This 'Rat King' Puzzle Game Is About to Steal All Your Free Time (Just Like It Stole Mine)
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
'Rat King' is a fiendishly clever split-screen puzzle game where you control two rats simultaneously, sharing a single health bar – prepare for a brain-meltingly addictive experience.
Right, so I stumbled across this little gem called 'Rat King,' and fair warning: you might as well say goodbye to your productivity for the foreseeable future. Rock Paper Shotgun (cheers, mates!) flagged this one up, and bloody hell, they weren't wrong. This isn't just another dungeon crawler; it's a simultaneously-control-two-rats-in-split-screen kinda deal, which, as you can imagine, adds a whole new layer of 'Wait, which rat am I moving?' chaos.
The basic premise? You've got two rats, each in their own 5x5 dungeon room, battling different enemies and grabbing shiny coins. Here's the kicker: they share a single health bar. So, if one rat's having a bad day with a particularly grumpy beetle, *both* rats are feeling the pain. It's like that co-op game where your mate keeps running into walls, but the walls are also trying to bite you.
The genius of 'Rat King,' though, is how it forces you to think strategically about both screens at once. One rat might be stuck in a corner, while the other's dodging creepy crawlies. You've got to figure out the perfect sequence of moves to keep both furry fellas alive, collect those precious coins (for shopping sprees, naturally), and find the staircase to the next level of rodent-filled madness. Think strategic chaos.
And get this – each rat can move independently within their own dungeon. It's a feature that lets you essentially 'reshuffle' one half of the screen if you’re in a pickle. Need a breather for Rat #1? Let Rat #2 deal with the spiders for a bit. It's all about finding that sweet spot of synchronicity... or as close to it as you can get.
Now, things get interesting with items. You can find stuff like ice cubes (freeze those pesky enemies!), and even a purple swirly thing that reverses your controls. Yes, you read that right. It's like an Elder Scrolls lockpicking minigame decided to take hallucinogens. It makes maneuvering more flexible, but also guarantees a headache. Worth it? Jury's still out. The ghosts, though? Those are just brilliant. Bumping into walls repeatedly attracts the attention of spooky spectres and, if you ask me, this is an effective soft design constraint, as Edwin Evans-Thirlwell from Rock Paper Shotgun put it. It discourages brute-forcing the simultaneous-move mechanic while giving you that eerie 'someone's watching me' vibe. Nicely done, devs!
Look, I reckon if you're a fan of those brain-bending puzzle games that make you question your life choices around 3 AM, 'Rat King' is right up your alley. It's available on Itch.io, and honestly, for the price of a decent coffee, you're getting hours of delightfully frustrating fun. Just don't blame me when your boss asks why you're seeing double.
Tags: puzzle, indie game, strategy, roguelike, dungeon crawler
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun