Rooftops & Alleys Review – A Parkour Diamond in the Rough

There have been games in that past that have implemented parkour into its traversal, some to a successful degree, like Dying Light and Mirror’s Edge, but others have fumbled it. Rooftops & Alleys is the sole effort of a one developer indie studio, MLMedia. It started as early access a year ago and now, the game is finally on its fully completed form on PlayStation 5.

It’s been quite well received in its early access days, so I had high hopes for this game, and phew! It is a proper parkour game front and centre that is done well! Though almost to its detriment. So join me as we go through the rooftops and perform some tricks together.

I Parkour, Therefore I Am

At its core, Rooftops & Alleys is a pure parkour game. There’s no campaign or narrative. Your sole objective is to trick your robotic avatar over, under, and through every obstacle in your way. To do this, you must pul off stylish, complex trick lines.

There are 6 levels in total, ranging from construction site, a parkour training complex, and a container ship. Completing these levels earns you feathers, which can be used to unlock cosmetic gear. These cosmetics include robot heads, tops, bottoms, backpacks, shoes, and accessories. Possibly the best accessory I found? A ridiculous yet charming pigeon costume. Does it add anything to the game? Of course not! But I had to have it.

That said, the cosmetic system does feels a bit restrictive at times. Everything is locked behind completing challenges, which means that, if you’re struggling with tougher trials, you may find much of the gear out of reach. In my opinion, the developer could’ve perhaps hidden some of those cosmetics around levels or perhaps add more ways to earn feathers would help balance this out.

I would’ve also liked if we had the cosmetics impacted the gameplay in a meaningful manner, such as shoes that negate fall damage or maybe outfits that give trick bonuses. Think Goat Simulator, where challenges and mechanics often change the world in weird, creative ways. A few surprises like fireworks, explosions, or reactive environments would also bring the world to life.

Slick, Deep, and Demanding

Here’s where the game really shines. Rooftops & Alleys features a rich array of parkour moves. You can wall-run, vault, dive-roll through gaps, and perform advanced flips and slides, and these can all be chained together into trick combos. It’s an exhilarating feeling whenever you pull it off.

As you chain tricks together without bailing, you will will build up a boost meter, which allows you to sprint momentarily to build up enough speed to clear larger gaps or shave milliseconds off that time trial timer. This boost meter constantly depletes when not used, meaning you have to keep tricking and chaining moves to keep it filled.

If you’ve never played a game of this genre, then no worries – there are tutorials for basic and advanced moves that will teach you the basics, but I really do mean the basics. In my opinion, they barely scratch the surface of knowing how to really traverse these levels, and I feel they could’ve been a little more fleshed out, so to speak.

There are two main challenge types per level: Time Trials, where you race through checkpoints as fast as possible, and Trick Score, where you’ll rack up points in a shrinking zone using every trick at your disposal. It’s a smart twist that keeps you adapting and prevents relying on a single strategy. This is definitely a game that will require a whole lot of patience and practice to be even somewhat competent at in order to get the higher scores needed for the challenges.

One thing I did really enjoy was that there is a pigeon hidden in every level, where if you find it, you can fly around the level from the pigeon’s point of view, accessing the highest points, some previously inaccessible, and place markers on the ground. However, that’s about it. I would’ve loved to see the pigeon used more, like have pigeon tricks or secrets hidden around the levels only collectable by the pigeon.

Style Meets Speed

Graphics in the game I felt were really quite good looking. The levels have a great sense of realism to them and that is contrasted but the blocky and almost cosmic black of the player character with the assortment of clothing options and robot heads available. The music is upbeat and high tempo and really adds to the high speed feeling of flying through the air, flipping and twisting, and sprinting and sliding.

Unfortunately, the game does not offer a whole lot of replay value outside of completing all of the time trials and trick score challenges. I would’ve liked to see more challenges, cosmetics, collectibles, or even a basic story mode that would deepen the experience, or give some much-needed backstory to the main character and the game’s world.

Flips and Folds

Rooftops & Alleys fills a niche that’s been sorely lacking from the games as of late, and that is pure, stylish parkour. It’s not a casual game, and definitely not one you can pick it up casually and play. But if you’re willing to invest the time, the payoff it offers is huge. And with a few thoughtful additions, such as more gameplay modes, a better tutorial system, creative unlocks, or even a light narrative mode, have the potential to skyrocket this indie gem to genre-defining classic.