Typical roguelikes and roguelites – the Enter the Dungeons, Hades, Dead Cells of this world – all share a commonality in that they involve death, destruction, and a whole lotta weapons. Well, Tip Top: Don’t Fall! moves away from the status quo, and gives the genre a whole new lease of life – permadeath rock climbing!
Releasing onto Xbox, PlayStation and PC – with the game optimised for Xbox Series X|S – Tip Top may at first seem like a relaxed arcade climbing game, posing you with procedurally generated routes and giving you a very simple goal. It’s all about reaching the peak whilst expending the smallest amount of stamina possible. Hold on to certain holds for too long, or fail to carefully plan out your route, and the poor climber will be sent tumbling to their doom. This is an out-and-out roguelike: fail, and it’s back to the start with you, equipped only with knowledge and a renewed determination to succeed.
Clipping into bolts, whilst it may seem safer, also wastes energy, and as such the best climbers will know when to play it safe, and when to risk it all for a potentially risky few metres of ascent. It’s thrilling stuff, only if to serve as a reminder just how extreme rock climbing in the real world can be.
Sometimes the most simple games are the best little time-sinks out there. Tip Top: Don’t Fall is very much binary: reach the top, or don’t reach the top. If you think you have what it takes to do the former, then be our guest and pick up a copy on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 or Switch.
On the Xbox side of things, both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S optimised editions of the game cost £8.39, with the devs putting discounts in place if you wish to upgrade later down the line.
Game Description:
Tip Top is an arcade style climbing game with procedurally generated routes that never repeat themselves! It features a gripping single player campaign that has you exploring all corners of the globe while making sure not to fall to your (perma)death. The player uses the innovative control scheme to move the characters hands from one hold to the next while making sure to be as efficient as possible. You only have a limited amount of stamina to use in order to reach the peak. If you run out of stamina or miss a hold you’ll fall! But! The twist on the roguelike genre is that you never have to die. Careful players will try routes several times while clipping their rope to the wall before taking any risks. Skilled players will be those that find the right balance between risk and rationality and reach the peak in peace. Players that climb too carefully may never reach the top, as they’ll waste too much energy clipping in to the bolts.
