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Red Bow

Red Bow features an engaging story set in a creepy 16-bit world. The puzzles are fun without being frustrating. You’ll want to see it all; unfortunately it’s over rather quickly.
Red Bow Game Cover
72%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
gameplay, replayability
80% User Score Based on 146 reviews
Critic Score 57%Based on 5 reviews

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Red Bow Game Cover

About

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

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.

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Red Bow screenshot
Red Bow screenshot
Red Bow screenshot
Red Bow screenshot
Red Bow screenshot
Red Bow screenshot
Red Bow screenshot
Red Bow screenshot
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Red Bow screenshot
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80%
Audience ScoreBased on 146 reviews
story32 positive mentions
replayability3 negative mentions
  • The game features a charming pixel art style and an engaging atmosphere that enhances the storytelling.
  • The narrative explores deep themes of forgiveness and second chances, providing emotional weight to the player's choices.
  • Multiple endings and replayability encourage players to explore different paths and outcomes, making it a worthwhile experience.
  • The game is very short, often taking only about an hour to complete, which may leave players wanting more depth and content.
  • There are numerous spelling mistakes and awkward translations that detract from the overall immersion and quality of the writing.
  • The single save file system can lead to frustration, as players may need to restart the game to achieve different endings or avoid getting stuck.
  • story
    112 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is a short, engaging narrative centered around a young girl named Roh, who navigates a dreamlike world filled with ambiguity and emotional depth. Players can influence the outcome through their choices, leading to multiple endings that enhance replayability, though some find the writing simplistic and the overall plot somewhat generic. While the art style and atmosphere are praised, the brevity of the story leaves some players wanting a more in-depth exploration of its themes.

    • “It tells the story of Roh, a young girl who wakes up in a strange dreamlike world where reality and nightmare blur together.”
    • “A short but emotional story-based horror game with light puzzle elements and different routes to completion.”
    • “The story narrative is good and there are multiple endings to complete.”
    • “The story is passable, rather generic.”
    • “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.”
    • “The game is pretty short, I found the story to be generic and it had a typo here and there.”
  • graphics
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a nostalgic pixel art style that effectively captures an eerie atmosphere, enhancing the exploration and narrative focus. While some reviews note the simplicity and occasional graphical glitches, the overall aesthetic is praised for its charm and ability to evoke emotion, making it stand out in the horror genre. Despite being less detailed than some modern titles, the visuals are considered eye-catching and well-suited to the game's themes.

    • “Visually, Red Bow captures a nostalgic yet eerie aesthetic.”
    • “Its pixel art style, chilling atmosphere, and willingness to tackle heavy subject matter help it stand apart from more conventional horror titles.”
    • “What I loved is how they managed to match the vibe of the current scenario using visuals.”
    • “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
    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its charm and emotional impact, while others find it either grating or basic. Many appreciate how the soundtrack complements the game's atmosphere, though there are complaints about volume inconsistencies and a lack of variety. Overall, the music is seen as a highlight for some, but not universally loved.

    • “Silence is often as powerful as the music, creating space for the player to dwell on the unsettling themes.”
    • “In this time I felt fear, I laughed, I cried, I smiled, and I enjoyed some awesome music.”
    • “It's a really interesting game with a wonderful storyline and a charming soundtrack.”
    • “I couldn't get attached to any character; the music was decent and the dialogues were easy to predict.”
    • “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.”
  • gameplay
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity, focusing primarily on walking and conversing with characters, which can lead to monotony. While it offers a deep narrative and atmospheric experience, it lacks mechanical complexity and challenging puzzles, making it more suitable for players who appreciate story over gameplay depth. Overall, the mechanics are basic and can feel limiting, with some users noting issues with interaction responsiveness.

    • “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.”
    • “Whatever mechanics they have are sufficient to give the player a full-fledged experience.”
    • “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.”
  • atmosphere
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of "Red Bow" is widely praised for its haunting and immersive qualities, enhanced by effective audio design and unsettling imagery. Players appreciate the game's ability to convey deep themes through its pixel art style and narrative, creating a memorable experience that resonates emotionally. However, some critiques mention that certain visual elements may detract from the overall eerie ambiance, suggesting a mixed reception regarding its atmospheric consistency.

    • “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.”
    • “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.”
    • “On one hand, this conciseness ensures that the atmosphere never overstays its welcome, and its impact can be sharp and memorable.”
  • emotional
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of "Red Bow" is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its ability to establish connections quickly and evoke a range of feelings—from fear to joy—others criticize its brevity and lack of depth in storytelling. The game is noted for its emotional weight and engaging soundtrack, but some feel it falls short in delivering a more profound narrative experience, leaving it feeling simplistic and underdeveloped. Overall, it offers a touching experience for some, while others find it lacking in substance.

    • “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.”
    • “The story is too simplistic and boring.”
  • replayability
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features multiple endings and branching storylines, enhancing its replayability as players are encouraged to explore different choices and outcomes. While the shorter narrative may limit the overall experience, the ability to revisit key decision points allows for a satisfying exploration of alternate paths and achievements.

    • “The game offers replay value by introducing different story branches, allowing players to experience various outcomes.”
    • “It has multiple endings which significantly enhance the game's replayability.”
    • “The different endings add to this replayability, encouraging players to see how alternate choices shape the outcome of the story.”
    • “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.”
  • grinding
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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. The lack of an auto-save feature exacerbates this issue, leading to repetitive gameplay and frustration when trying to avoid 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.”
    • “Tedious 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.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is notably poor, with frequent bugs such as black screens during fullscreen mode and inconsistent interaction mechanics that require precise positioning. Overall, players find the experience unplayable and unpolished.

    • “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

    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. Additionally, some unintentionally funny misspellings and typos add a layer of amusement, making it worth playing despite its flaws.

    • “The humor is touching, if not a smidgen more than my big sister, and the less awkward humor definitely helps.”
    • “There are some unintentionally funny misspellings and typos that add to the charm of the game.”
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57%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Red Bow is a casual role playing game with horror and thriller themes.

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 neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Red Bow is a single player game.

Similar games include My Big Sister, Silence, Creepy Tale, At Home Alone Final, Lacuna and others.