INDIE RADAR EP.3 - Tape To Tape

Hades meets Slay The Spire meets NHL 94. You heard that right and this week on Indie Radar, we are looking at Tape to Tape from Excellent Rectangle.

The rogue lite genre is possibly getting to the point of over saturation. It’s possible that the genre will evolve the same way that the RPG’s did by incorporating their elements into every game. No matter what the market, there is always room for more competition if there is something new and original to be offered.

When I remember my childhood and growing up in the 90’s, one of the mainstays was EA Sports NHL hockey, specifically 92-95. These were the ones featured a core gameplay loop that was very simple to play but tough to master.

It was an absolute blast when the NHL 94 mode came back a few years ago as a side mode. It was real nostalgia trip but unlike the early 90’s when hours were spent playing against friends, this mode quickly felt flat because gaming had moved on and evolved.

However, if you wrapped the simcade style of hockey around a rogue lite campaign that is inspired by Hades, the deck building aspects Slay the Spire and the core gameplay mechanics of NHL 94, then you might be onto something interesting.

Excellent Rectangle is an indie in the most ways possible as the team is only three developers who quit their jobs, and kickstarted their dream of making a game that was a mash up of NHL 94 and Slay The Spire. The team wanted to create a game that didn’t exist.

There are a few things that stand out, first, it’s based on hockey and you are the captain of the worst team in the league. Instead of typical roguelites that feature a combat section, you play a game of hockey with mechanics inspired from NHL 94 but with dynamic physics from today, that the devs say provide organic and emergent gameplay including all the great moves you remember including one timers, spin-o-ramas, and bone crushing body checks. The other huge highlight from Tape to Tape is the blend of hand drawn 2D sprites and animations in a 3D environment.

Excellent Rectangle look to be putting together quite a debut title that should please a lot of different people. Tape to Tape is scheduled to be released in April onto Steam with other platforms hopefully happening in the future.