Recent reviews by Apricity

This game is really fun! I had seen PlayFrame do a stream of this game which is a YouTube VoD on their other channel specifically for streams if you want to check that out. But earlier this week I invited a friend and played with a group on the Which Wizard discord and we had a magical blast of a time.

TL;DR for what the game is about:
Basically it is a Among Us styled social deduction game you can play with up to 10 players with some adjustments and improvements based on that core formula, themed with magic & Wizards!

Main Part/Version of this Review:

What's neat compared to Among Us, is that the wizards, both good and evil, have a magic meter where the good wizards have to fill that meter up by doing tasks and return the mana to the central big crystal.

Meanwhile evil wizards can fill up this health/mana bar that enables them to create confusion by making all the mages look the same to each other with a black + purple character aesthetic for a moment or two, with trying to frame another and-or perhaps sneaking away.

With this, good wizards mana bar deplete slowly but significantly over time, except the mana progress they submit to the group pool which can be seen during summonings (meetings). (Which addresses puppy guarding). Meanwhile evil wizards mana does not deplete.

And there's a whole collection of spells that you'll be randomly assigned when starting a match. For which either everyone has frogify, a way to protect yourself against any other wizard especially the evil wizards; or; it's that everyone gets two spells and the evil wizards have that plus along with the ability mentioned above, the ability to eliminate a good wizard, and as well the capabilities to start a big skull timer countdown that the good wizards have to stop with 2 of them in the skull room - lest I suppose a great evil shall befall them (resulting with the evil wizards winning).

Edit Update: It seems everyone has the spell transfrogify by default, though as a suggestion having the settings where it can be two random spells or the vanilla frogify + random spell for everyone per match would be a neat additional chaos possibility!

Tip

You can start a lobby and as well start a game, where if there's 1 or say with a friend 2 evil wizards set in settings, and I assume no good wizards; you're able to explore the map freely, do tasks and learn how they work and what they're called, get a feel for portals and how they're interconnected and perhaps strageize a bit.

Additionally taking the time to read the stories in the library (which there's more than one that you may get randomly when assigned the task) or perhaps ponder the wishes you may want to grant. Or perhaps chill out with a buddy I suppose; notably as well if you have more than two evil wizards you can do this as well with stating it's a mock set up match for everyone getting a feel and learning the game both in game and as well socially outside it as well being that a social deduction game different groups may have different preferences, with then opting and confirming starting a match proper so everyone's on the same page for how to play and the expectations for how to play with each other as a group.

Issues / Challenges with the Game Currently

One major thing is that it is a brand new game, version 0.0.03 as of typing with early access. So with that that means there's not a lot (or any) public lobbies. Which I imagine is fine, given it is brand new so it'll take time to grow an audience for the game. Plus I imagine the team behind this with Intentional Games have their game plan for facilitating and responding to this moving forwards - but it'll be something that'll take time and work as more people pick up the game therefore more people available to play with; for which the reverse of this is just as true.

The other thing with issues & challenges, is I'm looking forwards to when they'll add more maps to the game. I'm also curious if they'll add a bit more lore but I understand the game doesn't need to be a complicated story or anything, but I was considering each of the different types of spells and what if there's a bit of history, lore, or even say characterization with each, that can be expanded upon by picking up details throughout the maps; being more of just a fun thought of mine / suggestion. But for now it is only one map to play on / with.

Also I made this in response to and for that friend of mine picking up the game:
/\
| . \
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| . . . \
| . . . . \
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| . . . . . . \
-------------------
. . . O v O . . .
--------/ \----
--------/ \----
-------/ . . \---
------/ . . . \--
-----/ . . . . . \-
----/ . . . . . . .\

Determination to restore the past but to not repeat its mistakes - even though sometimes restoration may lead right into mistakes because it's okay to make mistakes and learn from them.

I personaly very much enjoyed, still enjoy I'll admit, these five mini-games that compose Rooftop Cop. Why for me is simmilar to my enjoyment of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast.

Both, at least to me, represent a subjective puzzle in which the player attempts to solve their lore, history, and story of how those systems(typically made of characters, objects, ideas) function in themselfs plus their interaction with one another- allowing you the player to project and stitch together the narrative: Through the five vignette* games you're given a vague picture where by its narrative evolution depends upon the lenses one analyzes it with.

Perhaps my comparriosn to WtNV sheds off here in that within its own meduim, you are not driving the ship, when unlike video games there's the epectation for direct and explicit rewards from effort; input then fallows personally impactful output. More so, if being someone who holds the epectation of a fully air-tight complete story [or general dislike for making "narrative hypothesis" and self constructed story connections], that's not what Rooftop Cop provides.

It's a impromptu for you to fill in the gaps of the story; and, that's why I compare it to WtNV becuase that radio-podcast is the same in that both are subjective to your intrpetation, yet in WtNV progresses without imput. I mean beyond playing it and fallowed by listeing to it, WtNV progresses wither or not you've individually given its aspects thought.

Meanwhile with Rooftop Cop because its a video game I can see the un-ideal prospect of its mechanics being more of an obstacle; over that of additional layer for promoting contemplation, at least of the subjective story it evokes in each of us. _Side note, on that subject Idea Channel created a video in relation of 'Mechanics vs Nerrative' linked:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsybY6dcXAQ
if interested.

Anyways, I enjoy the mechanics for they reminded me of the feeling of being placed in a foreign realm who's operations, traditions, and social norms differ from my own, hence [for me, implying] in order to begin to understand I ought be observant plus alongside employ experiential thought processes, and to extent; I think says upfront that this void of hand-holding, which several games do typically, is done intentionally. Fallowing the analogy just set-up, not every culture is catered, and sometimes there's fun figuing it our for yourself.

And so if that's your thing, maybe you'll enjoy these five vignette* games.


* "a brief evocative description, account, or episode."
_ "a small illustration or portrait photograph that fades into its background without a definite border"

Have a great day
By the way,
Either way you try it or not.
; )