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Red Bow

Red Bow Game Cover
81%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, graphics
Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, replayability
81% User Score Based on 167 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Playstation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStationPlaystation Vita
Red Bow Game Cover

About Red Bow

Red Bow is a single player casual role playing game with horror, thriller and violence themes. It was developed by Stranga Games and was released on January 17, 2020. It received positive reviews from players.

If you were given another chance, would you take it? Or leave it in the hands of a little girl? Play as Roh, a young girl stuck in a bizarre nightmare of dark and eerie creatures.

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Games Like Red Bow

Looking for games like Red Bow? Here are top casual role playing recommendations with a horror, thriller and violence focus, selected from player-similarity data — start with My Big Sister, DISTRAINT or Just Ignore Them.

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Reviews

81%Audience ScoreBased on 167 reviews
story36 positive mentions
grinding5 negative mentions

  • The game provides a touching, atmospheric narrative experience focusing on themes of loss, forgiveness, and self-reflection with multiple endings to explore.
  • The pixel art style and soundtrack effectively create a moody and eerie ambience, enhancing the game's emotional tone.
  • The game is short and accessible, making it easy to complete multiple playthroughs to unlock different endings and achievements.
  • The game is very short with limited gameplay depth and underdeveloped characters, which may leave players wanting more substance and immersion.
  • Technical issues such as bugs, soft locks, a single save slot, awkward controls, and frequent typos detract from the overall experience.
  • The writing and story delivery can be superficial or confusing at times, with abrupt scene transitions and tonal inconsistencies.
  • story

    126 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    29% positive mentions, 64% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions

    The story is generally described as simple, short, and emotionally themed around loss, forgiveness, and regret, with some players appreciating its atmospheric and philosophical qualities. While the narrative includes multiple endings and encourages replayability, many found it underdeveloped, rushed, or lacking depth and character exploration. Overall, it is considered a decent but not groundbreaking interactive story, best suited for those seeking a brief, mood-driven experience rather than a richly detailed plot.

    • “The second story especially was amazing for me, it broke my heart having to get the bad ending just for the achievements.”
    • “It's much more focused on atmosphere and storytelling, which I personally appreciated a lot.”
    • “The pixel art is excellent, the story is great, I really recommend playing it!”
    • “The story is very simple; it doesn't explore the background or the characters, only very superficially.”
    • “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.”
    • “From the start till the moment dropping out there is no excitement or joy from the story.”
  • graphics

    46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    30% positive mentions, 63% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions

    The game's pixel art graphics are widely praised for their nostalgic, eerie, and atmospheric qualities that complement its narrative and mood, despite being simple and retro-styled rather than modern or detailed. While some find the visuals charming and fitting for the story, a few notes mention occasional graphical glitches and locked resolution that limit customization. Overall, the graphics effectively support the game's tone and are considered a strong point, even if not technically advanced.

    • “The game plays out in a top-down pixel art style reminiscent of old-school RPGs, but its focus is firmly on exploration and narrative rather than combat or complex systems.”
    • “Its pixel art style, chilling atmosphere, and willingness to tackle heavy subject matter help it stand apart from more conventional horror titles.”
    • “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 of Red Bow does not pair well with a sequence of somewhat generic ghost story concepts, neither having the proper impact because simplicity wins out over detail.”
  • music

    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    64% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 11% negative mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed but generally positive feedback, often praised for its charm, mood-setting, and emotional impact, though some players find it unremarkable or occasionally grating. Certain tracks, such as the third level’s theme, have drawn criticism for volume imbalances or irritation. Overall, the soundtrack complements the pixel art and narrative, contributing to an engaging yet sometimes uneven auditory experience.

    • “On a positive note, the music is wonderful as always, although I found the main theme of the third chapter irritating.”
    • “Tldr: an enchanting game jam packed with emotion, a wholesome story, and an amazing soundtrack.”
    • “The environments and 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.”
    • “The soundtracks are pretty basic.”
  • gameplay

    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    11% positive mentions, 78% neutral mentions, 11% negative mentions

    The gameplay is simple and straightforward, focusing primarily on walking, talking, and basic puzzle-solving without introducing any new or challenging mechanics. It serves mainly as a vehicle for delivering the narrative and atmosphere, appealing to players who prioritize story and mood over gameplay depth. However, some find it monotonous and occasionally hindered by interaction bugs, limiting its appeal for those seeking engaging or complex gameplay.

    • “The gameplay isn't anything new; this is primarily a narrative game with some puzzle elements. If you're looking for an interactive story rather than groundbreaking gameplay, this is worth a try.”
    • “For players who value atmosphere and narrative weight over mechanical complexity or length, it delivers a thoughtful and unsettling journey.”
    • “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.”
    • “Gameplay is primarily about walking and conversing with characters, which becomes monotonous very quickly.”
    • “The gameplay and puzzles are pretty simple and almost linear.”
    • “3) Buggy interaction mechanics: sometimes you come up to a door and don't get to interact until you're positioned just right.”
  • atmosphere

    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    42% positive mentions, 42% neutral mentions, 16% negative mentions

    The game delivers a compact yet deeply atmospheric experience, blending haunting visuals, eerie audio design, and somber storytelling that resonates emotionally despite its short length. While the pixel art style and retro vibe enhance its unsettling mood, occasional translation errors and bright colors slightly detract from immersion. Overall, it stands out for players seeking a thoughtful, narrative-driven horror atmosphere over gameplay complexity.

    • “Red Bow, developed by Stranga and published by GrabTheGames, is a compact yet haunting horror adventure that weaves together unsettling imagery, moral ambiguity, and a deeply atmospheric presentation.”
    • “The audio design amplifies this atmosphere, with ambient tracks that shift between quiet melancholy and tense unease, while sound effects are carefully placed to highlight moments of dread or isolation.”
    • “Its pixel art style, chilling atmosphere, and willingness to tackle heavy subject matter help it stand apart from more conventional horror titles.”
    • “There are quite a lot of spelling errors in the English translation and the writing has weird tonal shifts, but the atmosphere has a vibe in it and the emotional parts do deliver as they should: somber, but wholesome.”
    • “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 with fine controls and good music, I feel like the bright, saturated colors detract from the ominous atmosphere and the occasional typo breaks immersion.”
  • emotional

    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    85% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 15% negative mentions

    The game delivers a brief but heartfelt emotional experience, effectively building atmosphere and connection despite its short length and occasional tonal inconsistencies. While some players appreciate its somber yet wholesome story and evocative soundtrack, others find it too simplistic, underdeveloped, and hindered by translation issues, limiting its emotional impact. Overall, it offers touching moments but may feel too brief and lightweight for those seeking a deeper narrative.

    • “Rather than relying on jump scares or gore, it leans on its emotional weight and eerie world-building to leave a lasting impression.”
    • “One of Red Bow’s strengths is how quickly it establishes an emotional connection despite its brevity.”
    • “In this time I felt fear, I laughed, I cried, I smiled, and I enjoyed some awesome music.”
    • “In summary, Red Bow is a boring story game where you do nothing.”
    • “Too simplistic and boring story.”
  • replayability

    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    30% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 30% negative mentions

    The game’s replayability is primarily driven by its multiple endings and branching story paths, encouraging players to explore different choices and outcomes. Although the story is relatively short, the ability to save at decision points makes revisiting these branches easy and adds to its replay value. However, some feel the overall replayability is somewhat limited by the game’s length.

    • “The different endings add to this replayability, encouraging players to see how alternate choices shape the outcome of Roh’s story.”
    • “It has multiple endings which add to the game’s replayability rate.”
    • “But given its shorter story, it does add replayability and ease of getting those missed achievements.”
    • “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

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is considered tedious by some players, particularly due to repetitive replaying of large sections and the need to frequently save to avoid repeating actions after game overs. However, certain achievements can be completed with minimal active playtime, suggesting that grinding may be manageable with passive play.

    • “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, and there does not appear to be an auto save feature.”
    • “Grindy achievements: no.”
  • stability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game's stability is compromised by frequent bugs, including screen flickering in fullscreen mode and inconsistent interaction mechanics that require precise positioning, resulting in a frustrating and unpolished experience.

    • “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 go black every few seconds, rendering the game unplayable.”
    • “Short, buggy, unpolished, poorly-written (or maybe just poorly-translated?).”
    • “Buggy interaction mechanics: sometimes you approach a door and can't interact until you're positioned just right.”
  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor is touching and improved compared to its predecessor, with less awkwardness, but is occasionally undermined by a buggy, poorly edited script and unintended typos that can create unintentional laughs. Overall, it remains enjoyable despite these issues.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Red Bow is a casual role playing game with horror, thriller and violence themes. Common tags for Red Bow include indie, linear, psychological, exploration, pixel graphics and others.

Red Bow is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

Red Bow was released on January 17, 2020.

Red Bow was developed by Stranga Games.

Red Bow has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked Red Bow for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Red Bow is a single player game.

Similar games include My Big Sister, DISTRAINT, Just Ignore Them, Kathy Rain, Evan's Remains and others.