I have played the tutorial level twice and the second level once. Normally, I don't review games before beating them, but this is not a game that you "beat" in a sane amount of hours. I also like to support the developer to help more people find their game, especially now that they have altruistically made the first two chapters free. I certainly wouldn’t have regretted paying for it, even after just 7 hours.

This is a really addicting (mathematical) optimization game. If you've ever seen those (fake) mobile ads about defeating mobs to grow in power in order to beat stronger mobs with bigger numbers above their heads, this game is sort of like that, but actually really challenging. It's about determining an order of operations that results in the highest score once you reach one of the clear tiles throughout the towers.

These towers are not just singular affairs but challenge you to replay them to clear higher score thresholds. The catch is that beating towers and doing well gives you permanent upgrades, which allow you to get higher scores on all levels, leading to more and better upgrades, thus allowing you to get even higher scores in a continuous loop.

Having (a lot) more meta-progress will allow you to access parts of the tower that are not accessible on a first playthrough, and having more floors and new, better clear tiles will allow you to clear even higher score thresholds.

The number of choices you can make is staggering. Do you kill a mob now, or skip it and come back when your XP is worth 600% more? This might just be the difference between ending your run one level higher and getting a gold medal instead of a silver. The choices can be quite overwhelming, and it's hard to know, for example, whether to use a key now to skip a floor and grab something from a higher level, or just clear the floor first.

The second level did take a while—maybe 4 hours or so—and, considering the number of tactical choices you're making, it did tire me out. Still, I feel there is a niche that will really vibe with this game. I'm not sure yet if that will be me, but so far I am very intrigued by the concept and am especially looking forward to the meta-progression.