Mad Rat Dead is a platform rhythm game published and created by Nippon Ichi Software for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch. It was released on October 29 2020 and has had a great fanbase and many people who enjoyed playing it. Mad Rat Dead focuses its gameplay based on music and beats. The beats of the music are the key to progressing the game since our protagonist only moves through the act of each beat! The gameplay is simple and easy to maintain focus as you follow the rhythm of the music. The music also maintains a great and fitting theme to the story and emotions of the characters which further improves the aesthetics and cast to make it more memorable.
The aesthetic of the game is very colorful and makes everything eye-provoking as you play through the levels. Mad Rat Dead has been played by very few people but still has very good reviews, myself included. It’s got to be my favorite game. Well, there are lots of cute rats despite its gorey themes…but its music is very catchy and recognizable by its artists. DYES IWASAKI, a_hisa, Camellia and much more made upbeat, intense, and catchy music! The game also welcomes many challenges that keep the player intrigued to keep playing and achieve trophies. The more recently added update of the game has the easy mode feature for those who wish to play more relaxed. On the other hand, “Hard Mode” was included in the game from the start for anyone who enjoys a difficult challenge! The challenges are tough but it makes a good pastime for those who wish to get trophies for each achievement you execute. The story of Mad Rat Dead lasts within 6 hours of gameplay, even so, the story is great and very thrilling as you go through the story and the truth behind the death of Mad Rat alongside Heart (his heart).
The game follows Mad Rat, a rat who wants to fulfill his wish as he is brought back to life to relive his final day by a happy and joyous Rat God. We follow along as Mad Rat and Heart (yes, his heart is a living being) go through different settings to arrive at the Lab he was inside to kill the scientist for revenge. There are many settings like a forest, sewer, and a large city to explore. As the story progresses we can notice the character development unfold as Mad Rat faces intense challenges.
There will be many spoilers as I explain the story — be aware…Mad Rat was one of many rodents that were used for lab testing in a Laboratory. A doctor then took action before Mad Rat could see his death, so he took an operation of a heart transplant between the heart of a cat (Heart) and the heart of Mad Rat so he could live longer. This also makes Mad Rat’s heart have a mind of his own since beforehand he was a red cat. Even so, Mad Rat ends up losing his life which leads him to fall into this void where only Rat God can talk to him. Rat God is a female rat with angel wings who takes the characteristics of an angel or God. As Mad Rat gets used to performing tricks to get through platforms, he meets Heart. Heart is Mad Rat’s new heart which goes along with his plan to kill the doctor. Heart gives Mad Rat the ability to turn back time, which also prevents the player from dying.
Unaware of the transplant, Mad Rat travels through the laboratory and into the sewers. As a reminder, Rat God disturbs Mad Rat multiple times to get his attention to the cheese…for, in this case, the cheese guides Mad Rat back to the laboratory to kill the human doctor. Soon enough, Heart notices some strange behavior coming from our Rat, causing them both to fight amongst themselves, leading Heart to finally shine a light on Mad Rat’s strange and weird behavior. Better enough, a final slap on Mad Rat’s face wakes him up. It turns out Heart and Mad Rat had never been inside a Lab in the first place, but instead inside a forest, hence revealing everything was a hallucination. Heart had no knowledge of Rat God’s presence and brings both our protagonists to the realization of Rat God’s scam. After climbing many obstacles into the city and soon into the lab, Rat God reveals her plan to get Mad Rat eaten by a cat for her to live.
Shortly after arriving at the lab to meet the doctor once again, the player gets to decide whether or not to kill the doctor or save the doctor. Either way, Heart goes along with your decision and both of them leave into the outside world, only this time Rat God takes over Mad Rat. Before this, Rat God silences Heart making Mad Rat travel across a dark and eerie world to find him. As quick as anything Mad Rat gets his way into the Rat God’s hallucination. Quickly discovered, Rat God was a parasite that got her way into Mad Rat’s body after he got the heart transplant. In the end, Mad Rat defeats Rat God and turns back time to the very start of the adventure with the power of Heart to save him from the transplant since they both learned it failed to save him.
In the final moments of Mad Rat’s life, he no longer has the power to turn back time nor be able to move swiftly, making it difficult for him to escape the rat cage. The player then hears the presence of Hearts inside a Cat cage as Mad Rat opens it. Mad Rat by now isn’t afraid of cats and accepts Hearts’ identity as a cat even as a rat himself. Since time turned back, Heart made sure he would make their mark in the world as he lived to retrieve everything they both did. So in the end Mad Rat sacrifices his life for Heart.
How does the word “rat: sound now? I think this is an amazing game with a heartwarming message, especially because I love rats. Everyone has different opinions but this has to be my favorite rhythm game.
