Ratatan Preview | Thank Goodness These Guys Are Musically Inclined
I never played Patapon, the rhythm action RPG where players use magical drums to command cute eyeball creatures. But many of my friends have recommended it because I’m a huge fan of rhythm games. That’s why I was really tempted to try out Ratatan, the newest entry in the series which just recently launched into Early Access on Steam.
Ratatan is a rhythm action roguelike that mixes rhythm with side scrolling action. Fight in intense battles using your Cobuns (eye-ball like creatures similar to the creatures in Patapon) to fight anything from small enemies to large and powerful bosses. You’ll have to feel the beat and use the game’s rhythm sequences in order to tell your Cobuns where to go and what to do. Your Cobuns positioning is incredibly important as the enemy won’t just be laying down, they’ll be fighting back too.
When I first loaded into the game, I was a bit overwhelmed by the gameplay. There’s a lot happening on the screen at any given time and you have to not only pay attention to your own character’s movements but the movements of your team of Cobuns. As you progress you’ll learn that there are multiple commands you can use for your team ordering them to fall in line, attack or shield themselves from an incoming attack. In order for you to complete any of these actions you must complete simple rhythm sections that are at the bottom of the screen.
The more levels that I played the more I got used to managing both the rhythm sections, myself and my Cobuns, but I can’t say I was very good at it in the beginning. Thankfully, the game has roguelike elements, meaning it isn’t the end of the world when you lose because you’ll go back to the overworld and upgrade yourself so that your next run will hopefully be much more successful. You’ll be able to not only upgrade your character’s strength but, of course, the strength of your entire team.
You can also actually upgrade yourself during each level. As you travel through each level, you’ll reach checkpoints after making a certain amount of progress and oftentimes you’ll be able to choose between upgrades to give to yourself or your team while you’re moving. You then must complete the next section in order to be awarded that upgrade. I often chose to upgrade the health of one of my Cobuns, as they can be pretty squishy before they’re upgraded.
Boss battles were the most fun that I had with the game, as they feature more complex move sets forcing you to pay extra close attention to your positioning and your moves. You’re given the greatest rewards for defeating a boss and it allows you to progress to the next level.
Ratatan is set to be in Early Access for about six months according to the game’s Steam Page. The current version of the game includes:
Multiple worlds
Multiple playable characters
A variety of weapons and skills
Multiplayer support
Boss battle and progression systems
The full version of the game will introduce new worlds, characters, weapons, skills and more and will further expand upon the endgame content. You can check out Ratatan in Early Access right now and join the team’s Discord in order to provide feedback and influence how the final version of the game turns out.