Grapplers: Relic Rivals Review

What Is Grapplers: Relic Rivals?

When reviewers describe Grapplers: Relic Rivals, they reach for a specific shelf: one player says it reminds them of TowerFall, another files it next to Smash Bros for couch nights, and satire site Hard Drive wrote that it follows in the footsteps of Spelunky and Duck Game. That is the company this game keeps. Built by Ally Productions LLC and released on June 19, 2024 for $13.99 on Windows, it is a two-to-four player local PvP platformer about swinging through trap-filled arenas on a grappling hook, hoarding ancient relics, and relieving your friends of everything they own.

Matches are refereed by pixel-art tombs and pirate coves, and the store page's feature list is honest about the tone; it includes, verbatim, "Coinsplosions!" and "Winners wear a crown."

Get Grapplers: Relic Rivals on Steam - there is a free demo if you want to test your couch first.

One Hook, Four Jobs

The grappling hook is the whole toolkit. It moves you across levels, steals relics out of rivals' pockets, deals damage, and flips mystical runes, so every input doubles as a decision about what you are not doing instead. One reviewer with almost three hours in called the rope mechanic fun and well implemented, and the design around it gives a match several routes to victory: gather coins scattered through the level, collect or steal relics to snowball your power, or simply beat the coins out of whoever is winning.

The relics are where builds happen mid-match. Post-launch additions like Cthulhu's Tendril (longer grapple range), Lightbender's Prism (stealth), and Windstrider Boots (speed) stack into combinations, and because relics can be stolen, your build is only yours until someone with a better hook shows up. Traps round out the arenas, and the store page's advice on them is "Dodge deadly traps (Or don't!)", which is a fair summary of how matches actually end.

Cheerful Chaos, Patched Into Shape

Fifteen reviews is a tiny sample, and every one of them is positive. One reviewer called the result cheerful chaos, and the playtimes agree: one player has logged about ninety hours, another close to twenty-five. The family angle is real too: two reviewers describe playing with kids or grandkids, a third calls it a family game outright, and the accessibility list on the store page (color alternatives, camera comfort, adjustable difficulty, and a playable-without-timed-input option) supports that range. Ratings boards put the pixel combat at 12 and up, for whatever that is worth on family night. Even the friendship question got peer review: one player warns the game is for destroying long friendships over bragging rights, while another insists it is one of the few versus titles that is not a friendship destroyer. Both sound like recommendations.

Ally Productions did not stop working at launch. In the months after, Ally Productions shipped new arenas (Whispering Expanse, Astral Terrace, and more), new relics, a pile of toggles and game changers, and a whole single-player layer: four challenge modes across ten levels, with developer best times to chase. When Hard Drive's review poked at missing conveniences, the developer responded by shipping several of them. The honest counterweights: there is no native online mode, so distant friends need Remote Play Together; the game is Windows only; and the patch notes go quiet after October 2024, though the game joined the Seattle Indies Expo sale in 2026, so the lights are still on.

Who Should Play This?

• Couch competitors: if TowerFall or Duck Game ever owned your living room, this plugs into the same outlet, bow swapped for a hook
• Hosts of mixed-skill game nights: multiple win routes mean the platforming ace and the coin hoarder can both be in the match
• Families: reviewers brought kids, a grandson, and whole households to it, and the accessibility toggles make that easier than most versus games allow
• Speedrun tinkerers: the four solo challenge modes ship with developer best times, which is an open dare
• Content creators: keys are not open right now, but the game's page on Gamosy has a notify option and a media kit ready

Is Grapplers: Relic Rivals Worth Buying?

Yes. Gamosy rates Grapplers: Relic Rivals 8/10. Fifteen out of fifteen positive reviews is a clean sheet, the hook-does-everything design gives it an identity the crowded party genre rarely manages, and the free demo means trying it costs nothing. Buy it as a couch game: the solo modes are practice laps between game nights, and there is no online lobby waiting if your group lives far apart.

How Long Is Grapplers: Relic Rivals?

As long as your rivalries. Reviewer playtimes run from single quick sessions to about ninety hours, which is the honest range for a party game: it depends entirely on how often the same people end up on the same sofa. The four single-player challenge modes with developer times to beat add a solo ceiling for anyone chasing mastery between game nights.

The Bottom Line

At 8/10, Grapplers: Relic Rivals is what happens when a small team builds a versus game, listens to everyone who plays it, and keeps shipping until the reviews come back unanimous. The hook is clever, the chaos is friendly, and the post-launch support turned a good launch into a better game. Its limits are drawn clearly - one screen, one platform - and inside them it simply works.

The feature list promises that winners wear a crown. Fifteen reviewers checked, and nobody has asked for a refund on it.

Get Grapplers: Relic Rivals on Steam

Grapplers: Relic Rivals was released on June 19, 2024. Developer and Publisher: Ally Productions LLC. Platform: Windows (Steam). 2-4 players locally with Remote Play Together, plus solo challenge modes. Price: $13.99. Free demo available.

More Gamosy Reviews: ScramBrawl Review, an upcoming physics party brawler where eggs fight with their own yolk, demo rated 8/10. Gem Miner TD Review, a maze-builder tower defense where you dig the path yourself, rated 9/10.