Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game Reviews
As it stands, I'm better off respecting the angle from a distance. Rooftops & Alleys isn't for me, but it's good at what it's interested in doing.
Rooftops and Alleys is close to being a flipping great parkour game. This trick-filled, point-scoring, freerunning experience has a banging soundtrack and hilarious online play, but the fussy and frustrating controls stop it from climbing to the next level.
Sadly, R&A does not deliver the experience I have been dreaming about for so many years. What is here is a very promising technical demo of parkour in video game form, which is great in terms of the technical accomplishment, but it lacks the game experience. Instead, it becomes a test of your dedication and patience to walk away feeling anything but frustration.
Rooftops & Alleys builds an incredible foundation with its dynamic and exciting parkour & freerunning. Although it can be very difficult to learn and is rife with inconveniences, slowly understanding how to navigate across rooftops becomes such a thrilling time. What holds the game back is how few options the player has to test their new abilities. Despite some solid foundations, a notable lack of interesting missions or enticing exploration makes Rooftops & Alleys feel a bit too empty.
Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game succeeds in creating a focused, technically demanding, and rewarding experience. It captures the adrenaline and freedom of real-world parkour while grounding it in a precise control scheme and performance-driven progression model. The result is a game that appeals to players who value mastery, fluid movement, and creative experimentation. It may not be for everyone, but for those who connect with its core principles, it offers a uniquely satisfying experience. It is a game about learning, control, and self-expression within movement. It's a bold, confident entry in a genre that's long overdue for a game this focused.
Fast-paced third-person running and jumping game on PS5
Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game lets you live out your parkouring dreams across numerous environments. There are time trial and trick rush events to complete, but they can be frustrating thanks to finicky controls and mechanics. This is a game best enjoyed simply chilling out with others.
There's big potential in Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game that, unfortunately, was not reached due to certain limitations from the game's concept. [...] Even so, I had fun with my initial blunders and with learning the leaps and pirouette sequences that the game has to offer in its combinations. Photo Mode is a welcome extra and it's possible to feel that the base for a great sequel is already done.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game is a decent game that just doesn’t have quite enough content to keep me going back for more. Whilst the multiplayer is undoubtedly the most enjoyable aspect, the single-player mode’s lack of activities does let it down. If you’re as starved for extreme sports games as I am, then this will satiate your appetite somewhat. Best to grab some friends for this one, though. Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game get the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game is perfect for people who spend hours perfecting a line in Skate 3. Heck, Rooftops & Alleys is a nice reminder that games don’t always need a lot of features. Sometimes, all they need is room to move and a pigeon button.
Whether playing solo or with a few friends, Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game taps into that same niche joy that skateboarding games offer: mastering the mechanics just for the sake of self-expression and challenge. If you're the type of person who spends hours in Skate 3 perfecting a single line, or if you've ever tried to combo your way through a Tony Hawk map without bailing once, then this is a game made with you in mind.
It definitely shows promise, and if it were to add in more objectives for solo players or game modes for multiplayer I could see it achieving that promise. At the moment, it’s definitely not there, but it may be worth keeping an eye on the game to watch how it evolves.
Rooftops & Alleys offers a solid foundation, with responsive controls and interesting maps. Remarkably crafted by a solo developer, it's a well-packaged experience. However, limited content and modes make it feel more like an early access beta than a complete game. Still, fans will find enjoyment in its free play while waiting for updates, or perhaps a sequel.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Rooftops & Alleys is what happens when a developer builds a game with a single mission: honor the joy of movement. It’s not trying to compete with AAA action titles or narrative-driven indies. It just wants you to feel free, fluid, and occasionally like a parkour god. And in that mission? It succeeds.
Rooftops & Alleys is a rare thing: a movement-focused game that respects your time and skill. It doesn’t try to be flashy. It doesn’t try to be easy. It just asks one question—how far can you push yourself? For players who love Mirror’s Edge, Skate, or Titanfall 2 for their movement systems, this is a must-play. It won’t be for everyone. It’s light on traditional-style content and tough to learn. But if you click with the movement, you’ll find yourself chasing that next perfect run for hours. This is a game built for the few who love the grind. And if you’re one of them, it delivers in spades.
The idea behind Rooftops & Alleys is creative and applied in an interesting way. However, the combination of repetitiveness and some control flaws end up damaging the game's qualities. Even so, it might be worth giving it a chance to venture through vertical landscapes while performing risky maneuvers, but be careful not to fall off a building by mistake.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Another detailed, super niche, hobby specific game that didn’t sit well with me, but this time it wasn’t because it was bad necessarily! Rooftops & Alleys was fine for what it was, but it wasn’t right for me despite being excited to play it. Mostly a mixture between the controls not aligning for me and not finding much to do (I am glad to see the time trials and trick battles exist, but other stuff being options comes to mind; think collecting letters ala the S-K-A-T-E challenges from THPS or finding lines and gaps) lead me to my final opinion. I would definitely need some multiplayer motivation for this to have any longevity as well which isn’t present for me. If you have those things and the will to “get good” at games, then this might be for you and your friends. Don’t let my bad gameplay sell the game short either!
While a bit more structure and more challenge-types in single player would have been ideal, it’s a solid foundation for what could be a potential series. It has that Tony Hawk Pro Skater appeal, but does lack the format and presentation to really stand out. The customization for your character is solid, and the locations you’ll visit have some great variety. Rooftops and Alleys: The Parkour Game had one mission to achieve, and while it may ragdoll from time to time, it nonetheless lands its initial leap, at least with friends.
Rooftops & Alleys won’t be for everyone, but for players who find satisfaction in nailing a perfect line or mastering a tricky combo, there’s a rewarding movement playground here. It’s got a bit of a difficulty curve, but thanks to its intuitive and clever controls, fun selection of levels, and sense of chaos when things do go wrong, it makes for a really good time. And sure, it might not hook you in for too long when playing solo, but if you’ve got friends to join you, there are hours upon hours of fun to be had with Rooftops & Alleys.