What game genre hasn’t had roguelike/roguelite elements grafted in yet? Even a sports game can be a roguelike, which is what indie devs Excellent Rectangle is doing with Tape To Tape.
In Tape To Tape, you build a squad of ice hockey players on a journey to the major leagues. But instead of getting the promotion to climb up the ranks (assuming ice hockey has a promotion/demotion system as football/soccer does in most parts of the world), you[‘re going from one match to another, complete with branching paths.
Along the way, you’ll be recruiting new players and improving the team’s equipment when it’s the off-season (or rather, when you lost and start a new run).
The gameplay itself is pure, 90’s style simcade hockey. With body checks and face-offs. From the trailer, it looks like the game includes the ability to play exhibition hockey matches via the Play Now mode, like any modern sports game.
Tape To Tape is also getting a demo as part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest, which starts on February 6.
Tape To Tape will be released sometime in 2023 on PC via Steam.