Tape To Tape indie spotlight

Josh Straub2 minute read

I spend too much time and money on Kickstarter, and I also watch too much hockey. So, when a friend of mine showed me the Tape-to-Tape campaign that launched last year, I backed it pretty quickly. Now that the game is in early access, I can say that I love it. Despite the fact that the accessibility on the surface seems to be lacking in Tape To Tape. 

A blacksmith with a hockeymask and welding goggles. His dialogue is shown in a cartoon speech bubble and similar font.

The menu and button prompts are quite prominently overlaid on the scene.

But, let’s start with the positive first. Tape To Tape by Excellent Rectangle features an easy-to-read art style. It has no real reliance on sound or color to communicate vital information. The game puts you in the role of Angus McShaggy. McShaggy is a hockey lover in a post-hockey world where the secrets of the game are held by the Cup-Keepers. He must assemble a team of rag-tag hockey players and battle through a series of encounters with other up-and-coming teams. 

Roguelite hockey

With each win, and some losses, you unlock cartoony powers. Like the ability to chuck your stick at an opponent, knocking them down and taking them out of action for a few seconds. But, if you lose, you go back to the beginning. As you progress through a run, you are given a currency called rubber. You can spend it at the start of each run to give you permanent power ups. Power ups like unlocking new star players or upgrading McShaggy’s stats. 

The upgrade screen showing attributes that can be upgraded.
The current attributes are displayed below the character in bold text with the change shown next to it.

Being a sports game at heart, it does rely on a bit of timing and accuracy. But there was nothing that I personally found too taxing. And, like other roguelikes, the more you lose, the stronger you get. There is only one real negative in Tape-to-Tape for players with fine-motor impairments. It really has to be played with a controller to get the most out of it. Other than that, the accessibility barriers in Tape To Tape are not severe and go away rather quickly once you start playing.

I wanted this game to be like Hades with a hockey skin, and, at least in my experience, it is. While at this point, it is not quite as accessible as Hades is, the power ups come quickly enough. So even if I lose badly on a run, I immediately want to jump back in with a new strategy. As a result, I encourage any hockey lover looking for a more casual experience to take Tape-to-Tape for a spin.

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