Curse of the Sea Rats

Despite jarring bugs and inconsistencies, Curse of the Sea Rats is a well-designed game with a clear direction. Petoons Studio succeeded in making an accessible Metroidvania that can be enjoyed by gamers of varied skill levels. Its art, simplicity, and smoothly escalating challenge make it a great way to introduce a younger audience to the genre. If the rough edges are smoothed away, a real gem lies beneath.

I wish I could rate this higher. I honestly had a fun time playing through Curse of the Sea Rats, but the issues I encountered were significant. On top of balance issues and voice line deliveries, I also stumbled across a few bugs here and there including one that basically broke most of the ending. Again the refrain goes, they’re aware and fixing issues, but I can merely hope the patch irons out every last detail. Should the patch fix every one of these issues admirably, I could easily see this being an 8 or even a 9. But even in its current state, it’s a charming experience. Especially for anyone with fond memories of 90s animated features.

Delightful visuals and rigid controls make Curse of the Sea Rats a decidedly uneven experience. The Don Bluth-looking animation is superb, which might be enough of a draw for some. But more particular players will be disappointed by conventional navigation and combat which is often a chore.

The combat system is not the clearest. The player loses valuable lives quite easily just by touching an enemy. This leaves you with conflicting thoughts, and even the graphic design and adorable animations don't completely save the day. [Issue#327]

Curse of the Sea Rats is very beautiful on its artistic aspect, yet it drowns on its artificial difficulty and clunky gameplay.

Curse of the Sea Rats is a fun metroidvania designed for adults and children alike. It is colorful, sounds and plays very well, and offers a varied proposal. However, the bugs and the general lack of polish end up tarnishing the experience.

Curse of the Sea Rats has many fine qualities that make it a good game and if only some of its shortcomings had been cleaned up, it could definitely be a game that should not be missed.

Curse of the Sea Rats is a beautiful jewel, shimmering and inviting, full of interesting ideas from an artistic and characterization point of view, but it is insubstantial to the touch. Nice to see, a little less to play. Flat and unbalanced. A pity, given the whole series of excellent choices taken about powers, skills and improvements.

The core of Curse of the Sea Rats is a solid if unexceptional Metroidvania, and that core makes the majority of a playthrough enjoyable. At the moment, however, the game needs a little more time in the oven. Some bugs and design choices could use ironing out, and completionists are going to have a bad time until the game’s finale is hopefully shored up. It's easy to accept certain quirks and minor failings while ticking the map close to completion, but it's hard to recommend Curse of the Sea Rats when it has the potential to run completely aground.

Curse Of The Sea Rats earnestly tries to build upon the core ideas of a Metroidvania, and though it offers a lot for the player, it’s missing that final round of tuning and polish which would have let it shine amongst a crowded field.