Ratatan Review Summary

A cute Patapon-inspired rhythm game with catchy music, but it feels like a knockoff, multiplayer is broken, and it's too short with little content.

Spiritual Successor to Patapon: Many players view the game as a worthy spiritual successor to Patapon, capturing its essence while innovating.

Cute Characters and Art: The characters and art style are consistently praised as cute, charming, and well-animated. This adds to the game's appeal.

Excellent Catchy Music: The music is frequently described as catchy, wonderful, and addictive. It significantly enhances the overall experience.

Rhythm Roguelike Fusion: The blend of rhythm game mechanics with roguelike elements is highly enjoyable and successful.

Overall Great Game: Players widely praise the game as excellent, fun, and engaging. Many consider it one of the best games they have played.

Feels like a Patapon knockoff: Many players say the game fails to live up to the Patapon series, lacking depth, charm, and the signature call-and-response rhythm gameplay. It is seen as a shallow, poor imitation that does not capture the essence of its inspirations.

Multiplayer connectivity is broken: Frequent disconnections, freezes, crashes, and severe sync issues make online cooperative and competitive modes largely unplayable. Many report being unable to play with friends at all.

Music and rhythm issues: The soundtrack lacks variety, with repetitive songs and awkward rhythm mechanics that disrupt the flow. Song resets in item rooms and odd instrument sounds further detract from the experience.

Too short and lacking content: The game is criticized for being extremely short with few levels, stages, and overall content, especially for an early access title. Players feel it is not worth the price and lacks replayability.

Repetitive and grindy gameplay: Gameplay quickly becomes monotonous, with players forced to repeat the same levels and grind excessively. This repetition extends to music and stage design, leading to boredom.

Core Rhythm Gameplay: The game's core is a rhythm-based combat system where timing inputs to the beat is essential. Players issue commands and attack in sync with the music, often with customizable difficulty.

Roguelike Elements: The game incorporates roguelike or roguelite elements, including run-based progression, permanent upgrades, and increased replayability. This structure blends with the rhythm mechanics to create a unique hybrid.

Multiplayer and Co-op: The game supports both solo and multiplayer modes, including online co-op for up to 4 players. Players can team up with friends to progress further together.

Patapon Comparison: The game is frequently compared to Patapon, with a similar drum-beat command system and visual style. Many describe it as a spiritual successor that pays homage to the classic rhythm-action series.

Rhythm-Roguelike Hybrid: A key highlight is the fusion of rhythm gameplay with roguelike elements, creating a distinct genre blend. This combination drives the game's core loop and appeal.

Online connection instability: Many clusters describe poor connection quality, disconnections, and unstable multiplayer sessions. This is a widespread issue affecting online play.

Freezes and stutters during play: Occasional momentary freezes, stutters, and lag are noted, including on high-end PCs and during specific actions like gates. Performance issues impact smooth gameplay.

Online mode crashes immediately: Players report crashes when clicking online game from the main menu or joining online sessions. This makes multiplayer unplayable for some.

Crash on death save loss: A random crash after death and crash in crafting screen with many weapons led to save data loss. This is a critical stability issue causing progression loss.

Borderless mode black border: Borderless mode displays an ugly black border, as if running 1080p on a 1440p monitor. This display bug affects visual experience.

Patapon fans highly recommended: Many reviewers strongly recommend the game to anyone who enjoyed Patapon or is looking for a similar experience. It is described as a must-play for Patapon veterans and those who want to relive the Patapon vibe.

Not a Patapon substitute: Several reviewers warn that the game is not Patapon 4 or a direct sequel, and those expecting a true Patapon experience may be disappointed. It is advised to try the original Patapon games or the 1+2 Replay version instead.

Great for rhythm game fans: Players who enjoy rhythm games, especially those combined with strategy or roguelike elements, find this game highly recommended. It scratches the itch for rhythm-based combat.

Early Access state criticized: Multiple reviewers do not recommend purchasing the game in its current early access state, citing mediocrity and lack of fundamental changes. Some feel it is not worth the $25 price tag yet.

Roguelite appeal for genre fans: Fans of roguelites and looter roguelikes find the game serviceable and adorable, though some note it may not satisfy those seeking a pure roguelike experience.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 8.0h.

Story completion: 10.0h.

Session length: 1.0h.

Endgame: 50.0h.

Ratatan starts fun and addictive but becomes repetitive and grindy after a few hours or runs, making it a 'fun then drops' experience for many. A minority report delayed enjoyment after upgrades, while others find it never clicks due to progression gating.

Patapon Nostalgia Veteran: Rhythmic squad command, often solo or co-op, comparing systems to Patapon. Motivation: To relive and support the continuation of the Patapon rhythm-command formula. Stance: buy.

Roguelike Build Critic: Optimizing run builds, meta-progression, and damage scaling; evaluating skill expression and RNG. Motivation: To find skill-expressive roguelike build variety and satisfying meta-progression. Stance: no buy.

Rhythm-Action Newcomer: Casual rhythm combat, often solo, focusing on music and presentation. Motivation: To enjoy rhythm-based combat, music, and charming aesthetics. Stance: buy.

The available Windows low-VRAM cohort evidence is negative, with a report of missing audio after the intro and online mode crashes.

Windows <8GB VRAM: negative. A user reports that after the intro, all game audio disappears and online mode crashes immediately, leading to a not-recommended rating.

Steam Deck: The Steam Deck experience is sharply split: many users report the game runs smoothly and is ideal for handheld play, including in co-op. However, a significant and impactful set of reports documents severe technical barriers—frequent crashes at stage transitions, instant crashes when selecting online mode, a patch that revoked official Steam Deck compatibility, and a case of total save-data loss after a crash. These stability failures directly match the rubric's Broken tier. The presence of positive handheld reports does not negate the documented progression-halting crashes.

Constant Patapon comparisons dominate: Nearly all feedback explicitly compares the game to the Patapon series, often questioning whether it lives up to that legacy. Some find it a worthy successor, while many feel it falls short in soul, content, or rhythm satisfaction.

Accessible and modern adaptation: Compared to Patapon, the game is seen as easier to play, more relaxed, and with modern difficulty-reducing elements. This makes it friendlier for newcomers.

Early access state and content: Many reviews note the game is in early access, with limited stages, characters, and content. Some feel it is already polished, while others see it as thin and incomplete.

Roguelike twist on Patapon formula: The game incorporates roguelike and roguelite mechanics, differentiating it from the story-driven Patapon series. Opinions are mixed on how well these genres blend.

Not a Patapon sequel: Reviewers stress that this is not a direct sequel to Patapon, often due to copyright or intentional differentiation. It is a separate IP with similar elements.