Curse of the Sea Rats

Curse of the Sea Rats is above all a very fun game, easily recommended to be played alone or with friends. With a light theme and full of good pirate stories, it should please fans of action and platform games of all ages. But, as a metroidvania, it falls a little short of the good options currently available in the market.

Curse of the Sea Rats is a perfectly fine Metroidvania effort. The hand-drawn art is gorgeous for the most part and the combat together with the platforming are both well executed and ultimately satisfying. However coupled with the absence of some odd quality of life features, a general lack of polish and a lack of any real ambition, Curse of the Sea Rats arguably struggles to elevate itself in an increasingly competitive genre filled with top-tier efforts.

Aside from some decent presentation, Curse of the Sea Rats doesn't do much to innovate the crowded metroidvania genre but it's a solid example of the genre and provides a degree of fun to go with some of the frustration.

Curse of the Sea Rats takes some good ideas for gameplay systems but fumbles them in the execution. As a Metroidvania, it could be a good entry point and if it is, it can only go up from here. However, the animation that is in the game and the music does make a pirate life one for me, just not an overall great one.

Curse of the Sea Rats is a perfectly playable metroidvania that feels rough around the edges. Mechanically it can feel a little unfair at times due to things like stiff animations and unfortunate enemy placements. And while its four protagonist set up is a neat touch, it can be a grind to upgrade skills if you do decide to change. Still, fans of the genre are likely to enjoy their time with it.

The potential for Curse of the Sea Rats was high, and the opening moments were exceptionally promising. Unfortunately, it fails to encourage players to explore the world with repetitive questlines and a lack of skills. The diverse cast does little to move the narrative in any way, which is a shame because they have the potential to be more than pallet swaps. Still, the experience is gorgeous, and the combat animations deliver a nostalgic punch to keep you pressing forward.

Curse of the Sea Rats is disappointing. It’s a pretty bland Metroidvania. It has a unique visual style, but its gameplay completely relies on its multiplayer option to hide its shortcomings. The game also needs a bit more polish. I was immediately very excited when I booted up the game, but I quickly soured. If the visual style wasn’t so interesting, and there wasn’t a multiplayer option the score would be a lot lower. Only play Curse of the Sea rats if you love the idea of a simple 4 player Metroidvania.