Curse of the Sea Rats Review (PC)

One well-timed parry means that the big crab that’s facing me is stunned for a while, allowing me to quickly tap attack to deliver a full combo, which takes his health down quickly. I should have probably invested in more upgrades for my critical ability if I wanted to kill it outright. I also deal with a bomb thrower that’s waiting for me to jump to take a chunk out of my health.

I already know the way forward because I died recently in this section, so I quickly jump and run to get to the mini-boss that caused my demise. He doesn’t have a huge health bar like true boss enemies do, and his range of attacks is relatively limited. But I was hasty and failed to dodge incoming strikes.

I am now both more careful and prepared because I know what he can do. Regardless, one of his attacks hits the mark, which is a shame, while I eliminate him. He drops quite a bit of spiritual energy and I have enough to get my avatar at least one upgrade. The question is whether I want to return to my checkpoint and spend my resources or if it’s a better idea to push forward a little more and see what challenges await.

Curse of the Sea Rats is developed by Petoons Studio and published by Pqube. I played on the PC using Steam. It is also available on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and S, and older consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The title delivers a classic combination of exploration and combat in a world inspired by classic cartoons.

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The story starts with a ship whose crew gets turned into rats by a witch named Flora Burn and then hits the rocks off the coast of Ireland. The captain tells four prisoners that their only chance for freedom is to rescue his son from the pirate. Soon, a mystical force hidden inside an amulet reveals itself, suggesting that the only chance to become human is to get the other half of the artifact from Burn. Players can play as David Douglas, Buffalo Calf, Bussa, and Akane Yamakawa, each with a different special power and fighting style.

These sailors turned into rats are pretty cute and the premise by itself is interesting. But dialogue is mostly informative and the characters gamers meet mostly act according to predetermined type. The world can be charming but the story mostly exists to support the game’s mechanics.

Curse of the Sea Rats is an action platformer that has exploration at its core. Regardless of character choice, a jump and a slide enable them to reach a variety of areas, gradually uncovering the interconnected world. More mobility options open up at certain points, like wall jumping. Always look at the map and at clues in the environment to discover how to open up new paths.

The game’s world is made up of interlocking zones that gradually open up. There are locked gates that need keys and players can also find teleport locations to cut down on the backtracking. It can be easy to miss some paths and feel like there’s no way to make progress. When that happens, bring up the map and scour it for missed opportunities.

The world of the Irish coast is also filled with enemies, some of them transformed humans, others animals that have been subjugated by the witch. The player’s avatar starts off with an attack and a parry to deal with them and all four soon get a special move. All normal opponents have a clear attack pattern and the good use of the environment and solid parry timing makes it pretty easy to deal with them.

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Bosses and special enemies also show up, with a more complex set of moves to understand and adapt to. It is easy to lose health and die, leaving behind all the gold and spiritual energy taken from enemies. Characters are revived at the nearest spot where Wu Yun, the spirit in the amulet the player’s avatar carries, has manifested. Spiritual energy can be spent here to improve character abilities (each avatar has his own separate tree), while gold can be exchanged at a merchant for potions and other items.

Curse of the Sea Rats uses familiar ideas and executes them well, which makes the game accessible for both fans of the Metroidvania genre and newcomers. Despite the many deaths, I never got too frustrated with combat and I always learned something that helped when starting from a checkpoint.

I didn’t love how easy it was to get lost. Not in the physical space because the map does a good job of showing potential paths. But it’s not always clear whether I should focus on taking down a boss, I should try to find a certain item, or if there’s another way to push forward that I am fully missing.

The game works well as a classic single-player experience but it can be played with friends locally. Get extra controllers and the cast of characters can combine their abilities as they explore the world and battle its various bosses.

Curse of the Sea Rats uses a classic animation style that evokes Saturday morning cartoons of the ‘90s. There are plenty of modern touches but everything is hand-drawn, adding a certain level of charm to the unique game universe. I especially love the small variations in their movement or the way they use weapons, which add more personality than their simple character descriptions. Unfortunately, the world itself is a little drab.

The sound design is less successful. The voice work, especially for a certain magical spirit that quips every time the player’s avatar dies, ranges in quality and often seems wooden. The world sounds pretty generic, while the soundtrack needs more variety but matches the graphics and the universe’s tone.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion