Parkour-focused games like Mirror’s Edge and Free Running have all but vanished – but solo indie developer Michel Losch wants to bring them back. His upcoming title, Rooftops & Alleys, aims to revive the genre, handing players full control to flow through urban landscapes with style and freedom.
Parkour once had a real moment in pop culture. From Jason Bourne and James Bond thrilling moviegoers with high-octane on-foot pursuits, to the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Mirror’s Edge bringing the experience to the comfort of your couch, it was everywhere. In recent years though, it’s been pushed to the background. Instead of being the core of the experience, it’s often tacked on, buried in larger creations.
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On the gaming front, Assassin’s Creed or Dying Light come to mind, as games where movement is important, but it’s mostly automated: just hold a direction and tap a button. It’s been a long time since players had real agency – and consequences – for how they move.
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Finally bringing it back into the spotlight, Michel Losch is hoping to reinvigorate that sense of joy when flowing through construction yards and modern metropolises, tricking your way from one surface to the next as quickly as possible. Here’s how Rooftops & Alleys is restoring the fun.
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What is Rooftops & Alleys?
Parkour is ostensibly about getting from Point A to Point B in as little time as possible. That could mean vaulting over a ledge, jumping across a gap, or sliding down a slanted surface to get there. Meanwhile, freerunning is about adding some flair to the movement. Flipping, spinning, and generally tricking along a path to really show off.
Rooftops & Alleys mixes them both. You’ll be sprinting through maps in the most stylish ways possible for extra points in a bid to outclass your friends. It’s not just about the destination, but the fun of the journey.
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Some challenges are on a timer, demanding you reach an area as quickly as possible, passing through all the right checkpoints along the way. An on-foot race with only your technical skill standing in the way of a gold medal.
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Others will ask for high scores on tricky lines, forcing you and your crew to think outside the box on how you’re going to approach a certain obstacle. Is flipping over it the coolest way to make it past? Or would latching onto it and then flipping off give you a bigger multiplier? Much like how you mastered levels in Tony Hawk’s games, you’ll need to put some work in to master the stages here as well.
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There’s even a tag mode that’s non-stop fun as you chase and evade friends with all the dazzling tricks you’ve learned thus far.
ML Media / Radical TheoryThe world is your freerunning oyster in Rooftops & Alleys.
What the devs say about it
What were your inspirations?
“As far as the idea goes, I can’t really say I’ve been practicing parkour professionally! But I always found it cool whenever I saw it in movies. Mostly, I took a lot of inspiration from games like Mirror’s Edge, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Skate, as well as Freerunning on PS2. So many games that fell into it.
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“I like freedom, and I like creative expression in games. I always like getting into a flow state with a game. I was missing something where I could just jump and be able to frontflip, trick, I felt something so satisfying in that. I always wanted to make something like that.
“I have inhaled parkour for the last two years. Just tried to fill my brain with reference footage basically.
“I’ve never talked about this, but I tried to take an approach where I looked at other sports too. I found out about Death Diving, which has nothing to do with parkour. I wanted to add more tricks, so I’ve added some from the sport of Death Diving, diving in general, seeing how I can merge something in what I call a parkour and freerunning game.”
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How realistic is it?
“I never forgot Jet Set Radio Future. There’s a choice of how realistic vs how arcadey, usually people tend to go a bit more realistic. I just wanted something really snappy and responsive, which I knew from the get-go I wouldn’t be able to make this fully momentum or physics-based. I took heavy inspiration from Jet Set and more arcadey games for that reason.”
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ML Media / Radical TheoryWhile not veering completely into the unreal, Rooftops & Alleys harkens back to an old-school arcade game feel.
“Whether you practice parkour or you see it on TV, you just want to do cool stuff. I tried to maintain a somewhat realistic fall distance. I’m trying to get the measurements sort of right.”
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What do people want from a Parkour game?
“Usually, the shortcomings are the lack of control. I think what people need to understand, I often got comments like ‘this is what Assassin’s Creed should be,’ it proved to me there was an urge for more control and expression.
“But also, I think I have an easier time giving players more control because I do not have to hand them a gun or have them drive a car. I have more buttons to play with. There have been requests to add a grappling hook, but I had to stay strong.”
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What’s on the horizon?
“Photo Mode is coming. There are some things I’ve teased. There’s definitely more to it than meets the eye. There are some very fun and goofy achievements that people may not see coming. I’ve also put references to some community members in the 1.0 build.
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“Thus far [through Early Access] I’ve had 30 updates. I plan to continue doing that. I’m already working on post-launch content. I don’t want to spoil it, but there are some really cool and exciting things. Some of which people have been asking for, but some that will come out of nowhere. I’m trying to keep it fresh.”
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Rooftops & Alleys is set to launch in full across PS5, Xbox Series X | S, and PC (through Steam) on June 17, 2025.