Red Bow

About

Red Bow is a story-driven top-down puzzle game where you play as Roh, a young girl navigating a dark and eerie world filled with strange creatures. With an RPG-style gameplay, you'll need to find items, solve puzzles, and follow clues to uncover multiple endings in this 1-2 hour long experience. Try the free prologue for Ashina The Red Witch to get a taste of the game's atmosphere and gameplay.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 119 reviews

story26 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The game features a beautiful pixel art style and a charming atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
It offers multiple endings and choices that encourage replayability, allowing players to explore different outcomes.
The story, while short, touches on deep themes of forgiveness and redemption, providing an emotional experience.

The game is very short, often taking only about an hour to complete, which may leave players wanting more depth and content.
There is only one save file, which can lead to frustration if players want to explore different endings without replaying the entire game.
The writing and dialogue can feel shallow and predictable, making it difficult for players to connect with the characters.

story
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
63%
9%
The story of "Red Bow" is a short, emotional horror narrative that intertwines multiple routes and endings based on player choices, though many reviewers found it simplistic and predictable. While the game features interesting themes and a cute art style, its brevity and lack of depth left some players feeling disconnected from the characters and plot. Overall, it offers replayability through different story branches, but many felt it could benefit from a more developed narrative to enhance emotional engagement.
- “A short but emotional story-based horror game with light puzzle elements and different routes to completion.”
- “It is very simple graphic-, sound- and gameplay-wise, but it has a nice, creepy atmosphere and tells a deep, philosophical story, with characters based on Japanese mythology.”
- “A beautiful little game with an elaborate story and puzzles that will frustrate you but are well worth the effort to solve.”
- “The conclusion is strong and properly closes the story, but I felt that I didn't care as much as I would have if the game was longer.”
- “Putting the rather long list of technical flaws and defects aside, this is a badly written, lame, derivative story that garners no interest for serious gamers, and should be avoided.”
- “There was no time to get attached to the characters or get invested in the plot because you'll be seeing said characters for only 10-15 minutes, and the game is only about an hour long.”
graphics
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
62%
8%
The game's graphics are characterized by a charming pixel art style that effectively complements its dark and eerie atmosphere, enhancing the narrative experience. While some players note the simplicity and retro aesthetic, many appreciate the visuals for their detail and ability to evoke emotion, particularly during tense scenes. Overall, the graphics are well-received, contributing positively to the game's storytelling and ambiance.
- “A nice story style game with a good narrative and interesting visuals.”
- “Such an amazing game, interesting story, good music, great graphics.”
- “The pixelated visuals look nice with the foggy effect that was applied outdoors.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “Resolution and controls are locked, and can't be changed or customized to improve the visuals or the control experience.”
- “The deliberately retro art style does not pair well with a sequence of somewhat generic ghost story concepts, neither having the proper impact because simplicity wins out over detail.”
gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The gameplay is characterized by simple mechanics focused on walking and conversing with characters, which can quickly become monotonous. While it offers a creepy atmosphere and a philosophical narrative rooted in Japanese mythology, the lack of challenge and linearity in puzzles may disappoint players seeking more depth. Overall, the experience is average, with some bugs affecting interaction, and it may feel overpriced for the limited gameplay duration.
- “It is very simple graphic, sound, and gameplay-wise, but it has a nice, creepy atmosphere and tells a deep, philosophical story, with characters based on Japanese mythology.”
- “Whatever mechanics they have is sufficient to give the player a full-fledged experience.”
- “The gameplay is simple: you just need to talk to everything and do anything that you want at the end of the chapter.”
- “Gameplay is primarily about walking and conversing with characters, which becomes monotonous very quickly.”
- “The gameplay and puzzles are pretty simple and almost linear.”
- “While it isn't deeply bad, there isn't anything that stands out nor noticeable gameplay, beyond a bit of room to affect the plot and thus different endings.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
27%
14%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising it as wonderful and well-suited to the game's atmosphere, while others find it basic or occasionally irritating. Some players highlight the emotional impact of the soundtrack, noting it enhances the overall experience, while a few express disappointment in its repetitiveness or lack of variety. Overall, the music is generally regarded as a positive aspect, contributing to the game's charm and emotional depth.
- “Such an amazing game, interesting story, good music, great graphics.”
- “Tldr: an enchanting game jam packed with emotion, a wholesome story, and an amazing soundtrack.”
- “The environments & the music were the highlights for me.”
- “Music was a bit grating in this one, and I wish there was more than a single save slot, but the game is pretty short!”
- “The soundtracks are pretty basic.”
- “I couldn't get attached to any character; the music was decent, and the dialogues were easy to predict.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
9%
27%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its retro, cozy, and eerie qualities, effectively blending horror elements with deep storytelling and characters inspired by Japanese mythology. While many players find it immersive and engaging, some feel that certain design choices, like bright colors, detract from the intended ominous vibe. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite its brevity.
- “The content resonates with me a lot; retro, horror, cozy, addictive atmosphere!”
- “It is very simple graphically, sound-wise, and gameplay-wise, but it has a nice, creepy atmosphere and tells a deep, philosophical story, with characters based on Japanese mythology.”
- “The game has a nice atmosphere and kept me interested in the world throughout.”
- “I don't think it really created enough atmosphere to be able to be classed as anything but the weakest of the horror genre.”
- “While it's a well-made game, has fine controls and the music is good, I feel like the bright, saturated colors detract from the ominous atmosphere, and the occasional typo breaks immersion.”
- “The theme and atmosphere is also quite eerie and mysterious.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players find it enchanting and packed with feelings, others criticize it for being too short and lacking depth in its storytelling. The game evokes a range of emotions, from fear to joy, but its execution is often seen as flawed, with some reviewers feeling it fails to deliver the emotional impact it aims for. Overall, it offers a mix of heartfelt moments and shortcomings that affect its overall emotional resonance.
- “A short but emotional story-based horror game with light puzzle elements and different routes to completion.”
- “In this time, I felt fear, I laughed, I cried, I smiled, and I enjoyed some awesome music.”
- “Tldr: an enchanting game jam-packed with emotion, a wholesome story, and an amazing soundtrack.”
- “In summary, Red Bow is a boring story game where you do nothing.”
- “The story is too simplistic and boring.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
56%
33%
The game features multiple endings and branching storylines, enhancing its replayability, although players can easily access most content by saving at key points. While the shorter narrative may limit overall playtime, it still encourages replay for missed achievements and different outcomes.
- “It has multiple endings which add to the game’s replayability rate.”
- “The game might offer some sort of replay value by introducing different story branchings, but you can experience most of them by just saving at the branching points.”
- “But given its shorter story, it does add replayability and ease of getting those missed achievements.”
- “This definitely does not disappoint - albeit quite short even with the replayability.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly when it comes to achieving 100% completion, as it often requires replaying large sections without significant variation. The lack of an auto-save feature exacerbates this issue, leading to repetitive gameplay and frustration when facing game overs. Overall, while some players managed to multitask during grinding, the experience is generally viewed as monotonous.
- “Getting all the achievements is a tad tedious, with having to replay large chunks of the game.”
- “Some choices lead to a game over, so save often if you don't want to repeat the game, as most of your actions will be exactly the same leading up to it, making it a bit tedious. There does not appear to be an auto save feature.”
- “Tedious game.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent black screens when attempting fullscreen mode and buggy interaction mechanics that require precise positioning to function. Overall, players find the experience to be unpolished and frustratingly unstable.
- “The default display is 960x864, and you can try to scale it to fullscreen in the settings, but I found the game to be buggy when played that way - the screen will have a black screen every few seconds, rendering the game unplayable.”
- “Short, buggy, unpolished, poorly written (or maybe just poorly translated?).”
- “Buggy interaction mechanics... sometimes you come up to a door and don't get to interact until you're positioned just right.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The humor in the game is described as touching and less awkward than its predecessor, though it suffers from bugs and a poorly edited script that detracts from the overall experience. Some unintentionally funny misspellings and typos add a layer of amusement, making it still worth playing despite its flaws.
- “The humor in this game is genuinely touching, with a blend of awkward moments that add to its charm.”
- “There are some unintentionally funny misspellings and typos that add a unique layer of humor to the experience.”
- “The game features a delightful mix of humor that keeps the experience light-hearted and enjoyable.”