Info about Steel Rats™:

Official game description:
  
Become one of the Steel Rats, a biker gang sworn to protect their city against an invading army of alien robots - Junkbots. Wreck and ride through hordes of enemies, switching between four unique characters as you wreak havoc with the ultimate killing machine; your flame spewing, saw bladed, motorcycle.  
Ride in style through the retro futuristic world of Steel Rats™. Set in an alternate version of 1940’s USA, gear up and mount your chromed stallion and save Coastal City from the invading horde of Junkbots. Your motorcycle is your weapon designed to crush your enemies in awesome and stylish ways whilst traversing up, down left and right, over rooftops and through enemy-infested tunnels.
**Features**
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_Race, shoot, stunt all for the price of one!_
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Now for something a bit different. Steel Rats™ blends genres in a way no game has before, infusing 2.5D stunt bike, racing action with precise platforming and intense vehicular combat.
_Drive and destroy!_
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Your motorcycle is your weapon in the fight against an invading horde of alien Junkbots. Combine up close melee combat and precise, deadly shooting with a ludicrous vehicular arsenal including wheel-mounted saw blades, harpoon guns, flame spewing exhausts. We’re sure you’ll find some juicy ways of using these tools to wreak havoc on your enemies.
_Ride with style_
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Start your engine and master the realistic physics based controls of your bike to perform stunts and skillfully destroy Junkbots with a barrage of special abilities and weaponry. The more creative the destruction the better, ride up walls, backflip of the side of buildings and unleash havoc mid-air whilst riding upside down.
_Dash and explore!_
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Discover the secrets of Coastal City and reveal the mystery of the Junkbot invasion. Explore each level, find every collectible, unlock new areas and dominate the leaderboard.
_Meet the Gang_
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Choose which of the four members of the Steel Rats you want to play as and switch them up any time you want. Each character has a unique ability and weapon equipped to their custom built ride, allowing you to unleash some serious damage on the Junkbot horde.  
A hardened biker hailing from Boston. Proud leader of the Steel Rats, riding his armored bike straight into the fray.  
Born in Brasil, she grew up on the streets of Coastal City. A bold racer, leaving her enemies in a wake of fire.  
A teenage, japaneese-american savant. Brilliant mechanic and prodigious engineer.  
A long time performer of a travelling German stunt circus. A madman who likes to live (and ride) on the edge.

Release date: Nov 7, 2018

Categories: 2.5D Platformer, Vehicular Combat, Character Switching Mechanics, Platforming, Beat 'em up, Horde Combat, Physics Simulation, Arcade

Feature scans:
- Steam Deck: score 85; verdict: Unplayable due to crashes and poor controls; summary: The game suffers from frequent crashes, severely unresponsive controls, and physics issues, making it nearly unplayable on Steam Deck. Additionally, language options are missing for Chinese users.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $4.00 - $7.00
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews indicate the game is not worth its full price (approximately $10 USD) and recommend purchasing on sale. One reviewer explicitly found $10 too expensive and still hesitated at the half-price $5, suggesting the fair price is lower than $5. The consistent advice to wait for a sale and comparisons to better games in the same price range support a fair base-game price range of $4 to $7 USD.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 15.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 0.1h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The Russian review explicitly states a completion time of 15+ hours, providing direct evidence for gameCompletion. The 5-minute session from the Spanish review indicates a very short play session, supporting sessionLength. The 3-hour and 12-hour totals from English reviews represent total playtime but do not confirm completion. No evidence for story completion or endgame hours was found.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Most players report that the game never becomes fun due to repetitive gameplay, unresponsive controls, and a tedious structure that feels like a chore from start to finish.
  - Stance: Never clicks
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: Repetitive combat and obstacles; Unresponsive controls; Clunky camera angles; Steep learning curve; Tedious maps with no progress saves on failure; Lack of mission variety
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: Playing without a controller; Early hours before becoming accustomed to controls; Repeated exposure to same enemies and obstacles; Tolerance for predictable story; Ability to overlook imprecise handling; Preference for simple shooting and platforming
- Player Archetypes:
  - Achievement Hunter (no buy)
    - Motivation: Unlocking achievements despite frustrating game design
    - Playstyle: Completionist, pushing through bugs and difficulty for 100% achievements
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: achievement hunter
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Nostalgic Old-School Gamer (buy)
    - Motivation: Nostalgia for retro arcade difficulty and unlocking high scores
    - Playstyle: Score-chasing, non-linear exploration, embracing old-school design
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: old school lover; bike lover
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Casual Frustrated Player (no buy)
    - Motivation: Relaxing, casual entertainment without frustration
    - Playstyle: Casual, short sessions, expects intuitive controls
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Controller Advocate (sale)
    - Motivation: Smooth control experience enabling enjoyment of the game
    - Playstyle: Adapts to controller, methodical, patient with learning curve
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - 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:
- Impressive graphics and visuals (weight 0.37): Multiple reviewers praise the game's graphics, describing them as beautiful, pleasant, and 10/10. The 2.5D art style and retro-futuristic atmosphere are frequently highlighted.
- Great sound and music (weight 0.21): The soundtrack and sound design receive consistent praise, with reviewers noting excellent musical accompaniment and respectful work. This is a standout feature alongside the graphics.
- High replayability with characters (weight 0.19): The ability to switch between four unique characters with different skills, weapons, and customization options adds significant replay value. Players appreciate the tactical depth and diversity.
- Unique gameplay mechanics (weight 0.18): Players highlight the game's originality and unique mechanics that distinguish it from other games in the genre. The fresh approach to gameplay is a key positive point.
- Fun and well-designed levels (weight 0.18): Most levels are described as fun, not overly difficult, and well-crafted with secrets to discover. The platforming is enjoyable and well-received.
- Overall enjoyable experience (weight 0.13): Reviewers consistently call the game fun, lovely, and a good deal of fun overall. The positive sentiment is widespread and not tied to any single feature.
- Great platforming concepts (weight 0.12): The puzzle-platformer ideas and platforming approach are praised as good and original. The core design is solid and appreciated by players.
- Interesting story (weight 0.11): The story receives positive mentions for being cool and interesting, adding to the overall appeal of the game. It is a strong element alongside the graphics.
- Accessible after learning (weight 0.1): Players note that the game becomes very fun and exciting once the controls are mastered. The initial learning curve pays off with a rewarding experience.
- Great atmosphere (weight 0.07): The game's atmosphere is highlighted as a strength, with reviewers noting its success in creating a compelling and immersive world.
- Unusual mechanical depth (weight 0.07): Players mention the unusual set of mechanics and curious gameplay elements as a distinctive and intriguing feature of the game.

Common complaints:
- Controls are overly complex (weight 0.81): Many players find the controls frustratingly complex, unintuitive, and difficult to learn, with awkward button combinations and a steep learning curve. This issue is highlighted across multiple clusters, indicating widespread dissatisfaction.
- Keyboard controls are unusable (weight 0.46): Keyboard and mouse controls are frequently described as terrible, unplayable, and an insult, with specific complaints about requiring too many simultaneous button presses. This suggests a fundamental design flaw for PC players.
- Final boss is poorly designed (weight 0.28): The final boss is heavily criticized for being extremely difficult, random, and buggy, with inconsistent hitboxes and physics issues, forcing players to repeat near-perfect runs. This common complaint indicates a major endgame frustration.
- Gameplay is janky and frustrating (weight 0.2): The overall gameplay is described as janky, frustrating, and with poor execution, contributing to a negative experience beyond just controls. This broad criticism points to fundamental design problems.
- Game crashes frequently (weight 0.19): The game crashes repeatedly on startup and during gameplay, especially on high-end hardware, with some players reporting crashes every few minutes. This suggests serious stability issues that hinder basic playability.
- No checkpoints or save points (weight 0.18): Players are frustrated by the lack of checkpoints and save points, requiring them to restart entire levels from the beginning upon death. This design choice makes the game feel punishing and unfair.
- Driving controls are problematic (weight 0.17): Motorcycle and vehicle handling is criticized for poor steering, unintuitive physics, and flaky lane-switching mechanics. These issues make driving sections particularly frustrating.
- Difficulty is unfair and unenjoyable (weight 0.12): The difficulty is perceived as unfair and punishing rather than fun, with some players noting it remains tough even with a controller. This indicates a balance issue that reduces player satisfaction.
- Level design is repetitive and poor (weight 0.11): Levels are criticized for being too similar and poorly designed, especially after the first third of the game. This leads to a monotonous gameplay experience.
- Character gets stuck on geometry (weight 0.11): The character frequently gets stuck on flat ground and during motorcycle turns, disrupting gameplay flow. This physics issue adds to the overall sense of unpolished mechanics.
- Bugs are prevalent in game (weight 0.1): Multiple players report general bugs and a lack of sufficient playtesting, indicating the game was released with notable unpolished elements.
- Voice acting quality is low (weight 0.09): The voice acting is described as low quality, emotionless, and uninspiring, detracting from the narrative experience. This affects the game's overall presentation.
- Ultimate abilities are unreliable (weight 0.07): Ultimate skills cannot be activated reliably, which undermines combat strategy and player agency. This bug has a direct impact on gameplay effectiveness.

Gameplay feedback:
- 2.5D motorcycle combat platformer (weight 0.46): The game is a 2.5D side-scrolling action platformer where players ride motorcycles and engage in combat, combining platforming and destruction elements.
- Unique character abilities and switching (weight 0.32): There are four playable characters, each with unique weapons, skills, and combat styles. Players can switch between characters on the fly, and each has separate health bars and special ultimate skills.
- High-speed motorcycle action (weight 0.21): The game emphasizes high-speed motorcycle driving, fast-paced action, and responsive controls that involve leaning back and forth or using a controller.
- Chainsaw wheel cuts obstacles (weight 0.16): The motorcycle's front wheel is a chainsaw that can cut through obstacles and enemies in half, supporting combat and traversal mechanics.
- Motorcycle parkour and wall riding (weight 0.13): Players can perform motorcycle parkour, including lane-based movement, wall riding, and ceiling riding using the front-wheel saw for vertical traversal.
- Boss fights and trials (weight 0.11): The game includes boss and miniboss fights with trials and secrets, adding challenge and depth to the gameplay.
- Dieselpunk visual aesthetic (weight 0.08): The game features a dieselpunk aesthetic with industrial machinery and retro-futuristic technology, giving it a distinctive visual theme.
- Combat against robot enemies (weight 0.07): The player controls a gang of bikers fighting against robots, combining motorcycle combat with a biker-gang theme.
- Jumping and dodging obstacles (weight 0.07): Players need to jump and dodge obstacles as part of the platforming challenge, adding to the fast-paced gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Frequent early crashes (weight 0.41): Players report crashes at the start of the game, often within seconds or during the first level. This severely disrupts initial gameplay experience.
- Crash on specific hardware (weight 0.08): Steam Deck users experience crashes at the splash screen despite full compatibility claims. High-end PCs with RTX 4070 also crash repeatedly.
- Environment variable requirement (weight 0.08): The game requires manual configuration of system environment variables to launch, which is unusual and frustrating for most users.
- FPS drops in combat (weight 0.08): Players report significant framerate drops, from 60 FPS to 5 or less, during boss fights. This makes combat unplayable and is a common performance complaint.
- Optimization issues (weight 0.07): Lowering graphics quality does not improve performance, suggesting poor optimization. One review claims no issues, but this contradicts other reports.
- Game freezes (weight 0.04): The game freezes entirely during play, indicating stability issues beyond crashes. This is a separate but related performance problem.
- Nvidia 3D Vision support (weight 0.03): The game supports Nvidia 3D Vision, a niche feature. This is irrelevant to most players but noted for completeness.

Recommendations:
- Not worth the cost (weight 0.29): The game is criticized for not justifying its price, with some suggesting it is only worth buying on sale. Many reviewers feel the content does not match the asking price.
- Do not recommend overall (weight 0.22): Many reviews express a general lack of recommendation for the game, citing it as not fun or disappointing. This sentiment is shared across multiple clusters.
- Controller required for play (weight 0.22): Players frequently mention that the game is not playable with a keyboard and mouse, requiring a controller for an acceptable experience. This is a significant barrier for some.
- Challenging game for players (weight 0.12): The game is noted for its difficulty, being recommended only for players seeking a challenge or with strong patience. Casual players are advised to skip.
- Not for casual players (weight 0.12): The game is not recommended for those seeking a casual and fun experience, as it is described as stressful or requiring strong nerves. It may be frustrating.
- Skip if not free (weight 0.1): Many suggest that the game is only worth playing if obtained for free, and not worth paying for, even at a discount. This reflects a low perceived value.
- Recommended for action fans (weight 0.09): Some reviewers recommend the game for players who enjoy fast-paced action, speed, style, and originality. It appeals to a specific niche audience.
- Demo recommended before buy (weight 0.09): Reviewers suggest playing the demo first to see if the game suits you, praising the developer for including a demo. This is seen as a positive sign.
- Poor execution and bugs (weight 0.09): The game suffers from bugs and inconsistent gameplay, which detracts from the experience. Some find it mediocre and not worth suffering through.
- Fans of bikes may enjoy (weight 0.08): The game is recommended for motorcycle fans or those interested in a biker gang theme, appealing to a very specific interest group.
- Consider refunding the game (weight 0.08): Some reviewers strongly advise refunding the game if possible, indicating that they regret their purchase and find the game unenjoyable.
- Recommended despite flaws (weight 0.07): A minority of reviewers recommend the game despite acknowledging its flaws, suggesting it does not deserve negative reviews. They see value in the experience.
- Only at deep discount (weight 0.07): Several reviews advise waiting for a deep discount before buying, as the game's content does not justify its full or regular sale price. This is a common theme.
- Good for single playthrough (weight 0.07): The game is considered enjoyable for a single playthrough, but not worth replaying, especially after earning achievements. It has limited lasting appeal.
- Needs more development (weight 0.06): Some reviewers feel the game needs more development and is not ready for a paying audience, suggesting it is not worth the current state.
- Checkpoint issues hurt fun (weight 0.04): The lack of proper checkpoints makes the game less enjoyable and is cited as a reason for not recommending it. This affects the overall experience.
- Nostalgia for old-school fans (weight 0.04): The game is described as a must-buy for fans of old-school gaming and 90s classics, appealing to a niche of nostalgic players who enjoy that style.
- Not for keyboard users (weight 0.04): Several reviews explicitly state that the game is not recommended for players using keyboard and mouse, reinforcing the need for a controller.
- Alternative game suggested (weight 0.04): Some reviewers suggest playing My Friend Pedro instead, unless you are particularly interested in the setting of Steel Rats. This indicates a superior alternative.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.45): Players are frustrated by unresponsive and unintuitive controls, inconsistent physics, and frequent bugs like crashes and softlocks. The lack of checkpoints and unfair level design force repeated restarts, making the game feel unplayable. Keyboard controls are especially problematic, and the final boss is buggy and poorly designed.
- Disappointment (weight 0.25): Players feel disappointed because the game's promising concepts and good visuals are ruined by poor controls, bugs, and repetitive gameplay. Technical issues like crashes and missing features on Steam Deck prevent enjoyment. The execution fails to deliver a satisfying experience despite potential.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): Satisfaction comes from smooth mechanics, responsive controls, and engaging progression systems. Players enjoy the polished gameplay, cool visuals like the dieselpunk aesthetic, and the rewarding feeling of mastering controls and level design. The game offers good replay value and runs well in 3D.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Excitement is driven by the unique and fast-paced blend of driving, combat, and platforming with a buzzsaw front wheel. Players love the creative steampunk style, responsive controls, and addictive score-chasing gameplay. The game feels refreshing and fun, especially after mastering its mechanics.
- Anger (weight 0.05): Players express anger over the game not launching or crashing excessively, leading to wasted money and time. The lack of checkpoints, buggy final boss requiring many attempts, and poor controls feel like torture. Lazy developer responses and lack of updates increase frustration.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the addictive gameplay, good lore, and atmospheric presentation. The art, level design, and combat are praised, and the game becomes fun after learning the controls. Unique mechanics and soundtrack create an engaging experience that keeps players invested.
- Surprise (weight 0.03): Surprise comes from the game exceeding low expectations, with good handling and fun gameplay despite many negative reviews. Players discover that the side-scrolling spirit is still alive, and the game is enjoyable but unexpectedly hard for beginners.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Players appreciate the innovative design, challenge, and original concept of the game. The visual and audio design are praised as standout elements that make the experience worthwhile.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom stems from bland level design, repetitive combat, and a lack of challenge. Bonus objectives feel misaligned with game mechanics, making playing feel like a chore rather than fun.
- Stress (weight 0.02): Stress is caused by difficult boss fights and secrets that create an unfair ordeal. The game's high difficulty level makes it feel stressful rather than enjoyable.
- Approval (weight 0.01): Approval is given for the game's story missions, objectives, and good graphics, which meet player expectations for a competent experience.
- Curiosity (weight 0.01): Curiosity arises from unique gameplay mechanics that may encourage players to revisit the game despite its flaws. The interesting concept sparks interest in further exploration.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance is caused by frequent cutscenes interrupting gameplay and hit detection issues in aerial sections. These problems lead to health loss and forced restarts, breaking the flow.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Interest is generated by the unusual game mechanics, atmospheric music, and unique world setting. These elements make the game intriguing and worth trying despite other issues.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from hard-to-figure optional achievements and the game crashing without clear explanations. Players are unsure how to progress or fix technical issues.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Disgust is directed at the controls, which feel terrible on both keyboard and controller. The input scheme is described as fundamentally broken and unenjoyable.
- Sarcasm (weight 0.01): Sarcasm is used regarding the game's frequent crashes on new hardware, mocking the poor optimization. Players express frustration through ironic praise.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy comes from an enjoyable platforming experience with beautiful graphics and easy controls. The game is described as a hidden gem that appears out of nowhere.
- Minor annoyance (weight 0.01): Minor annoyance is caused by the lack of cutscenes and a simple interface, which detract from the overall experience without being game-breaking.
- Neutral (weight 0.01): Neutrality reflects a balanced view where the price is considered steep, but no strong positive or negative emotions are expressed beyond that observation.}