Tape to Tape review (Brilliant Rectangle, 2023-, Steam Early Access)

I don’t go in for Steam Early Access at all, but this arcade ice hockey game that’s simultaneously trying to offer hockey tournament simming and a wacky powerups-roguelike has really got its teeth into me. I had never played NHL ‘94 on the Sega Mega Drive until the other day, but it’s a spiritual successor to that.

I like how simple it is to play hockey in this and that there are three buttons. It’s accessible stuff. I prefer the tournament mode to the roguelike. I wouldn’t say the latter is a waste of development time; it can be fun for what it is, but at a point, cultists that can teleport to the goal and princesses that fart to check you make the game less about the sport and more about being a characterful roguelike. That’s fine, I suppose, but I play that many roguelikes (including Slay The Spire, which the developers of this game owe a fair bit to, with its powerup selection screen, map layout, and act structure) that I can see it’s not doing anything new with the formula, and it’s just not really what I want from a sports game.

The tournament mode is good; you simulate the entire thing and can play any team in any match, rather than picking one team to play through the whole thing. You can choose whether you want the powerups here or not, which is vital. You can also make that choice when you’re playing a single match.

Part of me wants a more grounded career mode; managing the team in a modern, contemporary league, shorn of the fantasy setting. I wouldn’t need Fifa-style depth for this, just the dopamine rush of taking a rubbish team to the top of the league that I like in any sports game.

I bought this game with my own money, and if arcade sports games are of any interest to you, you should too. It’s a good, pick-up and play ice hockey game in the way that I found NHL Ninety-Ninety Four on the Sega Mega Meme not to be, so Tape to Tape has actually finessed the gameplay loop, rather than just cribbing it.

I’ve seen this game attract the attention of people who have never played an indie game in their lives, so something - the charming graphics, the gliding pace, how satisfying it is to body check, whatever - is helping it reach across the aisle. Given this, local, six-player multiplayer, with Remote Play Together support, is very welcome. It has all the makings of a great party game.

It’d be nice if the developers added online Steamworks matchmaking after release. I don’t develop games, and that’s probably a big ask of an independent developer, so it may not happen. That’s fine. There’s enough here for now, and I’m interested in what else is going to go into it in the future.

I’ve played Tape to Tape for just under nine hours before sitting down to write about it, and I’m going to play more of it now.