This game manages to make the difficulty ramp up by doing more than just increasing the BPM of the songs/number of presses you need to do, and it also manages to have a story that on top of being pretty good (tho the dialogue feels a bit rough at times, which is probably a translation issue more than anything), actually mashes with the gameplay in a really cool way. The gameplay's awesome, the music is phenomenal, there's even a song from xaki, one of the composer for the hit visual novel Umineko: When They Cry which is a reason to play the game by itself if you ask me fr

HOLY CRAP

okay that was a good game. great story, fantastic music, genuinely enjoyable levels. i think sometimes its a bit too finicky? like the homing attack specifically, and bosses feel like they werent designed with the rhythm aspect in mind. but overall, a great game

also, as someone with a heart transplant myself, i love the representation

A convoluted, morbid, schizophrenic story about a doomed test rat trying murder its human handler and finding friendship and appreciation for life along the way. I don't know how the developers decided to merge this story with this gameplay design, but I'm guessing it was early on because the rhythm mechanics are integrated into the story, even though it's a little tough to discern what it's all about most of the time.

I dig this game because it provides a sense of control that's not really like anything else I've played. Most rhythm platformers are so linear they might as well be conventional rhythm games, but this one's gracious enough to give you a refreshing selection of movement options that are all useful and even behave differently depending on what resources you've expended. Due to the rhythmic nature of the hazards, being able to suspend movement or move slowly can be just as important---it's surprisingly robust and instinctual.

The design of the stages feel loose and open, which again, isn't what rhythm or even modern precision platformers usually go for. This ends up complimenting the design; it allows for experimentation, optimization, and expression on the part of the player. No, the levels aren't not that complex and they aren't themed all that well, but moving around them on the beat is a consistently interesting and free-form endeavor.

It's a nice surprise because I was expecting the usual: a conventionally designed game with story or presentation quirks. It's a more pleasing inverse: a quirky and original design that probably could have been a true classic if it was presented in way that was as tight and original as the gameplay.

Very nice and soulful rhythm platformer. The artstyle and story are very charming and the music is great (as it should be, since it's a rhythm game). Mad Rat's character development isn't anything groundbreaking but it's still pretty heartwarming watching him come to terms with his fate and use his last day to help people. Also the rat god's design is super cute. The game had a nice earthbound-ish "enter your name" moment as well and I always appreciate those. The gameplay is a little bit of a mixed bag for me. Having to line up jumps and dashes with the beat is satisfying most of the time but in the more difficult sections it can feel like a frustrating limitation, particularly when the beat suddenly slows down at certain points in each song breaking the sense of rhythm and almost always resulting in a quick death which really hurts the flow.

It took me so god damn a while to complete this game.

The story is great and mostly importantly...

THIS SOUNDTRACK BOPS

If you haven't played this game, I suggest you give it a try.