Mad Rat Dead tells the story of a poorly-treated lab rat that’s about to die until it met the mysteriously cute Rat God. Giving permission to redo its final day, the mad lab rat sets out on a quest of vengeance. Vengeance on the human beings that treated it so poorly and never saw more than just another test object. Guided by the Rat God and its own heart, the rat takes off on the adventure of his life… Quite literally.
Move to the beat
Mad Rat Dead immediately sets the tone in these first minutes of the story. This is not your everyday game and the elements in it aren’t always what you would expect them to be. As if a Rat God and talking heart weren’t weird enough already, you better prepare for the gameplay. In short, you can best describe this game as a marriage between Crypt of the Necrodancer and a 2D side-scrolling game, as it clearly takes elements from both. Just like in Crypt of the Necrodancer, and thus also Cadence of Hyrule, you’ll move to the rhythm of the beat. On the bottom of the screen, you’ll see your beating heart, and by pushing the buttons at the right time, you’ll be able to move. Time your actions wrongly and you won’t move forward. It’s a fun mechanic that we already got to know in previously mentioned games but the combination with a 2D side-scrolling game makes it even more interesting.
At its core, Mad Rat Dead is exactly like any other 2D side-scrolling game on the market. Meaning you’ll move from left to right, time your jumps to get over gaps and defeat the occasional boss from time to time. Due to the mechanics of Mad Rat Dead, however, things are a bit more complicated. Instead of just running and jumping around, you’ll need to time every jump and every dash on the rhythm of the big-band inspired music. If you miss the rhythm, you probably won’t land the jump or attack correctly, possibly leading to your death once more. It’s not an easy game to master and it will take some time to adjust yourself to this way of controlling your character but once it clicks, it’s one of the most fun and original side-scrollers on the market.
Time to rewind
Although the gameplay isn’t that easy to master and you’ll often end up falling to your death, the game is never frustrating thanks to the ability to rewind. You can use your heart to rewind a couple of frames before you missed that crucial jump or attack. With just a touch of the left stick, you’re able to rewind your last seconds, giving you another shot at the section you’re stuck on. This takes away a lot of frustration and keeps it fun to play, even when you’re constantly failing your objective. Of course, endlessly rewinding your moves would make it a bit too easy to clear all levels so you’ll have to keep a close eye on the countdown in the left corner of your screen. If this reaches zero, you’re too late to reach the goal and you’ll have to start over again. This is a similar mechanic as in the original Super Mario bros. games, always forcing you to move forward and encouraging you to make as few mistakes as possible to set a new record. It’s a simple mechanic but it works pretty well in combination with the ability to rewind your mistakes.
Gorgeously created
As if the gameplay itself wasn’t original enough already, the game really elevates itself, even more, thanks to its visual style and a solid soundtrack. Using bright graffiti-inspired graphics to bring this crazy world to life really works. The story of the game is pretty absurd and the visual style really supports this by adding absurd details and crazy designs to the mix. I adored how uniquely created the characters all were. From the tough-looking rat to the colorful nightmares, it all works well together and instantly transports you to a new and unpredictable game that’s worth exploring. During your time with the game, I’m pretty sure you’ll easily fall in love with the style and see why the team clearly enjoyed their creative freedom. But of course, in a rhythm game, it’s not all about the graphics, it’s also about the soundtrack.
As mentioned before, the soundtrack has heavy big-band influences to it and it fits the style perfectly. I found myself always wondering how the next track would sound like and how I would be able to match the rhythm of it. The more I played, the more I loved the soundtrack and really appreciate all the hard work of the team. It’s not the most typical soundtrack you would expect in a game like this but just like everything else, it fits perfectly together. It’s the final puzzle piece to create a truly outstanding game.
Conclusion:
Mad Rat Dead is an incredibly fun and original game that takes the rhythm-based action and combines it with the high pacing of a 2D side-scrolling. The story is delightfully absurd, just like the level building and soundtrack. It all works perfectly together and results in one of the most unique and thrilling games that recently got released. Be sure to check this one out!
