The home of the Tape to Tape community is r/TapetoTape, the official subreddit for Excellent Rectangle's arcade hockey roguelite. It is where players swap squad builds, post clips, and argue over whether the 1.0 release delivers. Combined with threads on bigger boards like r/playstation, Reddit is the fastest place to see what real owners actually think before you buy.
The Subreddit
r/TapetoTape has been running since May 13, 2021, and describes itself as the "official subreddit of Tape to Tape, a roguelite hockey game! Now out on Steam!" At the time of writing it lists roughly 3,700 weekly visitors and around 460 weekly contributions, with moderators that include the developer's TapetoTape_Game account.
The feed itself is a mix of hype and shop talk. Alongside the pinned announcements, recent posts include a clip of a triple-overtime stress test, the 1.0 official trailer and release date announcement, and a proud milestone where one player was closing in on 1,000 hits for a skater named Maurice. It is the kind of place where a single stat milestone gets its own thread.
What Players Are Asking
A common thread on Reddit is the simple buyer's question. One r/playstation user who loved old-school NHL games and NHL Arcade asked whether anyone had tried the game after its PS5 launch. The replies capture the full range of opinion — from long-time players who "love it" to buyers who bounced off the roguelite rules.
The thread also surfaces the game's most common comparison points. One commenter who has played for years on Steam Deck says it plays nothing like an NHL game: you equip power-ups (including one that makes your player fart to shove people away), and there is a team of referees, so some goals get called back. They like it precisely because it is a quick pick-up-and-play game rather than a simulation.
Here is the sentiment at a glance:
| Camp | What they say |
|---|---|
| Fans | Fast, funny, great pick-up-and-play arcade hockey |
| Cautious | Fun but shallow in Early Access, waiting to see 1.0 |
| Skeptics | Love the hockey, dislike the unfair-feeling roguelite rules |
The Praises
- One commenter who played for many hours on PC simply says they love it.
- A Steam Deck player calls it a great quick pick-up-and-play game and notes power-ups like a fart ability that pushes opponents away.
- Another fan compares it to Mutant League Hockey and says they now want every sport as a roguelite.
- A hockey fan adds that player names and likenesses are worth a laugh.
The Pushback
The strongest criticism comes from players who wanted a purer hockey game. One buyer enjoyed individual matches but soured on the campaign, listing goals called back by the referee team, perks removed to "pay tax" to a Canadian team, golfers who lose the puck in sand traps on the ice, and enemies that become "enraged" and grow massive. Their verdict: not worth full price "unless you like games where the cards are all stacked against you," and they recommended waiting for a sale.
Part of that frustration is control. The same poster pointed out that you cannot control the goalie at all, so you are "completely at the mercy of the game," and they reached a golf-themed team on their first run — which, they said, would also be their last. Their bottom line was that the game is fun in short bursts but hard to recommend at $20 for anyone who dislikes the roguelite structure.
A couple of commenters reflect the same split. One Early Access buyer found the game fun but "quite shallow" at the time and was unsure how much it had evolved, while another said they were waiting for a sale. The recurring theme is that the game's randomness is the feature and the sticking point at once.
How the Roguelite Works, From Players
Reddit also has the clearest plain-English explanation of the loop. In a thread asking whether you lose everything on a loss, one commenter explained that after each run you restart from the beginning, but you can incrementally unlock new perks and skaters, and complete benchwarmer quests to give lesser players a permanent minor buff. Most full runs, they noted, average around an hour.
That meta progression — unlocks and quests that carry over — smooths out the difficulty over time. The same commenter added that once you learn each squad's synergies and win conditions, the game is "not too bad." It is a useful way to think about the game: each run is fresh, but you are always making permanent progress.
Common Questions on Reddit
- How long is a run? Around an hour on average for a full campaign.
- Do you lose everything when you lose? Each run restarts fresh, but unlocks and benchwarmer quests give permanent minor buffs that smooth the next attempt.
- Is it like an NHL game? No — it is an arcade game with power-ups, and several players stress it plays nothing like a sim.
- Can you control the goalie? Players report you cannot control the goalie at all, which is a recurring complaint.
- Is it worth $20? Opinion is split; several fans say yes, while skeptics suggest waiting for a sale.
Getting the Most Out of the Community
If you post for help, give people something to work with: state which Squad you are running, list the talents and Relics you have drafted, and describe where the run falls apart. The subreddit is also where the developer posts official trailer and patch news, so treat its pinned announcements as the source of truth for release and platform updates.
Before You Buy
If you are on the fence, the Reddit consensus is to know what you are buying. This is an arcade roguelite first and a hockey sim second. Players who accept the randomness and enjoy building weird teams tend to love it, while players who want to win purely through clean hockey tend to find it frustrating. Read the pinned threads for the latest patches, and if the full price worries you, a sale is the most common suggestion from skeptical commenters.
The community is active but small, so answers can take a little time — Steam announcements remain the most reliable source for confirmed patch notes.