Rope Star

Reflexes carry you through the first few stages of an action game. After that, you need to read the room. Where the enemies come from, how long an attack animation takes, when to retreat. The pace rarely lets up, and health is always a little scarcer than you would like. Sessions are tense in a good way, and victory tends to arrive just as your hands start to ache.

• Mouse or tap to play

1. 1Spend the first stage moving constantly and watching enemy patterns rather than trying to win quickly.
2. 2Use dodge or jump to break out of a corner. Being surrounded is the most common cause of a game over.
3. 3Time your attacks for when an enemy has just finished theirs; most action games leave a gap there.
4. 4Keep health pickups in reserve when you can, and grab them only when a bar is actually low.

• Free to play, nothing to install, no account needed
• Loads in the browser tab and opens full screen when you press Play
• Designed for a phone held upright
• Touch controls on phones and tablets, mouse and keyboard on a computer
• Listed under Action

The appeal of Rope Star is simple: tension, release, repeat. It runs free in a browser with nothing to download, loads in seconds, and gives you a proper fight without any commitment. When it ends, you close the tab and that is that.

Suits players who enjoy combat and pressure. Teenagers and adults make up most of the audience, though older children with good reflexes will keep up. Not aimed at very young players.

Can I play Rope Star on a phone?

Most action games here support touch with an on-screen pad and attack buttons. A desktop with a keyboard tends to feel more precise, but phone play works.

Does it save my progress?

Often the game stores your furthest stage in the browser on that device. It does not sync to an account, so another device starts from the beginning.

Is there a difficulty setting?

Some action games offer one on the start screen. Many do not, and instead ramp up stage by stage. Expect the early stages to be the gentlest.