Ratatan brings Patapon’s marching, music-driven battles back in roguelike form. Its rhythm gameplay feels familiar, but the reviewer finds the runs repetitive. The game leaves early access on Oct. 15 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
Developed by former Patapon creators, Ratata Arts’ spiritual successor follows a pint-sized Ratatan who leads an army of Coburn, one-eyed fuzzballs. Players guide them through 2D worlds filled with monsters, issuing commands as they fight their way toward a Goddess. The bouncy soundtrack and basic setup closely resemble Patapon.
The resemblance works especially well in the presentation. Ratatan’s bright cartoon style, lively animations, and upbeat music give it an endearing feel. The reviewer says the affection behind making another game like Patapon comes through, and describes the tunes as hard to stop humming.
Nearly two decades after Patapon arrived in 2007, its rhythm controls still feel fresh, though the reviewer finds them shallow. Players issue orders by tapping button combinations in time with the music: three Y presses make the Coburn march, while three A presses tell them to stop and attack. Other options include magic-powered special attacks, shields, and jumps to dodge incoming blows.
The limited combinations and timing variations keep the system from becoming especially involved. Still, tapping along can settle into a trance-like flow. The reviewer also appreciates how positioning adds a strategic wrinkle: moving Coburn to the right spot can help them avoid attacks.
Ratatan’s roguelite structure sends players through several worlds with their Coburn, collecting upgrades that last for a run. Build options mainly modify attacks with elements such as poison or shock, or adjust critical-hit power. In the reviewer’s view, these upgrades do little to change how a run plays, while the worlds and bosses repeat with minimal variation.
RPG systems add weapons that players can scrap to improve specialized gear. Permanent progression also makes later runs easier and lets players start with more Coburn. These systems give players reasons to try again, but the reviewer says the roguelike structure can feel like a way to stretch a small amount of content. They hadn’t completed a run at the time of writing, but expected that grinding for enough power would eventually make the final boss easy to beat.
The reviewer understands why Ratata Arts chose the format: roguelikes are trendy, which could help the game reach players who aren’t drawn in by nostalgia. The structure can also help an indie studio keep a project’s scope manageable while still providing plenty of content. But they argue that Ratatan could have done more with it. The final version they played felt nearly indistinguishable from the demo they tried before early access began one year ago. They saw little sign that a year of community feedback had made a difference, which disappointed them given the success of the crowdfunding campaign.
Ratatan’s roguelike systems give players reasons to try again, but the reviewer found that upgrades did little to change each run and that the worlds and bosses repeated with minimal variation. The result is a familiar rhythm game wrapped around a structure the reviewer felt stretched its limited content.
