Info about Ratten Reich:

Official game description:
Join Our Discord Server
=======================
About the Game
==============
**About This Game**  
In a fictional world torn apart by constant warfare, societies of rats, mice, cockroaches, and lizards relentlessly pursue the interests of their nations. As these ambitions clash, one battlefield sees the end of all hope for peace. Advances in steam and diesel engines have given birth to merciless weapons of destruction, plunging the world into an era of unprecedented technological brutality.  
**Theaters of War**  
This war spans three distinct continents, each offering unique and challenging combat environments, but among them all are charred corpses, bomb craters, and the scars of incessant fighting.  
The Central Continent boasts swampy terrain and trench-ridden ground, making troop movement difficult and creating tactical challenges. The Eastern Continent is fortified with military bases, creating serious obstacles to any assault. The desert continent is famous for its sandstorms and dunes, which obscure visibility and complicate combat.  
Most buildings are destructible, allowing for a variety of tactical approaches when assaulting enemy positions and forcing players to strategically think through cover options.  
Each faction boasts an exclusive infantry arsenal, interesting models, and elaborate designs. You will be able to play missions for the famous RR (rats), FMR (mice), ERS (lizards), and RD (monitor lizards).  
Unit cards contain important information, allowing you to accurately and effectively control them on the battlefield.  
The game has elements of dismemberment and blood.  
The game is in early access and will be improved until it becomes something that can be remembered for a long time. We ask you to take a look at our Roadmap and not to overestimate the expectations of our small indie game. We hope that together with you and your help, we can make a great game!  
**Units**  
Ratten Reich is a small RTS with interesting combat, in a unique steampunk/dieselpunk world, torn apart by an ongoing war between anthropomorphic rats, mice, cockroaches and lizards.  
In addition to the game, also comes a comic book on the Ratten Reich universe. The comic book is located in the folder with the game (Extra content folder).

Release date: Jul 15, 2025

Categories: Real-time Strategy, Tactical Combat, Single-player, Early Access, Destructible Environments, Dieselpunk Theme, Squad Management


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $0.00 - $5.00
  - Reasoning: The overwhelming majority of reviews indicate the game is not worth its current price (implied around £17 or more). Even with sales, users advise against purchase. Only one review finds pricing reasonable. Therefore, the community's fair price expectation is very low, likely free or under $5.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: 1.5h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The first evidence directly states 1.5 hours to complete all available content, which represents story completion. The third evidence corroborates with about 2 hours for full clearance, supporting a story completion around 1.5-2 hours. The second evidence indicates a typical session length of about 40 minutes (0.67 hours) based on the player's reported playtime. No evidence supports game completion (100% achievements) or meaningful endgame content, so those are set to null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game is extremely light on content, buggy, and becomes boring immediately with no unlock point where fun begins.
  - Stance: Never clicks
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: Very limited content (3-6 missions, no multiplayer); Bugs and crashes during tutorial; Poor AI and pathfinding; Repetitive gameplay; No skirmish or campaign mode; Tedious micromanagement to unstuck units
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: N/A
- Player Archetypes:
  - Disillusioned Backer (no buy)
    - Motivation: Hope the game eventually matches its promised vision
    - Playstyle: Enjoys tactical RTS similar to Men of War
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Men of War
  - RTS Purist (no buy)
    - Motivation: Seeking a polished, feature-complete tactical RTS
    - Playstyle: Tactical, strategic, appreciates unit management and realistic combat
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: veteran of 90s RTS games
    - Reference games: Company of Heroes 2; Men of War; Call to Arms
  - Scammed Buyer (no buy)
    - Motivation: Warning others about developer abandonment
    - Playstyle: Not applicable; focus on refund and avoidance
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Lore and setting strong (weight 0.95): The lore, setting, and worldbuilding are highly praised, particularly the unique dieselpunk anthropomorphic animal alternate history, detailed maps, and immersive atmosphere.
- Graphics and visuals praised (weight 0.71): Multiple players praised the graphics, visuals, and art direction, noting they are beautiful, run smoothly on modern hardware, and enhance the dieselpunk/anthropomorphic WWI setting.
- Great concept and potential (weight 0.61): The game is seen as having great potential, an exciting premise, and a creative concept of alternate WWI with anthropomorphic animals, leading to high expectations.
- Fun and tactical gameplay (weight 0.58): Players find the gameplay fun, with intuitive controls, tactical depth from destructible environments, and comparisons to Company of Heroes or Men of War, making it appealing for RTS fans.
- Good value for price (weight 0.35): Players consider the game worth the price, especially at a discounted rate or early access price, offering good value for the content provided.
- Enjoyable content variety (weight 0.25): Players enjoyed the playable content, including several maps, campaign variety, and skirmish mode, which add replayability.
- Cinematic and story good (weight 0.25): The cinematic beginning, story, voice acting, and presentation (reminiscent of Battlefield 1 operations) receive positive mentions.
- Tactical depth and resources (weight 0.16): Destructible environments and an innovative resource system (gaining resources from killing enemies) are highlighted as positive tactical features.
- Detailed unit designs (weight 0.15): Unit and faction designs are described as detailed, memorable, and well-executed, contributing to the game's appeal.
- Sound design excellent (weight 0.15): Sound design, SFX, and VFX are praised as amazing and well-done, enhancing the overall experience.
- Smooth performance (weight 0.15): The game runs smoothly, with good performance on modern hardware, e.g., 100 FPS on an RX 7800 XT.
- Active developer updates (weight 0.09): Developers are actively releasing updates to fix major issues, which is appreciated by players.
- Accessible difficulty (weight 0.08): The difficulty is noted as not too high, making the game accessible to a broader audience.
- Recommended by players (weight 0.08): The game is recommended by a player, indicating overall satisfaction.
- Detailed maps (weight 0.08): Maps are described as extremely detailed, contributing to immersion.
- German-speaking rats (weight 0.06): A niche detail: the rats speak German, which adds to the game's charm and worldbuilding.

Common complaints:
- Game abandoned by devs (weight 0.9): Players report the game has been abandoned by its developers with no updates or communication for over a year. This has led to a lack of trust and disappointment.
- Game is dead (weight 0.75): The game has been abandoned with no updates for a long time, making it dead. This is a major reason for negative reviews.
- Frequent crashes (weight 0.68): The game crashes frequently, often within 20 minutes of play, and is described as unstable. These crashes make the game unplayable for many users.
- Broken pathfinding (weight 0.58): Units get stuck on terrain and obstacles due to poor pathfinding, and the AI is also broken. This makes gameplay frustrating and often broken.
- Not worth buying (weight 0.47): The game is unplayable in its current state and not worth the price, even at a discount. Players cannot recommend it.
- Units get stuck (weight 0.46): Pathfinding is so poor that units get stuck frequently, making the game frustrating. This is a core gameplay issue.
- Missing features (weight 0.37): Skirmish mode is missing or unplayable, and there are no multiplayer or vehicle features. This reduces replay value significantly.
- Many bugs (weight 0.34): There are numerous bugs throughout the game, including in the tutorial. This indicates a lack of polish and quality assurance.
- Useless cover system (weight 0.34): The cover system is described as nonsense, useless, and non-functional. This is a core mechanic that does not work properly, harming gameplay.
- Unfulfilled promises (weight 0.27): The roadmap is not fulfilled and money is alleged to have been spent on unrelated art. This shows poor development priorities and broken promises.
- Needs more polish (weight 0.27): The game is not ready for early access, needing a lot of work and polish. It feels incomplete and missing content.
- Bad tutorial and controls (weight 0.26): The tutorial is poorly designed and controls feel clunky, making it hard to learn and play. This detracts from the initial user experience.
- Bad early access start (weight 0.21): The early access launch was a disappointing first impression with sparse updates. This sets a negative tone for the game's development.
- No refunds available (weight 0.16): Refunds are not possible for the game, which adds to the frustration of players who feel deceived. This raises concerns about customer support.
- AI needs overhaul (weight 0.16): The AI needs an overhaul due to being buggy and poor. This affects gameplay quality and depth.
- Poor voice acting (weight 0.14): Voice acting is atrocious, flat, and wooden, which hurts immersion. This is a quality issue with presentation.

Gameplay feedback:
- Men of War style tactics (weight 0.23): The game is repeatedly compared to Men of War for its real-time tactics gameplay, including a unique twist involving rats, mice, and crustaceans. This comparison defines the core gameplay style.
- World War I setting (weight 0.23): The game is set in World War I, with Unreal Engine graphics and a planned Russian cockroach faction. This theme sets the historical and visual context.
- Real-time strategy genre (weight 0.16): Several reviews identify the game as a real-time strategy (RTS) title. This classification is important for setting player expectations.
- Diverse faction design (weight 0.15): Players appreciate the diversity of factions and the overall unit and faction design, which adds variety to the game. This is a positive aspect.
- High micro-management needed (weight 0.1): Players note that the game requires intense micro-management, specifically ordering each soldier to aim and shoot. This can be a barrier for casual RTS fans.
- Only infantry with 3 classes (weight 0.1): The game currently only offers infantry units with three distinct classes, limiting tactical options. This is seen as a current constraint.
- Destructible environments (weight 0.09): The game features destructible environments that players can interact with tactically. This is a highlighted positive feature.
- Emphasizes unit positioning (weight 0.09): Unit command and positioning are core mechanics, requiring players to carefully place units for tactical advantage. This is a key gameplay element.
- No tanks or vehicles (weight 0.09): There are no tanks or vehicles available in the game, which restricts combat variety. This is a notable absence for a tactics game.
- Early access with maps (weight 0.09): As an early access title, the game currently features several playable maps but is still in development. This sets expectations for ongoing updates.
- Tactical squad with vehicles (weight 0.09): One review describes it as a tactical squad game that includes both infantry and vehicles, though vehicles are currently missing. This outlines the intended scope.
- Pathfinding system noted (weight 0.08): The pathfinding system for units is mentioned, though no explicit praise or criticism is given. It is a noted technical aspect.
- Developed by 6-person team (weight 0.08): The game is developed by a small team of 6 people, which explains the limited content and suggests support for the indie effort.
- Skirmish mode planned 2025 (weight 0.08): A skirmish mode is planned for 2025, indicating future content additions that players are anticipating.

Performance notes:
- Poor optimization (weight 0.16): Users report poor optimization leading to uneven performance and instability, even on high-end systems running at over 500 FPS.
- Smooth performance for some (weight 0.14): A minority of users report that the game runs smoothly without any errors or crashes, indicating the issue is not universal.
- Occasional technical issues (weight 0.09): Some users mention occasional technical issues that are not severe but affect the overall experience.

Recommendations:
- Strong 'do not buy' consensus (weight 0.9): Numerous clusters explicitly say 'Do not buy' or 'Cannot recommend,' indicating overwhelming negative sentiment toward purchasing the game.
- Game considered a scam (weight 0.79): Players across multiple clusters call the game a scam, bait-and-switch, cash grab, or broken abandonware, reflecting strong distrust and accusations of deceptive practices.
- Waste of money and regret (weight 0.7): Players express that spending money on this game is a waste, with some even applying for refunds, showing financial regret.
- Game is unfinished or broken (weight 0.55): Players describe the game as unfinished, broken, or abandoned, suggesting development issues or lack of updates.
- Poor value for the price (weight 0.54): Players feel the game is overpriced, with some suggesting only buying at deep discounts (80% off) or not at all, indicating poor value for money.
- Not recommended in current state (weight 0.45): Multiple clusters state the game cannot be recommended in its current state, indicating it is not yet ready for purchase.
- Overwhelmingly negative recommendations (weight 0.39): Nearly all recommendation clusters advise against buying, with only a few positive or conditional recommendations, showing strong negative bias.
- Recommend waiting for updates (weight 0.34): Players advise waiting for significant updates, patches, or bug fixes before considering purchase, suggesting the game is not ready.
- Strong avoidance warnings (weight 0.22): Players use strong avoidance language like 'stay far away' or 'don't touch it,' indicating extreme dislike or distrust.
- Competitors recommended instead (weight 0.16): Some players suggest buying alternative games (Men at Arms, Call to Arms) instead, comparing unfavorably to competitors.
- Minor positive value opinion (weight 0.16): Two players from Cluster 7 say the game is worth the money, providing a contrasting positive opinion.
- Missing features and instability (weight 0.15): Players note missing features and instability, and say it is not for those seeking a polished game, highlighting incomplete development.
- Conditional recommendations only (weight 0.14): Two players give conditional recommendations: if bugs are fixed or as a donation, showing limited cautious support.
- Refunds or returns advised (weight 0.14): Players mention returning the game or applying for refunds, indicating buyer's remorse.
- Caution due to early access status (weight 0.13): One player says to save money until release; another notes it's early access so pay attention, showing mixed caution.
- Recommended for experimental RTS fans (weight 0.09): One player recommends the game specifically for experimental RTS fans okay with work-in-progress, showing a niche positive angle.
- Recommended only for low price (weight 0.07): One player implies recommendation because the price is low compared to AAA games, based on cost rather than quality.
- Risk of low player population (weight 0.07): One player warns of a risk of low player base by the time content arrives, highlighting longevity concerns.
- Should not buy right now (weight 0.06): A single player says the game should not be bought right now, reinforcing the consensus to wait.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.23): Players are disappointed because the game was released with bugs, pathing issues, and limited maps, which reduces replayability. Delayed features and misplaced developer priorities contributed to the game not meeting expectations despite having great art.
- Frustration (weight 0.15): Frustration stems from budget and development focus on irrelevant features rather than the core game, leading to an unfair combat system and numerous technical issues. Unit control problems and bugs further exacerbate the negative experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.15): Excitement arises from the hope that the game will improve, as its graphics are great and gameplay is fun. The potential, story, and maps also contribute to positive anticipation.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.08): Enjoyment is driven by the game being fun, with fantastic sound design and good value. The rich lore, setting, and atmospheric presentation add to the overall positive experience.
- Hope (weight 0.08): Hope is based on the potential for future content and improvements, as reviewers still believe the game can be enhanced over time.
- Anger (weight 0.08): Anger results from a feeling of being scammed due to false claims about the game and a lack of promised content.
- Caution (weight 0.08): Caution is advised because the game is early in development and not ready, though it shows potential for future improvement.
- Curiosity (weight 0.08): Curiosity is sparked by the interesting world line, which intrigues players enough to want to explore the setting further.
- Annoyance (weight 0.08): Annoyance is caused by poor translation, which detracts from the overall experience and immersion.}