The best proof I can give that Tower of God: New World is actually worth it compared to the average idle gacha game? Well, playing it was enough to convince me to actually check out the Tower of God manhwa and anime series, both of which I was completely unfamiliar with prior to checking out New World. It takes a damn good game to have that effect on me. Part of the reason Tower of God: New World actually pulls off that impressive feat is that it actually does a great job of presenting the story from the source material. New World has a ton of different modes, but there are two I spent most of my time in: adventure and story.
Adventure mode provides a tiny bit of plot, mostly just introducing the overall concept of this world, which consists of climbing a massive tower where you must pass tests on each floor. But as I progressed through adventure mode, I unlocked new chapters of story mode, which is a more direct adaptation of the Tower of God story from the manhwa. And it's a really solid, fun anime story!
As a regular idle RPG player, I also deeply appreciated some smart design choices Tower of God: New World makes. In most gacha games, part of the challenge is not only pulling rare characters from the gacha, but then having to level up each individual character and spend precious resources doing so.
But Tower of God uses what it calls the "Link" system. Instead of leveling up individual characters, I leveled up each of the five positions my party members would fill on the battlefield. And then whichever character I slotted into that position would be buffed up to that level.
This meant that the moment I pulled an exciting super-rare character from the gacha, I could begin using them immediately. Or if I had a challenge that required swapping in a specific character type, I didn't need to worry that I hadn't already spent time grinding out levels with the best option available. And of course there are smaller ways to improve character stats, such as equipping gear and building up rapport with them by giving gifts, but the link system takes care of that most baseline level of making each party member usable at any point.
Beyond that godsend of a system, Tower of God: New World also has a very user-friendly approach to gacha. Tickets for pulls are given regularly as progress and achievement rewards. For every one hundred pulls, I was able to choose from any SSR character to add to my roster, and for every two hundred pulls I was able to choose from any SSR+ character (the game's highest rarity).
In just over a week of play, I was able to do over four hundred pulls at the gacha, and the only money I spent was for the first season's mission pass. Pretty good!
If you don't already enjoy idle RPGs, Tower of God: New World probably isn't going to convince you. But if you're into this genre, this is genuinely one of the best I've ever played, and possibly the first one that has ever convinced me to seek out media outside of the game just because I was so pulled into the story. It's absolutely worth giving a shot.
[Review by TapTap editor Kef]