Genshin Impact Hater’s Disappointment in Tower of Fantasy’s Failure

I’m disappointed that Tower of Fantasy didn’t really gain traction. It checks all the boxes for me — an anime open-world RPG that fulfills the Genshin Impact craving but opts for a genuine MMO feel instead of character-swapping.

Don’t get me wrong; Genshin Impact is stunning. It’s exceptionally polished and sets the benchmark for this genre (alongside Wuthering Waves). However, I’ve never been a fan of the character-swapping feature. Managing four distinct characters in combat, each with unique skills and cooldowns, feels cumbersome to me. I’d prefer to engage with one main character and switch weapons to keep things dynamic.

In Tower of Fantasy, you can design your own personalized character and stay with them throughout the game. While you can “cosplay” as Simulacra—those pre-defined heroes—it’s purely aesthetic. Your avatar remains uniquely yours, which adds a sense of identity. Plus, combat revolves around weapon-swapping rather than changing characters, which I find more enjoyable.

There’s also the MMO element to consider. Contrary to Genshin Impact, which primarily offers a single-player experience with optional co-op, Tower of Fantasy features a shared environment. You can encounter other players naturally, team up to defeat world bosses, or simply chat.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone as planned. Tower of Fantasy reached a peak of around 7,164 concurrent players on Steam on October 23, 2022, but now it averages approximately 370 players—down from 411 just last month. Mobile stats aren’t much better, with Google Play reporting about 276,000 monthly active users, a 10% decrease since May. Steam reviews also remain “Mixed” overall, with recent ratings dipping to roughly 41% positive.

It appears that Hotta Studio is actively working on improvements and continues to roll out updates, but it might be too late. So here I am, eagerly awaiting Blue Protocol: Star Resonance—the anime MMORPG of my dreams. (Sorry, Crystal of Atlan.)