Red Tether Review (Lichard)
Absolutely captivating, in no small part due to its amazing aesthetics, music, and sound design, not to mention the truly clenchworthy (but fair) challenge it poses in its gameplay. I decided to check Red Tether out after really enjoying Hyperspace Dogfights, which was graciously donated by Sleeper Games to that massive itch.io bundle for racial justice.
Red Tether has a far slower pace compared to Dogfight's blistering speed, but not agonizingly so. I found that it speeds up significantly as you get better. Your ship's thrusters don't give you a high level of maneuverability on their own, which was a bit frustrating at first, but I think it's a good design choice. It forces you to use your tethers for the mobility they provide, stay close to the battle so you have things to tether on to, and manage how you use the limited number of tethers you can have deployed at once. You usually can't just tether a whole fleet together and zoom away with no fear of retaliation.
I haven't gotten past wave 42 at the time of writing this, but I feel like I could eventually once I get good enough. There is some meta-progression with unlocking new ships and upgrades, and you're not by ANY means dependent on meta-progression in order to do well. Unlocks simply expand the possibilities of a run, and it feels very rewarding to unlock something new to spice things up with once you've proven your mettle with the tools you have.
I am very much looking forward to future updates. Even if this game isn't to your liking, I recommend checking out Hyperspace Dogfights as well, and any future titles Sleeper Games puts out.