War Rats Review – The Rat em Up

When I was approached with the opportunity to write this War Rats review, it was definitely something I was interested in. The general premise of the game intrigued me, and the art style had me wanting to see more. Do note War Rats is still in early access and is subject to change, but what’s available is very promising. Blending various game genres is an interesting approach, which is done well, although not without its pitfalls.

War Rats is a 2D side-scrolling, shoot em’ up gore-fest set in a world of rats… and cyborgs. Awesome. Seeing a rat don a shotgun and grenade belt. Awesome. What’s less awesome is the sheer difficulty on offer in War Rats. At times it felt as though I was fighting an impossible, unrelenting enemy.

Is War Rats worth a download, and should we be looking forward to its continued development? Let’s get into the details and find out.

Story – The rise of the Cyborgs.

War Rats sees you leading an army of vermin across various battlefields into enemy territory. You have to build turrets and buildings to squash the efforts of your cyborg nemeses. A general rat briefs the player before each mission, spouting humorous dialogue, which I found to be a neat addition to my time. General as in 3 stars, not just an ordinary rat. Donning a military outfit and smoking a cigar, the general fills you in on your mission’s location and a little backstory on what you’re trying to achieve. This ranges from taking back a Chz (currency) pumping factory, to storming the ‘No Rats Land’. Outside of this, there’s very little dialogue, but your troops and the enemies will pop a little quip on death. It’s all very charming and the little pockets of lore flesh out the world nicely.

Although there is no deep story, your mission debriefs offer welcome insight into what is at stake, in this cyber war. At one point, the general will mention a city that used to be standing tall, now reduced to a battlefield, or a heavily fortified enemy base, with a tunnel underneath for you to traverse. Each location feels unique, the scenery changing with each battle. Although for the most part these changes are purely cosmetic, they make the world in War Rats feel full and add to the atmosphere of each bloody battle. I really enjoyed how each battle ground felt distinct from the last.

I won’t spoil the final battle – I still haven’t been able to claim victory and the elusive ‘rat king’ cosmetic – but I can say its a worthy fight to end the rat war.

Game Play – Bloody Whiskers

Make no mistake, War Rats is hard. I frequently found myself overwhelmed by the enemy’s presence, especially during earlier missions. Although the gameplay is fairly straightforward on the surface – collect Chz, place turrets, and summon troops – it is deceptively strategic. You can’t simply charge the field and attack the enemy’s base, it’s too much for one rat. You’ll need to rely on your variety of weapons, upgrades, and constructions to stand a chance of success. Even so, I very early on found myself lowering the difficulty simply to be able to progress through the game. I’d recommend trying out the skirmish mode on offer both for practice, and raising your level for the campaign missions. Levels carry over and as you progress you can increase the variety of enemies in the mode.

Troops

War Rats sees you calling upon a plethora of troops, to assist you in battle, unlocked by ranking up your playable character. Each one starts from your base and will make its way across the screen at varying speeds. This works well for the most part, although allowing troops the use of the teleporter available to the player would be a nice addition. The troops tend to move much slower than the player, resulting in a fair bit of waiting around for them to catch up.

Although the troops each have their own distinct features I did find some to be more practical than others. This may just be down to personal choice, however I didn’t find the value in buying two ‘scouts’ for example when a ‘grunt’ was far more effective at the same price. Similarly with the weapons, I found that once I’d upgraded my favorite troops, I found less reason to expand into other options due to the price. That’s not to say the variety isn’t welcome, I just feels as though changes could be made to encourage purchasing a variety of troops, as opposed to sticking to the tried and true.

When it comes to enemies, the variety is vast and definitely noticeable. Each level sees you battling harder, more cybernetically enhanced foes, which can feel a little overpowered at times but overall manageable if you put in the time. Their weapons are varied and their movements are unique, it truly feels like you’re tackling a well organized force. The Late game enemies in particular, are some of the most well crafted and visually appealing of recent memory.

Construction and Weaponry

There are many buildings at the player’s disposal, ranging from the offensive to defensive. I very rarely found myself using most of these due to their lack of usefulness, such as the barricade. Turrets act in the same way and also shoot the enemy so it felt a little redundant. Other examples include the Health Shrine, used to give health to your troops. Although a good idea, I was never able to find a situation where it was beneficial to my advancements. What does work great is the offensive towers available, and the Campsite for healing – I would use these every battle without fail.

War Rats also offers a wide variety of weapons, unlocked via finding blueprints in battle. Each is unique and offers various advantages to different enemies and structures. However I mostly found myself sticking to the same weapons and throw-able items, especially after putting my hard-earned Chz into upgrades for them. It’s clear certain weapons are simply superior to others, and due to having to re-purchase each weapon if dropped, I found it nonsensical to branch out once I’d found a weapon that worked for me.

Audio and Visuals – 2D art done proper.

Although not the most notable part of War Rats, the game features an old-timey heavy track throughout. It fits the tone of the game, and isn’t overly loud or grating during gameplay. The sound effects within battles feel meaty, and the sound of gunfire and explosions is crisp and immediate. There isn’t a lot to note audio-wise – it works well for the game and doesn’t become repetitive over time like some titles fall victim to.

The visuals are where War Rats really shines. Simply put, the game looks awesome, and the hand-crafted 2D sprites are brilliant. Coming from the experienced artist Wootusart, it’s really no surprise that everything from the title screen to the loading screens look incredible. The rats look grizzled and war-hardened, their guns at their side, grenades on their belts. The cyborgs’ varying levels of cybernetics are diverse and grizzly looking. Certain enemies will suffer from modular damage over time, their skin falling away or their armor cracking, and it all looks fantastic.

When felling an enemy, they fall to the floor or explode gloriously, leaving behind a bloody corpse or pile. Explosions litter the battlefield and are bright and vibrant, as are the flying plasma and laser bullets. I struggled to find anything to critique when it comes to the visuals because they’re simply so well done.

Funnily enough, the loading screens are quite possibly one of my favorite parts of War Rats. Not only do they feature beautifully done art, but they’re funny too. Your rat will cock his shotgun before each battle, don a helmet and belt, and proceed into battle. The loading screens feature a short animation of a rat being blown up for ‘science’ and a classroom of rats being given… ‘detailed war instructions’.

Verdict

Hopefully my War Rats review has given you a good idea of what to expect. This game is a hard time – but a good time. The gameplay feels satisfying and enjoyable, and its systems are integrated well for the most part. Although it’s not in its full release yet, it manages to feel fairly polished. Bugs are definitely present, but they very rarely caused my game to crash or stifled my enjoyment of the title. I’d say some bugs are to be expected in early access, and War Rats receives frequent patches addressing these.

War Rats could do with some re-balancing and a look at the difficulty and frequency of the enemies within Campaign missions, but it is definitely an enjoyable time as it is. More updates and fixes are on the horizon before the full release according to Wootusart, and I’m definitely looking forward to jumping back in when these go live.

If you’re a fan of light strategy mechanics and gory combat then I’d say War Rats is one to watch. It’s reminiscent of the side scrolling battles of the older years and a worthy addition to the shoot em’ up genre. And even if this title isn’t for you, definitely take a look at some of Wootusarts’ art over on his various pages. Hopefully, this War Rats review gives you some insight into whether this title is the right fit for you. Thank you Wootusart for the opportunity to give it a go.

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