it's not only Castle Crashers Stoic has been looking at, as explained by Torres:

"A good portion of the combat team is composed of designers and animators that have worked on action games, beat 'em ups, and fighting games where this sort of feel is a top priority. We also have designers that have worked on a large variety of other genres, too, like RPGs and MMOs. It is this sort of team diversity that has allowed us to take inspiration from tons of games while also creating our own identity."

The interview also touches upon the big world map, which you use to explore the game. Jorgensen says the idea is that it should be filled with fun things for you to do:

"The map is your way of exploring the world of Towerborne. You will battle out from the safety of the Belfry, hex by hex into the wilds to encounter discovery, story, enemy cluster, boss missions and more. You will find chests of precious items, seek out Umbra spirits, and unlock pathways to more dangerous areas through Danger License missions. The map is designed to be a candy shop full of tasty treats for you to enjoy."

Towerborne launches next year for PC and Xbox Series S/X. It is also included with Game Pass starting day 1. Check out ten brand new screenshots from Gamescom below.