STARIO: Haven Tower preview

You’ve probably heard the old proverb, “there’s nothing new under the Sun”, which relates to the concept that history and human experiences repeat in cyclical patterns. In terms of videogames, this would mean that there’s no such thing as a new idea. Now, this isn’t entirely fair, as the reality is that, due to how new gaming is, many of the concepts and ideas are, in a sense, relatively new. That means that there’s always going to be a game that is doing something different, and that includes STARIO: Haven Tower by developer Stargate Games.

In STARIO: Haven Tower, you are responsible for leading the survivors of a calamity out of their underground city. Considering the state of the world, your only real option is to head up towards the stars. With that in mind, you need to build a tower to pierce six different atmospheric layers to reach safer areas. That’s really all there is in the plot sense, and while I wish there was a bit more, it does what it needs to do to set the stage.

Gameplay is pretty much what you would expect: you build a tower up... but there's a bit more to it than that. There are two different types of structures: Tower Blocks, which you can use to increase the height, and Attachments, which you place on the main blocks and do various things. There’s a fair amount of variety when it comes to the towers proper, as well as the different buildings you can add. However, it’s relatively easy to get started, as you really only have the option to build huts for your Toweritizens, farms and dew collectors for water.

The aim is to gather resources that you can use to build new sections of your tower, depending on what you need. However, each tower houses its own supplies, so you also need porters to carry things up and down while making sure you spread out what you need. It’s fun enough, but there’s an argument that it really takes a while to get going and research all the new buildings. I found my experience was much improved once I unlocked more build options for both the towers and the attachments.

You also have to keep an eye on the morale and faith of the Toweritizens, which you can do by answering their prayers and building specific tower blocks. This is important as the game will throw disasters and crises at you as you play. With that being said, the actual disasters aren’t really that big of an issue, and I kind of forgot they were a factor until the game reminded me one was happening.

Overall, everything in STARIO: Haven Tower works, although the UI is painfully small and hard to read. There’s also a lack of real information that you need on the screen at any one time. For instance, you can research new technologies using faith and other materials. However, if you select one but are lacking in one of these items, the percentage bar will not advance. This would be fine if the game actually told you it was stalled and why; instead, you need to head to the research menu and hover over it to see what you’re missing.

It's not the end of the world, but it shows the biggest issue I have with STARIO: Haven Tower at its initial launch. It’s got a great premise and, once you unlock a few things, a really intricate and detailed design. Not only that, the graphics and the music are both great, with the look of the tower blocks and attachments all standing out. However, getting to that point is an exercise in annoyance and frustration, as the game just won’t tell you some things that are happening in the world.