El mejor juego de 2020 que casi nadie jugó.

La atrapante mecánica de ritmo en su sistema de plataformeo ponen a prueba todos tus sentidos para superar los desafíos y afinar tus reflejos al máximo. A tu disposición tienes un set de cuatro movimientos que pueden ser encadenados de distintas maneras y aprovechan la naturaleza rítmica de la propuesta, aferrándose a ciertas reglas que tendrás que tener siempre en mente, como la posibilidad de hacer un dash doble mientras caigas por una cornisa, el salto en medio de un dash en el aire, o el ataque posible únicamente después del 2do salto. Mientras piensas en tu movimiento, también tienes que estar atento al ritmo de la banda sonora, con la que deberás alinear tus acciones para realizar el movimiento, sin embargo, el juego tiene en cuenta que esto es más un juego de plataformas que uno de ritmo, por lo que no te obliga a mantener al beat de la música todo el tiempo, permitiéndote ignorar algunos de estos para tocar a destiempo sin perder el combo para acoplar tus acciones con relación a lo que necesites. De destacar es también la alta calidad de la banda sonora y su implementación: la obra te va a lanzar banger tras banger en una curva incremental de velocidad y dificultad. Sorpresivamente, la historia de una rata de laboratorio buscando significado en la muerte es extrañamente encantadora gracias a su dúo protagónico, su singular estilo visual, y sus gimmicks narrativos que cuestionan el compás moral de un ser insignificante quien encuentra empatía en su irremediable disparate.

Sin embargo, un par de problemas lo detienen de relucir del todo: una muy cuestionable aceptación del fracaso en un juego enfocado al desafío hallado en su mecánica de rebobinar el tiempo, el sistema de calificaciones, y la naturaleza del concepto que puede arruinar tu plataformeo por medio de ritmos discordantes que bloquean tu accionar frente al peligro; y la existencia de enfrentamiento contra jefes decepcionantes que limitan tu movimiento con ataques enaltecidos en su injusticia por el problema de ritmos diferentes previamente señalados. Claro que estos problemas se ven solucionados en la repetición de los niveles buscando una mejor calificación, pero en una primera ocasión se siente cierto nivel de "injusticia" que recuerdan a juegos cuya intención es burlarse del jugador, enfoque que claramente no era la intención aquí. Pero es de esperarse cierta falta de pulido en un concepto tan poco explorado, además que sus aciertos siguen siendo por mucho más significativos.

Realmente encuentro apropiado que el tema primordial de la obra sea sobre "dejar una marca en el mundo tras la muerte", puesto que, a pesar de haber sido olvidado por el tiempo, los que le dieron una oportunidad a Mad Rat Dead han encontrado una obra con corazón, que destaca por sus atrapantes mecánicas, su narrativa simple pero bien ejecutada, y la mezcla de géneros que forman una experiencia única, alocada y memorable.

https://youtu.be/pZOHMxAOXro

The plot is simple, but very good, interesting and above all not obvious. Developments and twists are done very well. I also loved the ending. It is a perfect plot for a game of this genre, and the way in which it is told makes it more enjoyable. The characters are also done very well, and you get really attached to the protagonists over the course of the game. Also, its original, varied and fun gameplay has definitely made it my favorite rhythm game. It may seem difficult at first, but it quickly gets carried away. It evolves more and more as we progress through the story, also including difficult boss fights in various levels. I guess I've never had so much fun in a rhythm game, and I will probably keep playing it in the next days. The only "criticism" that maybe I would feel like making is the fact that you don't have to start the level all over again once you are dead. The game simply allows you to go back in time to where you want, and continue from that point on. While it is a consistent choice with some plot elements of the game and to make the game "more viable" especially in the final levels, an option to change it would have been great. The soundtrack is probably the best element of the game. All the tracks are literally all gorgeous. Electro-swing is a really nice genre. I was a little sad that I couldn't hear the final boss ost while doing it, the sound effects covered pretty much everything. The difficulty of the game is medium, but you may find yourself in serious difficulty with the levels if you don't know how to go to the rhythm (being a rhythm game). Especially the last 3 levels require a lot of skill, given the high difficulty. However, as already mentioned in the gameplay section, if you die it simply makes you use some sort of rewind that makes you go back as far as you want, so you can use it in your favor. The only big problem with the game is the price. The base price on eshop (I played it on Nintendo Switch) is 39,99€, but in the Christmas discounts just passed, it costed 25€, which is already a more acceptable price. I am not informed about the price of the PS4 version.

IN THE END: I LOVED this game. It became one of my favorite games of all time, and I consider it a Must-to-play for Rhythm Game lovers. The only real downside is the high price.

Finished this while the power was out for nearly 24 hours; managing to beat the final boss with barely 5% battery left was so satisfying.

Mad Rat Dead is one hell of a game. The controls are snappy and (mostly) responsive, the art direction is both cute and unnerving, and the story is shockingly heartfelt. I found myself really connecting with its themes.

This is also one of the greatest video game soundtracks ever made, you cannot tell me otherwise. Catch me two-stepping to MAD RAT, ALIVE.

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.

An absolute delight for rhythm game fans. It can be a real challenge mastering the mechanics at first, especially since the tutorial doesn't mention some of the slightly more complicated tech.
That being said, this has one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard in a game, and learning to master a song to be able to get through a level without dying is incredibly satisfying.
All of this is packaged in a really nice little story that's surprisingly touching and just a real pleasure to experience.
However, the game isn't perfect by any means. There's some bullshit enemy placement here and there, and on occasion mechanics don't work as intended. First play throughs of certain levels can be pretty frustrating as a result.
All this being said, if you are a fan of rhythm games and have not played Mad Rat Dead, please do. It is one of the most underrated games I have played in recent years, in part due to really poor marketing in the west, and deserves much more recognition than it has gotten

Stylish, weird, snappy, extremely fun. This is just one of those games where you look at it and you know its going to be a rad time, its a rhythm platformer, and it looks like that. And the game lives up to that concept with some amazing electronic beats and tight level design, as well as a very touching story. This game reminded me a lot of, of all things, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. Both games really take advantage of the idea of death, both are weird cult hybrid mash-ups of different genre, and most importantly, this game takes the biggest thing from the ending LOL.

And like Ghost Trick, this game is just a tight short but extremely rewarding experience. I had a blast just tearing through levels and listening to those tunes while getting my ass beat. I wish this game wasn't just stuck on PS4 and Switch, because this is an experience worthy of everyone's attention.