Red Rope: Don't Fall Behind Reviews

Red Rope is a true hidden gem on steam that anyone who enjoys local co-op games should try. Both players are integral to succeeding in the game. You must work together, there is no way that a stronger player can get a weaker player through the game. Success is dependant on both players equally. I think this is the most enjoyable aspect of Red Rope, its one of the few co-op games available where you feel like a genuine team and you really do forge a bond while playing it... if you don't kill each other first! Definitely my favourite local co-op game on steam. If you have a couch co-op friend and are looking for a great game to play together you've got to give this one a try.

This game compelled me to write a review. First saw this featured on the main store page, I was curious. I honestly thought you could play co-op online but was slightly saddened to find out that it is local co-op only, I didnt pay enough attention to the tags. I wanted to get my 7.99s worth so I played about 3 hours solo. Death followed, MUCH death. I hadnt died so much since the Souls. After about 50 deaths I retrieved my first bronze key in the House of Spring and was so pleased with myself; only to discover I would need two more to proceed into one of the bronze doors, Then I realized there were 3 other types of keys obviously leading to more difficult rooms,,. That is when my hopes ended. It would be nearly impossible for me to get through this entire labyrinth alone. So I was forced to summon some bros. For the next 6 hours, it've been playing co-op with my two bestfriends. A girl and guy who happen to be dating. Yes, I am that third-wheel bro. Prior to playing, I had convinced them that it would be easy and all they had to do was use either the left or right joystick to navigate their character through the labyrinth. They were mislead and it was amusing to experience them suck at staying alive. We've only experienced the first few Houses. I can't imagine what the other more difficult Houses will be like. The best thing about this game is that it brings that old console co-op feel and its perfect. You find yourself garnering techniques such as the "wind-mill attack", as we dubbed it, where you make the rope whip in rotation to eliminate the lesser undead. The "stand on the ledge then drop down and run towards me to encircle the brute/witch while I've lured the brute/witch". Herding shadows like cattle, which happens to be immensly satifying. Luring a minotaur to plummet to it's death. Quadruple guard kills. Playing and finding out which tactics are best is so fun with a friend. Getting through each house will be torturously satisfying. Great game to pass time and unhinge neighbors who hear your despair and your pleasure.

I don't think I will ever beat this game, but it's a wonderful collaborative game. I have never been so mad and so inundated with laughter at the same time. A cooperative frustration that I most likely will never beat, but a unique game that should get much more play then it does. Best played local co-op, be prepared to get mad at each other. 7/10

Red Rope is a hardcore co-operative action game where two characters are connected by a rope. Together they must navigate the labyrinth, defeating the monsters within and finding the keys to go deeper and deeper until the exit is reached. Each House offers a variety of mechanics that test the pair in puzzle solving, co-operation, communication and co-ordination. I purchased Red Rope a long time ago, looking to have some intense co-operative action. When I eventually got round to it, my other half lasted about 10 minutes before giving up; it was just too hardcore for him. I was left alone in the labyrinth, lost and confused with almost zero co-ordination between my thumbs, however, I wasn't going to give up! I don't even want to know how many times I died, especially in the beginning. The difficulty curve is extremely steep, and with the puzzles and challenges becoming increasingly more difficult the deeper I went. There were times I thought about giving up, but I persevered. Today, I finally reached the exit, with my thumbs in perfect sync. While I thoroughly enjoyed this game, Red Rope is definitely not for everyone. It has a very steep learning curve and is quite unclear as to where to go when you first enter the game. The different Houses offer a large variety of mechanics that keep the game fresh as you progress. It can be very challenging, and when working together with someone co-operatively, I imagine it can be difficult to find someone who will persevere all the way through with you. No doubt it would cause many arguments with your partner, but it is very rewarding in the end. [h1] Pros [/h1] + Lovely pixel art graphics + Challenging and interesting level design + Co-operative play, but also allows for single player + If you reach the end of the labyrinth, the developers create a pixel character of you to live within the game forever [h1] Cons [/h1] - Can be very confusing when you first start playing - Has a steep learning curve, so not for the faint-hearted [h1][b] My Score: 8/10 [/b][/h1]

I love this game. I tried Red Rope for the first time at an indie video game festival and I immediately fell in love with its mechanics and its artistic flavour. It is structured around dungeons filled with monsters, like many other titles, but the overall flow of the game is so much different, since every step must be taken in harmony with your partner. The two protagonists are connected by a short rope, at the same time blessed weapon and cursed tool, and they need to escape together an intricate labyrinth. This is not a light co-op experience: the players must be truly committed to *bond* with each other, if they really want to overcome the hostile rooms designed by the developers. Some challenges are simply brutal, and require almost pixel-perfect movement precision, but the shared dopamine boosts, after achieving a new goal, are worthy of all the deaths. Said that, I don’t think reaching the end of the game is that hard, it’s just a matter of grasping its unique movement system. There are some design ideas that can be debatable, especially some tedious puzzle-platforming (you’ll get this when you’ll see it) and an overly obscure/dispersive incipit of the game, but nothing that can really overshadow the brilliant idea behind this title. I played in all the possible setups: I started in couch co-op, which is preferable especially for novice players; then I moved to online, the Steam remote play feature is good enough if the remote player can cope with some input lag; and finally I reached the exit of the labyrinth by myself, using both analog sticks at the same time (way easier than it sounds). Red Rope is not welcoming by design, but it’s highly recommended if you are looking for a challenging journey to be shared with someone you love/like/respect/know.

An interesting idea that sold me on giving it a try. But after a half hour of local co-op play, both of us realized we were playing to end the irritation of every single room. And the moment we did, and the new puzzle loaded, we knew with a look how frustrating it would be. - The finicky controls - The tiny play areas - The annoying hands that pop up without warning, grab you and (more often than not) pull you to your death without much you can do about it. It's this last part -the powerful feeling of "that's just unfair"- prevalent in the game, and not it's difficulty, that turned us away. The game likes killing you without providing any indication that you're about to die, until it's too late. Not recommended if you prefer games that communicate information you need to know when making decisions. I enjoy difficult challenges, but very much dislike trial-and-error style traps.

[b]This is a brilliant game, put together with solid yet simple elements and deserves high praise. It takes a straightforward, simple mechanic and does wonders with it.[/b] The basic premise is easily understood. A rope of variable length tethers two characters together, and with that rope they must overcome obstacles. It is both a help and a hindrance. And the minute you leave the halls and hit the first dungeon, this should become immediately clear. And while easily understood, the premise is not so easily executed. One of those games that pushes players into the ‘trial by dying’ gauntlet, there is very little escape for mistakes. You will die while puzzling things out. You will die while perfecting execution. You will die because you or your teammate failed to communicate, commit, or you overcommitted or hesitated. There is no tutorial, no handholding or in-game guide to tell you what to do, or not do, or how to proceed. NPCs will offer cryptic bits of advice, but from what I’ve seen (or understood) they offer little more than the basics. You make progress simply by doing that—making progress, learning what works and what doesn’t in any given situation. And in a game that relies so heavily on communication, it is a brilliant move. As a big fan of co-operative experiences in games, I have played many. I love to sit down with a friend, whether side-by-side, or online. FPS, roguelike/lite, arcade, whatever, I’m usually down to play. From those that are drop-in, drop-out, to those that require the time and attention of you and a friend to make any progress at all, this game requires some of the most teamwork I have seen. Games like [i]Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes[/i] (a game with thousands of reviews, and Overwhelmingly Positive at 98%), recently lauded for its emphasis on communication, do require solid communication between players, no denying. But once you and a partner, or a team develop a language, and a rhythm, much of the challenge is lost. The modules do not change at their root. Here, if you do not communicate at all times, synchronize at all times, and learn and play together, [i]Red Rope[/i] might be virtually impossible. I will not dis the single player experience possible in this game. That in and of itself is a challenge. But this game ought to be played with someone else. As the trailer says, two ‘someones’, it doesn’t matter, in the end, it’s up to you who you sit down with. The experience of learning alongside another is where a large part of the game’s brilliance comes from. And while I said that the game has no tutorial, it is not as if it doesn’t teach you at all. The first room of each dungeon smoothly introduces new mechanics, and the initial zones of the game have a smooth difficulty curve, making it easy to pick up the tricks you will likely use throughout the entire game, as well as become accustomed to the overall flow. As for the art style, there are few criticisms. It is pixel art, solid and well-put together. Neither overly complex, nor too simplistic, or terrible. One of the reoccurring complaints my fellow player has is trouble with the hitbox—in that at times it is hard to delineate. It adheres to the same sort of twiggy character design seen in games like [i]Sword and Sworcery.[/i] The sound design and music composition is also not overly complex. Very ambient in style, the music style is minimal—at its most obvious when players are in more serious combat. I wish there was a little more variety here, but it is still well put together, and does not break genre or immersion. Overall, this is the kind of game that gains most of its traction through word of mouth. While it should probably be lauded critically, you are most likely to hear about this game from someone else. And you should. It’s amazing. It leaves its mark. The majority of the current reviews are positive, as they, in my opinion should be. The majority of the negative ones are complaining about co-op--that how dare it be local. Those that leave these do not understand the experience, or how development, or even the internet works. In fact, one review calls it “not a multiplayer game to play with others.” Words that are more false cannot be spoken. If you know someone who plays games, play this game with them. (I would not recommend it for rocky relationships, or those who do not play, or understand games---the difficulty curve would likely be too high for novice gamers being that the game is rogueish. Though if said person has patience and persistence, perhaps my recommendation would be different.) [b]Highly recommend, well worth the full price, worth even more on sale. Going by playtime so far, I would guess at least 20 hours of first run playtime can be assumed. Probably more, only less if you are extremely on point.[/b]

Red Rope: Don't Fall Behind is a fantastic demonstration of how cooperative play can be integrated into a game. In most multiplayer video games, a stronger player can support a weaker player; in "Red Rope," if both players aren't on the same page, you're not going to get very far. This because both players are interminably linked together by a short rope. You can't kill enemies, clear traps, or even make it to the other end of the room without careful coordination, coordination which typically means yelling at each other. It can be horribly frustrating. This game is not easy. But from the get go it forces you to talk to whomever you are playing with, which is a refreshing change of pace.

For those who say: MEHH THIS GAME IS HARD TO PLAY ALONE. Yeah, it's impossible actually. Don't try it. This game is meant to be played with someone. For those who say: MEHH THIS GAME IS HARD TO PLAY WITH SOMEONE. No. It's not. This game is actually great for understanding a lot of the human mind and dialogue. You have to understand each other, you have to understand how your partner plays and think. You have to understand that dialogue makes this game possible. You have to undestand that your "obvious" isn't the "obvious" of your partner, that your "truth" is not the only one. Its perfected for understanding and solving conflicts within us and those around us. This game has something rare: humanity. I've loved every single day I've played with my friend. It was frustating as life, but joyful as life. Enjoy this game. Enjoy your life. Understand otherness so you can understand yourself.

Red Rope is an amazing game that made me feel like my brain was expanding while playing it. It takes an amazing puzzle game to accomplish the feat of actually making you feel slowly smarter instead of just making you feel like you put the square peg in the square hole. I played it solo. I actually do not recommend playing it with another player unless you have a friend that you would risk your life for. I feel like there is so much co-ordination needed between the two parties in this game that it would take under an hour of gameplay to want to wring a noose around your friend's neck. Solo is perfectly doable, but it has a high learning curve. But it feels amazing once you grasp onto it- after a while it just gets automatic and you can control the two characters flawlessly without even thinking about it. It totally makes up for the beginning being rough with you making all sorts of dumb mistakes. There are a lot of weird confusing mechanics here, but all of them took a very short amount of time to learn. It's offbeat nature of scoring mechanics (or "morality" if you want to go with the tacked on art game premise this game apparently has according to the advertising, even though it's completely absent in game) and gameplay tricks lead to a very zen and tense experience at the same time. You are limited in lives, but you also know that enemies don't respawn when you die in this game except a certain type so you can suicide to clear a room if need be. It creates this balance of knowing when dying is worth it and when to take the bullet to clear a tricky situation. Like most games though, it turns out the things you like most are easiest to criticize. There are a lot of issues with this game. The music sucks. I like the droning odd style of it, but it gets easily repetitive and sounds underproduced. There is also only a total of like 9 songs, so no matter what dungeon you go into if it's the same "level" dungeon (there are 4 per level) it will always have the same song. Some dungeons are also clear wastes of time or lives because of how much harder they are in comparison to the rest of the dungeons. Particularly, the [spoiler]summer, air, and pestilence[/spoiler] dungeons are so tricky that you might as well go through literally anything else. Luckily it's like the developers anticipated this, and you only need a total of two dungeons on each level to make it to the final boss. So you can effectively skip half the game. Also, a small handful of rooms are balanced for longer ropes. This is terrible, because every time you die your rope gets reset. So if you screw up in these rooms, you will likely have to pixel hunt with your characters just to stay alive. There was one room in particular in the rightmost silver key dungeon where you have to travel across moving platforms with buttons on them, and I swear you have to land on the exact pixel if you have the smallest rope size. It doesn't feel like a challenge or a smart puzzle, just frustrating tedium. All that aside, I highly recommend the game. The developers are great as they fix bugs quick and even have a promotion where the first 50 people to beat the game get pixel art done of them to put into the game. The game isn't impossible, so if that interests you and you have 10 hours aside to spare, maybe it's worth setting that up as a goal? It's been a long, long, long while since I've played a puzzle game this good. As unpolished as it is in some aspects, it makes up for it with pure genius in other parts.