Flip, Fall, Repeat
HIGH Playing Tag.
LOW The general lack of content.
WTF Anyone that can play the first-person mode without getting sick is made of sterner stuff than I.
Rooftops & Alleys is an uncommonly focused experience. As a third-person platformer centered around parkour, players will sprint and trick their way through obstacle-riddled urban environments to improve their free-running skills. There is zero fluff in Rooftops & Alleys, and every one of its elements works towards reinforcing the core sensation of rapid, smooth traversal.
Without any traditional narrative, movement itself becomes the motivation. Flipping, leaping, and rolling across those titular Rooftops & Alleys is far from an intuitive act, and I was several hours in before feeling comfortable with the controls. Actions like jumping and sliding — so simple in other titles — take on a level of finesse in Rooftops & Alleys that is at once rewarding and frustrating.
Many of the buttons serve multiple functions — the X button, for example, is used for jumping, mantling, and performing tricks, all depending on how, when, and in what order it’s pressed. The distinction between these acts often comes down to a split-second difference in timing, and my early hours were spent flat on my face as often as not.
In all fairness, these missteps often came down to my own lack of digital dexterity, and as I became more accustomed to the complex inputs I began sailing through challenges I’d previously thought insurmountable. Learning to smoothly transition from a stories-high leap of faith into a shock absorbing roll, then springing off a stack of pallets is a fluid and satisfying process. These moments are hard-won, and though I wasn’t ready to shoulder responsibility for every trip and slip, the lithely-animated slides and wallruns served as catharsis for any pent frustrations.
This dogmatic adherence to the core concept in Rooftops & Alleys is compelling… yet it also works to its detriment. With such nuanced and demanding play, it is doubly important for the underlying structure to support and motivate the player towards greater heights, and in this regard Rooftops & Alleys is unsuccessful.
The majority of the content is comprised of Time Trials and Trick Challenges. While these straightforward objectives provide a solid instructional foundation for the mechanics, they are too limited in scope to keep pace with the sophisticated play. I enjoyed running the same courses over to shave precious seconds off in hopes of getting top marks, but these obstacles began to feel repetitive long before I had mastered the core concepts.
Furthermore, the stage design is almost entirely functional, with many levels lacking strong visual identity. The Steel Yard and Construction Site are almost indiscernible thanks to a mixture of grey concrete and rusty girders. The container ship choked with stacked shipping crates offers endless combo opportunities, but feels compiled of assets and textures I’ve seen many times before. The sunny streets and colorful stucco of Sunset Paradise is a welcome reprieve, but this is the exception.
While the solo content feels uninspired, Rooftops & Alleys nearly reaches its potential in its multiplayer modes. There is a liberating Freeplay mode where players can practice together in the same space, but the real standout is Tag mode. Playing like a far more dexterous version of the playground pastime, one player is designated as “It” and must chase the others down. The frantic pace of this mode snaps Rooftops & Alleys’ strengths into focus.
The generic aesthetic of the stages fades as the impeccable lines and flow of the wireframe design takes over — a seemingly arbitrarily placed box becomes a springboard to outpace an opponent, inconspicuous ledges become critical footholds to outpace a pursuer. Without the structured solo objectives, I had to rely more on instinct and skill to succeed — and though I was often in last place, these moments were by far Rooftops & Alleys’ most thrilling. With that said, it should be mentioned that I had some technical difficulty connecting (and staying connected) to online matches, though I imagine this will improve with future patches.
Rooftops & Alleys, in part, is victim to its own ambition. With its extraordinary mechanical strength, the majority of the content simply doesn’t measure up and found myself tiring of the experience prematurely due to a lack of variety and aesthetic interest. While this was leavened by the online modes, I still came away wishing for a more robust foundation to support its staggering mechanical heights.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Buy Rooftops & Alleys – PC – PS5 – Xbox – Switch
Disclosures: This game is developed by ML Media and published by Shine Research. It is currently available on Switch, XBX/S, PS5, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 13 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. 4 hours of play were spent in multiplayer modes.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E. There is very little in this game that could be considered objectionable. Play consists entirely of running through environments while performing tricks and stunts, there is no violence or profanity. When falling, the player’s character will tumble about like a ragdoll, and this can lead to some gnarly looking wipeouts. There is no blood, and these falls aren’t terribly lifelike.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: There is no spoken dialogue in this game, and all information is presented in text. This text cannot be resized. I played a good portion of my time without sound and experienced no issues. There are no audio cues that I noticed, and all on-screen visual indicators clearly stand out. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. Beyond the controls listed in the screenshots below, tricks can be performed with different combinations of the face buttons (X, Square, Triangle, Circle) and directions on the left control stick.
Following this introduction, Ryan dove headlong into the 16 and 64-bit eras, culminating in the year 2000 with a fateful visit to the local game shop.On the recommendation of a saintly store clerk, Ryan picked up a copy of Deus Ex and, shortly thereafter, embarked on the vain quest to find a game that tops it.
This journey has led Ryan to GameCritics where he attempts to articulate why he still finds this medium so compelling.When not playing or writing about games, Ryan can be found watching competition reality television with his wife, their dog, and three cats.
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