Despite being Canadian, I had never fallen in love with our national sport until recently. It took a surprising source to fascinate me with the ins and outs of hockey: called a game Tape on tape, which is about a disgraced golfer who sets out to atone for his sins by assembling a super team of skating athletes. Throw in wild skill upgrades and wacky artifacts, teams of rock climbers rappelling down the ice, and sinister umpires, and yes, this is a version of hockey I’m here for.
Tape on tape is a roguelite that received early access on May 3. While the game is still being tweaked and updated, the core is solid. There are two elements to the game, the first of which is the actual hockey. Play a match Tape on tape is slick, though the keyboard and mouse setup is best described as functional. If you really want to enjoy the game, playing with a controller works better.
There are all the things you’d expect from an arcade hockey game: passes to your attacker, on-ice confrontations, desperate long shots, smart passes, and hype goals. The physics of the puck are excellent; the puck ricochets off sticks and bounces off hapless players. It’s the first time I understand why hockey is so much fun. Corresponds Tape on tape are fast, aggressive and full of opportunities for me to exploit. Sometimes I can take the puck with some clever skating, and other times I can forcefully take the puck with a brutal check.
Image: excellent rectangle/zero games
The most exciting parts of Tape on tape come when players gather around one of the goalkeepers and the puck bounces from stick to stick. One wrong move and the puck could end up in your net, leading to devastating defeat. It’s rare that I get the time to leisurely line up a shot; it is more likely that my attacker will be controlled and smacked right on their butt. But once I figure out how to do a little bit of triangulation I can pass, pass, shoot and score goals reliably.
This is where all the crazy stuff comes in. Tape on tape‘s roguelite campaign tells the story of Angus McShaggy, an embittered golfer who has decided to restore the glorious sport of hockey by reclaiming the cup from golf kid. I have to fight past hockey nobility, Lovecraftian cultists and, worst of all, rogue umpires. This is all depicted with blocky, cartoonish graphics that bring classics like Munchkin for the mind.
Every time I win a game I get some sort of upgrade. Maybe I’ll earn a knight’s helmet for one of my players who slows them down, but makes them very strong. Maybe I’ll unlock a random ability for the next run, like a sick disco ball that compulsively bends my opponents. Tape on tape is available on Steam for $17.99 (down from $19.99).