Rat Quest Review Summary

Last updated: 2026-03-03
  • Secrets enhance exploration
  • Complex and engaging gameplay
  • Deep and emotional story
  • Precision platforming mechanics
  • Poor control mechanics
  • High game difficulty
Rat Quest header

Emotions

Archetypes

What players like:

Common complaints:

Gameplay feedback:

Performance notes:

Recommendations:

Other player notes:

  • -

    No data available

Review evidence

Why players say this

What players like

Secrets enhance exploration: The game features a variety of well-spaced and interesting secrets that are easy to find but feel special, adding to the exploration experience.

Complex and engaging gameplay: The gameplay is noted for its complexity, depth, and engaging mechanics, offering high replayability and fun experiences.

Deep and emotional story: The game features an in-depth, multi-layered story with intelligent storytelling and emotional depth, providing a well-developed narrative.

Stunning visuals: The game is praised for its amazing and beautiful visuals, featuring a unique and captivating art style.

Highly praised overall: Many players consider this game to be one of the best ever made, praising its perfection and overall quality.

Common complaints

Poor control mechanics: Players report that the controls are overly sensitive, slippery, and sometimes buggy. This makes the game difficult to play and enjoy.

High game difficulty: Many players find the game excessively difficult, leading to frustration. The high difficulty level is a common complaint among players.

Jump control issues: There are specific issues with jump controls, including delays and commands being swallowed. This makes platforming and general movement difficult.

Insufficient save points: There are too few save points or checkpoints, which can lead to loss of progress and frustration. Players often have to restart from the beginning after dying.

Game price not justified: Many players feel that the game is not worth the price tag, suggesting that the cost does not reflect the quality or enjoyment of the game.

Gameplay and performance

Precision platforming mechanics: The game features challenging and precise platforming mechanics, requiring players to master jumping, dashing, and climbing. The difficulty and precision of the platforming are frequently mentioned.

Dark lore and narrative: The game features a rich, dark lore and a narrative-driven gameplay experience. This includes elements of psychological horror and mystery.

Cheese collection and upgrades: Cheese is a key element in the game, used for various mechanics including collection, economy, and upgrades. Players can collect cheese to unlock new abilities and upgrades.

Playing as a rat: Players control different rat characters, each with unique properties. The rats must navigate through obstacles and collect cheese, which is central to the game's mechanics.

Shop and upgrade system: Players can visit shops to purchase upgrades using collected cheese, enhancing their abilities and progression through the game.

High system requirements: The game requires high-end hardware such as 128 GB RAM and RTX 5090, making it inaccessible for many players.

Screen resolution issues: Players report problems with screen compatibility and resolution, including issues with 21:9 aspect ratios and cyan screen problems.

High memory usage: The game uses an excessive amount of memory, up to 12,000MB, which can cause performance issues on many systems.

High GPU usage: The game causes 100% GPU usage, which can lead to overheating and performance issues.

General lag and delay: There are reports of general lag and delay in the game, affecting the overall gameplay experience.

Recommendations

Highly recommended by players: Many players highly recommend the game to others, often suggesting it to friends and emphasizing its positive aspects.

Comparisons to other games: The game is often compared to other popular titles like Celeste and games from FromSoftware, indicating it shares qualities with these well-regarded games.

Recommendations with conditions: Some players recommend the game if it is priced low or free, suggesting that the value proposition is important to them.

Suggestions for gameplay improvements: Players have specific suggestions for improving the gameplay experience, such as adding coyote time for jumps and a restart shortcut.

Game of the Year mentions: Some players consider the game to be a strong contender for Game of the Year, indicating high praise and satisfaction.

Buying context

Community fair range: $3.99 - $4.99.

Game completion: 20.0h.

Story completion: 3.0h.

Session length: 2.0h.

Endgame: 5.0h.

Rat Quest initially engages players with its charm and addictive gameplay, though it has a learning curve with controls and platforming that can be frustrating at first. Once players overcome these initial challenges, the game becomes more enjoyable and satisfying.

Reported time to anchor: 1h.

Player profiles

Completionist Explorer: Thorough and exploratory, focusing on uncovering secrets and achieving all possible goals. Motivation: Discovery and completion of all game content. Stance: buy.

Social Platformer: Casual and social, focusing on the enjoyment of the game's mechanics and sharing the experience with others. Motivation: Enjoying a fun and engaging platformer experience with friends. Stance: sale.

Hardcore Grinder: Persistent and determined, focusing on mastering difficult sections and grinding for progress. Motivation: Overcoming difficult challenges and enduring repetitive tasks. Stance: deep sale.

Platform notes

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience reveals several key issues. Controller support is a significant problem, with many users reporting minimal, slippery, and imprecise controls. The user experience is also a concern, with complaints about draining music and unpleasant gameplay. While some users have had positive experiences with compatibility, others have reported crashes and issues with graphics shaders on Linux. Additionally, the game's design, particularly its difficulty and lack of checkpoints, has been noted as frustrating. These issues suggest that while the game can be enjoyable on the Steam Deck, there are notable barriers to a seamless experience.

Extra review signals

Monetization: The game appears to have a significant focus on monetization through the sale of additional content such as DLCs and soundtracks. Players are spending considerable amounts of money, which suggests aggressive monetization strategies and potential issues with Day-1 DLC.