The fact that various vermin fight out the First World War in Rat Kingdom is not the only unusual thing. This strategy game is also supposed to function as a first-person shooter!
The development team of Ratten Reich ventures into three unusual experiments at once:
- They want to develop a strategy game in the First World War.
- They want to use rats and other vermin instead of humans.
- They want to create an RTS that also works as a first-person shooter.
That”s quite a lot for the small studio of just 20 people to take on. But hey, more difficult experiments have succeeded! How good this will be with Rat Kingdom remains to be seen. But so far, this strategy game actually looks quite interesting.
The visuals, thanks to Unreal Engine 4, are already quite something and just because this RTS dabbles so much, it stands out from the crowd This will not be a simple Company of Heroes clone, something completely new is to be created here.
What exactly? I”ve compiled all that for you in this article! But here”s the trailer for now, so that you can get a feel for Rat”s Realm:
Table of Contents
What is Rat”s Realm about?
The First World War was hell. There are few other wars where the battlefield reality was as gruesome as in this global conflict. People shared their trenches for weeks with rats and other vermin. Perhaps it is this context that moved the developer studio Metal Adler to now send these same vermin into this gruesome world war instead of humans.
In Rat”s Realm we re-enact the conflict, but not quite as we know it. Instead of the nations involved, distorted images of these very countries appear in Ratten Reich. Thus, the German Empire becomes the Rat Empire, the allies France and Great Britain become the Free Mouse Republic and the Russian Empire is called the Cockroach Empire.
Here is an overview of the factions:
So mice, rats or cockroaches are in historical uniforms and compete against each other in brutal battles. Japan and China are also represented as lizards. Depending on the faction, the animals have different armaments and different abilities. Cockroaches, for example, are supposed to be able to take a lot more punishment because of their chitinous armour. Two story campaigns are planned for two of the factions.
In addition to the anthropomorphic soldiers, the world war will also be livened up by steam and diesel punk elements. So there will be a much larger selection of vehicles and other equipment than in reality. There are even plans for a feature that will make it possible to modify vehicles.
Why the First World War (in contrast to the Second World War or modern conflicts) is still strongly underrepresented in games, we found out together with developers and historians!
What makes Rat Reich special?
At first glance, Rat Kingdom seems like a classic RTS of the Company of Heroes brand. However, it almost seems as if it has more to do with real-time tactics like Shadow Tactics or Desperados.
But it”s not quite clear yet, so far there is only one video with real gameplay to see:
Here the units are controlled through really nicely designed landscapes, they take cover and special manoeuvres like grenades are used. There is no sign of base building yet, at least in this mission, and it also seems to be a stringent level.
What is most exciting here is how the level is structured. Regardless of whether it”s a forest or a small village, the environment has many differences in altitude, including winding roads. You don”t often see that in this form in an RTS.
Rat Kingdom is also supposed to be a very dark strategy game. To make the horror of war palpable, it does not hold back with depictions of violence. The mice and rats here are literally torn to pieces by close explosions.
RTS and first-person shooters
Another special feature is the first-person mode. The team plans that we can also play through each mission in the form of a first-person shooter. Then we will actually be put in the role of a soldier and can shoot directly at the enemies like in CoD and Co.
But how well that works and whether it”s worth it at all is still completely unclear.
What do we like, what don”t we like?
Ratten Reich is still in development and was funded via Kickstarter. We haven”t been able to play it ourselves yet, but the known information about the game and the first gameplay scenes already allow us to draw some conclusions.
We like it
- The level environments: Rat”s Realm has a very interesting look to it, which apart from the running animals does look realistic. Since the game covers battlefields all over the world, it could offer a lot of variety. Above all, however, the level design is convincing, relying heavily on noticeable height differences and detailed environments.
- The gritty atmosphere: War is never pretty, but Rat Kingdom presents itself really dirty. This is not only because of the vermin, but precisely because of the high level of violence and the bleakly battered environments.
- The exciting mix: A game that can handle both strategy and action-packed firefights is definitely a dream of many gamers. In the scenes so far, both RTS and first-person mode seem entertaining. But whether it really works is impossible to say. There are already reasons why this gimmick is not found so often. Let”s see if Rat Reich makes it more than a gimmick.
We don”t like it
- Missing dynamic destruction: According to the development team, there should definitely be some form of dynamic destruction, but nothing was seen of it in the gameplay scenes yet. The areas are pretty, but all in all they still look very static. Let”s see if this is different at release.
- The macabre staging: In the videos on the (YouTube channel of the studio) the staging of the game often borders on tastelessness. In particular, the music is mostly rocked up and also features a lot of electronic pieces. This does not fit in at all with the rather gloomy scenario and should this be similar in the game, there is a danger of glorifying war. That should not happen under any circumstances. The “sexy” rat lady on some of the promo artwork also seems rather out of place.
- Is this technically flawless? Even if the gameplay looks pretty, there are still many technical shortcomings to be seen. Of course, the impressions are from an unfinished version. But the gameplay was published in May and the game is supposed to be released in September this year. Will everything be smoothed out by then?
What is your first impression of this unusual real-time strategy game? Are you looking forward to it, or are you rather put off by the staging and the vermin? Let me know in the comments
Editor”s verdict
I am very, very conflicted. Actually, much of what I”ve seen of Rat Reich looks very good. On the other hand, I don”t really like some of the musical and staging choices. The studio really has to be careful not to overdo it with their unusual style. Occasionally, Ratten Reich really does seem appropriately oppressive, but sometimes it”s just too upbeat. And the First World War (with rats or not), should never be upbeat. At least in my eyes. But let”s see how it all comes together. Also, whether the switch between first-person shooter and RTS really works is an important question that I can”t answer yet.
