Red Bow

released on Jan 15, 2020

If you were given another chance, would you take it? Or leave it in the hands of a little girl? Play as Roh, a young girl stuck in a bizarre nightmare of dark and eerie creatures.


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Red Bow is a bite-sized adventure horror game by Stranga. I really enjoyed Stranga's My Big Sister (Remastered), but Red Bow didn't really manage to land on an emotional level or offer much that was particular creepy. There were some glaring typos in the script that didn't impede the ability to understand, but pulled me out of the moment a bit. Still, I liked the general concept, the pixel art, the music, and the overall atmosphere. I enjoyed my time with it, and I find it easy to forgive an experience that only took me 80 minutes for not being as impactful as I would have liked.

Red Bow is a point-and-click adventure game with a retro aesthetic that tells a dark and mysterious tale. While the game has an intriguing premise and attempts to create an eerie atmosphere, it falls short in execution. The puzzles are often obtuse and the lack of clear direction can lead to frustrating moments of aimless wandering. The game's story, while promising, feels underdeveloped, leaving players with more questions than answers. The pixel art style, while nostalgic, doesn't always do justice to the game's intended atmosphere. Red Bow has potential, but its frustrating gameplay and undercooked narrative make it a less satisfying experience than it could have been.





short, bad writing, I think I accidentally broke it a few times

Short, bad writing, had some interesting characters that could have gone somewhere, but didn't.

You play as Roh who is trapped in a dream. Or at least, she believes it’s all dream. Either way, she meets a few spirits and monsters along the way, and can help them or not as she tries to make her way back home.

Visuals

Red Bow is done in retro pixel art. It’s of the chunky style, and looks fine. It’s not my favorite, but I liked the dark aesthetic. It’s just not creepy like I was expecting. It’s just dark and weird.

Sound Effects + Music

The background music in Red Bow is pretty good. I liked it and didn’t get annoyed with it at all. The pirate music was my favorite. The sound effects aren’t great though. It’s mainly just Roh’s footsteps, but they don’t change based on what she’s walking on. So grass sounds the same as hardwood.

Gameplay + Controls

Red Bow is a simple point-and-click, or rather press-and-press, as you just use the arrow keys to move Roh around, then press Enter to interact with anything interactable. You’ll know you can interact with something if the name of the item pops up. Sometimes you’ll have to interact with someone multiple times to get a result as with most games in the genre.

Replayability

Red Bow is easily replayable, since it is so short. And there are three different endings you get based on which achievements you unlock during that playthrough. I might go back to complete it some day.

Overall

Red Bow was a fine game. It wasn’t the creepy story I was looking for, but it was a decent way to pass an hour.

This game was a lot of fun! It wasn’t as good as My Big Sister but I appreciated the same style and charm that Red Bow had as My Big Sister. The story was still pretty intriguing and I liked the puzzles. I wish this game was a bit longer. I’m mad that I ended up getting the bad ending with this game so I’m hoping to replay it soon to get the good ending.