Ratatan
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Critic Reviews for Ratatan
It is important to note that Ratatan, a new rhythm-action game, is the product of crazed minds. Even more important is to note what those minds are c...
Ratatan is a game I really badly wanted to like, but fun gameplay is kept locked behind a poor roguelike that gatekeeps the genuine joy and passion that shines through in the presentation. While I understand that it is a genre that can help a modest budget punch above its weight, here the roguelike design has left a fun ten-hour game absolutely stretched beyond its limits to more than six times that. Hopefully a sequel could realise a stronger overall vision, but right now it is very hard to recommend Ratatan to all but die-hard fans of the original franchise.
Ratatan is an aural blast of excitement and entertainment. It has so many fantastic qualities that keep me locked in and instills the “one more run” hook that makes me want to keep going. There are parts that need improvement, and I’m curious if the online mode will be influential on the game’s longevity or merely be a curiosity. Knowing what this is, not what you hope it could be, is what makes it enjoyable and addicting.
Ratatan strikes the right note with its catchy soundtrack, colorful visuals, and entertaining rhythm-based combat, all wrapped in a roguelike adventure. A few sour notes stop it from being perfect, but there are plenty of reasons to march to its beat.
While autonomous movement of your character certainly adds an extra layer, it also makes the gameplay somewhat more cumbersome and distracts from the rhythmic commanding of your troops. I find the roguelike structure even more disappointing, as it too often feels like a repetition of the same actions. I would much rather have seen a more mission-driven or story-driven setup, like the one we were used to from Patapon. The busy presentation and the stuttering performance at the beginning don't help either. Ratatan is certainly not a bad game, and fans of rhythmic action will absolutely be able to enjoy it. But where Patapon was a particularly fresh and unique experience back then, Ratatan tries to borrow a little too many other ideas.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
RATATAN, folks, is a worthy spiritual successor to Patapon, with addictive gameplay and an innovative blend of rhythm and roguelike elements, even if it suffers a bit from repetition. However, that was somewhat expected given its premise.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
