Tower of Doom – How to Play It Today and Whether It Is Worth It
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Quick verdict
- Recommended version
- Atari Intellivision Sprint built-in version
- Best low-friction option
- Atari Intellivision Sprint for new buyers; Evercade Intellivision Collection 2 only for existing Evercade owners or legitimate remaining stock.
- Best purist option
- Original Intellivision cartridge on original hardware
- Technical friction
- Moderate
- Gameplay friction
- High
- Beginner-friendly
- Mostly
How to play it today
The cleanest official way to play Tower of Doom today is through the Atari Intellivision Sprint, where it is included as part of the built-in Intellivision library. That makes the legal answer simple, but not cheap or frictionless: you are buying a dedicated retro console, not a standalone copy of one game.
For most readers, that distinction matters. If you want to explore Intellivision broadly, the Sprint is the most sensible current starting point. It gives you a modern-TV-friendly route, Intellivision-style wireless controllers, overlays, and a library that includes Tower of Doom. If you only want to try this one dungeon crawler, buying hardware for it is difficult to justify.
There are a few other legal paths, but each is more conditional. Evercade Intellivision Collection 2 includes Tower of Doom and may be a better option if you already own Evercade hardware or can still find legitimate stock. Older Intellivision Lives! releases also matter if you already own a compatible copy, but they are not the best recommendation for a new player starting from nothing.
The original Intellivision cartridge is the purist route. It is also the least practical route for most people, because it means original hardware, a working cartridge, the right display setup, and patience with aging equipment. Choose it because you want the authentic Intellivision experience, not because it is the easiest way to play.
Where you can play it today
Atari Intellivision Sprint built-in version
YesOfficial release
Atari Intellivision Sprint
Current official route, modern-TV-friendly hardware, wireless Intellivision-style controllers, overlays, and a built-in 45-game library.
A dedicated hardware purchase is hard to justify for this one game alone, and save-state support for this specific game should not be assumed.
Best for: Players who want to explore Intellivision as a platform, not just Tower of Doom.
Evercade Intellivision Collection 2
SelectivelyCompilation
Evercade
A convenient compilation route for people who already own Evercade hardware.
Less reliable as a new-buyer recommendation because cartridge availability is conditional and legacy stock may vary.
Best for: Existing Evercade owners or buyers who find legitimate stock at a fair price.
Original Intellivision cartridge
NoOriginal hardware
Intellivision
The authentic controller, overlay, and hardware experience.
Requires original hardware, a working cartridge, display setup, and a high tolerance for aging equipment.
Best for: Dedicated Intellivision enthusiasts and purists.
Intellivision Lives! legacy compilations
NoCompilation
Legacy compilation platforms
A useful official route for readers who already own a compatible copy.
Old platform support and modern compatibility make it a weak recommendation for new players.
Best for: People who already own the compilation.
Why this is the recommended version
The Atari Intellivision Sprint version is the best current recommendation because it solves the biggest access problem: it gives a normal reader an official, modern-display route without chasing old hardware or legacy software. It also preserves the part of Tower of Doom that matters most historically, the Intellivision control style and overlay-driven interface.
That does not make it a perfect recommendation. The Sprint is a platform purchase. Tower of Doom should be treated as one reason to care about the library, not the only reason to buy the device. The value case gets much stronger if you also want to sample other Intellivision games.
Evercade is the main low-friction alternative for people already in that ecosystem. If you own Evercade hardware and have access to Intellivision Collection 2, that may be the easier play. For a new buyer, it is more conditional because availability can depend on remaining cartridge stock.
Purists should still choose the original cartridge and hardware. Everyone else should be honest about what they are actually buying into. Tower of Doom is not a modern remaster, not a remake, and not a frictionless download. It is an old Intellivision RPG made easier to access through modern retro hardware and compilations.
Play Today Framework
What to know before starting
- Difficulty
- Start on Novice and do not assume you can brute-force every encounter.
- Pacing
- Slow, exploratory, and survival-minded, with old-school trial and error around items and enemies.
- Do you need a guide?
- Light guide help is useful for controls and first-run choices, but a full walkthrough is not necessary at the start.
- Good starting point?
- Mostly, if you are specifically exploring Intellivision or early console RPGs. Not ideal as a casual first dungeon crawler.
Treat Tower of Doom as a manual-driven dungeon crawler rather than a modern action RPG. Begin with Novice difficulty, consider the Warlord for a gentler first run, and learn the pack, item, door, stair, combat, bribe, and retreat controls before judging the game. The first barrier is not strategy depth, it is making the interface feel readable.
Is it still worth playing?
Tower of Doom is worth playing if you are curious about Intellivision, early console RPG design, or unusually ambitious late-life games for old hardware. It has selectable characters, multiple adventures, fixed and randomized tower structures, combat, item discovery, traps, and non-combat options such as bribery. For an Intellivision game, that is a serious amount of design density.
It is not the best casual entry point into dungeon crawlers. It is also not the game I would recommend to someone who simply wants a smooth retro RPG night. The interface is old, the rules are not immediately transparent, and the current legal routes make more sense for platform explorers than for one-game tourists.
The recommendation is therefore selective. If you are buying or already own a device that includes it, Tower of Doom is absolutely worth sampling. Give it a careful start rather than a five-minute judgment. If you are deciding whether to buy hardware only for this game, skip that idea unless you already know you want Intellivision as a platform.
For a gentler Intellivision fantasy starting point, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Cloudy Mountain is likely the cleaner first stop when it is available in the same ecosystem. Tower of Doom is better treated as the deeper follow-up, the game you try once you already have some tolerance for how Intellivision games feel.
FAQ
Can I buy Tower of Doom by itself as a normal modern digital game?
Do not plan around that. The practical official route for most readers is a hardware or compilation path, not a standalone download.
Is the Intellivision Sprint worth buying just for Tower of Doom?
Usually no. It becomes a much better recommendation if you want the wider Intellivision library.
Is the Evercade version a good option?
Yes, selectively. If you already own Evercade hardware and can access Intellivision Collection 2 legally, it may be a convenient option. It is not the safest default recommendation for new buyers starting from scratch.