A Rat's Journey - Homeward

Introduction

I'll admit to finding myself rather flummoxed when it comes to filling out this section of the review. After all, the last couple of games I've covered have been attached to game jams or the Indie Game Making Contest. As such, it was pretty easy to put together a short blurb introducing the game to the audience as well as why the game itself came into existence. Sadly, I really don't have that advantage when it comes to "A Rat's Journey - Homeward" seeing as how the game was apparently developed by retroexcellent without any clear reason as to why.

Though, I suppose the why behind this mediocre title is far less important than why I consider this game a rather underwhelming experience. After all, there have been numerous games on this site that have been created over the years that aren't attached to game jams or more professional contests with actual prizes. At the end of the day I merely need to explain why I feel like a game is good, bad, or ugly.

Story

On the story side of things you play as Rusty, a rural rat, whose gotten lost in the big city. Apparently he managed to hitch a free ride to the city on a truck and then got swept into the sewer by unknown means. Upon awakening he decides to set out on adventure in order to find new friends and find a way home. After all, a simple rural rat really isn't suited for the dog eat dog world of the big city. A world where rats are preyed upon by wannabe gangster frogs, insane moles, and mobs of hungry street cats.

Gameplay
The Good
This game features your standard turn-based combat system with little extra fanfare to be had. While you can use the guard command in order to regenerate small amounts of Stamina Points in order to use your special skills. You'll largely find yourself guzzling down bottles of hot sauce in order to refill your stamina gauge in the long run. After all, a 60% recovery is far superior to the dinky amount you get from guarding. Outside of the guard command having a somewhat novel use in this game. The game also shakes things up a bit by having the turn order within a round dictated by the speed of the skills used by the various party members and enemies as well as takes into consideration their speed stats.

The Bad
Battles in this game tend to become rather skill focused in the later areas meaning you'll need to abuse items in order to make it between check points. I suppose that's better than being a mindless spam fest of the basic attack command, but I find it rather disheartening how useless this command is in the last dungeon of the game.

Outside of the need to spam special skills and scarf down dozens of bottles of hot sauce like their bottles of cold lemonade. You'll also find yourself confronted by an almost endless horde of random enemies. So much so, I found myself complaining in my Let's Play at points about wanting to be left alone in order to look for the next major point of interest within the narrative. After all, I can only take so many battles against random and meaningless opponents in a row before even I get sicked of them. Especially when I'm trying to work on a Let's Play.

The Ugly
Boss battles in this game tend to drag. This is because most of the bosses you'll run across have the ability to cast powerful healing spells that entirely negate the effects of two or three rounds of combat. In fact, the only good way around this problem is to spam Rusty's Floss Lasso skill against later bosses in order to keep them constantly paralyzed. While this does get around the recovery problem. It also renders the battle completely unexciting because the boss becomes completely incapable of fighting back. In other words, your either left with dealing with the final few boss fights in this game dragging on for fifteen minutes plus or left with much shorter fights that are entirely devoid of the suspense of wondering just how close you can come to the edge before falling over.

Graphics

I'll have to admit that I agree with retroexcellent about this game containing cute characters and custom battles. Albeit, none of the party members can compete with my little Ahsoka in terms of cuteness.



Though, I'll admit I'm rather biased. After all, I got a much bigger soft spot for mice and hamsters than I do for rats. Though, I have been told they make great pets. That being said, I do have to give retroexcellent credit for giving his game a unique a feel. After all, it's pretty easy to stick to the RTP when your making a game for fun.

Conclusion

"A Rat's Journey - Homeward" really feels like a game where most of the emphasis went into the visuals. In some ways this isn't a bad thing since it ensures the game really stands out from the crowd and manages to capture the look the developer was going for. On the other hand, it's hard to argue that "A Rat's Journey - Homeward" suffers from tedious boss battles, excessive encounters, and a rather average narrative. As such, the game really doesn't come across as something most people should spend time on playing when much better games like "Remnants of Isolation" or "Demon Hunter" are around.

Side Note: I was tempted to give this game a two, but Rusty's giant mouse ears have garnered this game an extra half a point. And I'll admit I do find small rodents grabbing pieces of food in their little paws and eating them rather cute.