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If Hollow Knight was about pirates and rats - Curse of the Sea Rats Quick Review

2K View2023-04-06

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

You need to play Curse of the Sea Rats! This polished and addictive game is one of the best Metroidvania titles I’ve ever played. It has a rich story, stunning visuals, and a map that’s large enough to keep anyone exploring for hours on end. Add in deep combat and some pretty good tunes, and Curse of the Sea Rats is one swashbuckling adventure that I’d recommend everyone should embark on.

TIME PLAYED

I played Curse of the Sea Rats for four hours. I managed to beat three main bosses and two side bosses, reached level thirteen with Akane Yamakawa, and even maxed out that character’s skill tree (albeit due to a bug). I’m currently trying to find and face the fourth boss, but I’ve already explored twenty-five percent of the map.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Exploration. Curse of the Sea Rats has one of the largest maps I’ve ever seen in a Metroidvania title. I spent a third of my time with the game wandering caves and climbing cliffs off the beaten path. The constant drip of treasure and other sights to discover kept me eager to check every corner of the game world.

• Enemies. There are a ton of monsters, animals, and filthy pirates to fight in Curse of the Sea Rats and I found all of them amusing. Whether enemies took the form of crabs, fat pirates, or other strange beasts, each one had its own unique attacks and abilities which really challenged me in the way I approached them. I’ve died more than a handful of times because of these enemies, but I enjoyed the fight either way.

• Narrative. Curse of the Sea Rats’s rich and straightforward narrative enhances its adventurous journey. It tells a tale about a band of sailors, fugitives, and prisoners falling under the spell of a twisted evil witch who turns them into rats—and the only way to turn back is to find and defeat the witch. I found this story really compelling and more immersive the longer I played.

• Voice acting. The voice acting in Curse of the Sea Rats is impeccably done and really helps distinguish characters from one another and create loveable and hateable personalities. For example, Flora, the evil witch who cursed everyone, still harbors some kindness and compassion for her crew, even though she’s malevolent and power-hungry. Flora’s voice acting captures the desperation and depth of her character in a brilliant way.

• Challenge. Curse of the Sea Rats is difficult, but only where it needs to be. Whether I was fighting a boss or traversing a cavern filled with spikes, I always had some sort of challenge to overcome, which kept me from growing bored with the game.

• Character. There are four primary characters to choose from in Curse of the Sea Rats, and each one features unique play styles and abilities to freshen up gameplay. These characters even have their own skill tree to upgrade, which adds a lot of depth to the game. I personally liked using Akane Yamakawa because she could use a spear and fight more fluidly than the other characters.

• Aesthetic. Curse of the Sea Rats’s hand-drawn animation and art looks absolutely mesmerizing. The music sounds great as well and does a great job of setting a swashbuckling, adventurous vibe for the game.

WHAT SUCKS

• Save point placement. Even though Curse of the Sea Rats balances its difficulty fairly well, I still got annoyed occasionally at the distance I had to travel if I died. I wished there were more save points, so I didn’t have to jump and climb to places I’d already been multiple times over.

• Bugs. I found a bug three hours into the game that multiplied my resources when I switched characters and died. Although the bug didn’t last long and couldn’t be replicated no matter how hard I tried, I stockpiled enough resources to completely max out Akane Yamakawa's skill tree, which felt a little unfair.

💬 Will you play Curse of the Sea Rats or are you going to skip it? Let me know down below!

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