Bad Rats

About

Bad Rats is a single player shooter game with comedy and violence themes. It was developed by Invent4 Entertainment and was released on July 20, 2009. It received positive reviews from players.

Bad Rats is a physics puzzle game where rats finally get their bloody revenge on their new prisoners: The cats. Come up with creative solutions for each puzzle using physics, functional objects, and your specially trained Rats. Try different ways of solving each puzzle to finish faster or earn higher scores.

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 11,968 reviews

graphics350 positive mentions

stability32 negative mentions

The game offers innovative and challenging physics-based puzzle mechanics combined with a unique blend of humor and strategy, providing addictive and creative gameplay.
The story and character development deliver surprising emotional depth and immersion, elevating the game beyond typical puzzle titles with heartfelt narratives and moral themes.
The game is well optimized, running smoothly across a wide range of PC systems while maintaining impressive performance without requiring high-end hardware.

Graphics and animations are highly polarizing, with many players finding them crude, outdated, and poorly designed, which can detract significantly from the overall experience.
The game suffers from buggy and unstable performance, including frequent glitches, freezes, and inconsistent physics that frustrate players and hinder gameplay.
Humor and music are divisive elements; the humor is often seen as forced, juvenile, or unfunny, while the repetitive and grating soundtrack detracts from immersion for some players.

graphics
930 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
50%
12%
The game's graphics polarize players, ranging from descriptions of "stunning," "next-gen," and "jaw-dropping visuals" to critiques of being "dated," "ugly," or "reminiscent of 90s/early 2000s games." While some praise its unique or retro art style and claim it pushes hardware limits, others find the visuals crude, poorly designed, or graphically inconsistent. Overall, the graphics are seen as either a distinctive charm or a significant detractor, heavily influencing the experience depending on player expectations.
- “From the moment you enter its beautifully crafted world, you are immediately drawn in by the stunning visuals and immersive gameplay.”
- “The graphics are amazing and just general gameplay is fun and enjoyable.”
- “The graphics took my breath away at how lifelike everything looked.”
- “The graphics are hideous, with crude, grotesque models that look like they were pulled from the bottom of a bargain-bin asset store.”
- “The awkward animations and graphics look somewhere between an amateur school project a kid in a 3d modeling class made, a foreign low-budget animated film, and low-quality 3d modeled porn.”
- “The graphics are bad, the physics are bad, the music is bad, the overall experience is bad.”
story
812 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
55%
9%
The story of "Bad Rats: The Rats' Revenge" is a surprisingly deep and emotionally engaging tale about a group of rats seeking revenge against oppressive cats, featuring complex characters, significant plot twists, and moral themes such as struggle, friendship, and redemption. Although some reviewers note a lack of explicit storytelling or cutscenes, many praise the narrative's immersive quality, character development, and its unique integration with gameplay. Overall, the story is considered a standout aspect, often described as both heartwarming and thought-provoking, elevating the game beyond typical puzzle mechanics.
- “The game's story weaves a brilliant narrative tapestry following a fragmented population of rats using everything they have at their disposal to topple the figurative tower of systematic oppression leveraged upon them by the rule of the cat establishment.”
- “Seamlessly blending intuitive yet challenging physics-based puzzles with a heartrending story involving several rats and their quest for revenge against the cats who wronged them.”
- “The story has emotional weight, the characters are lovable and funny, the gameplay is smart and challenging, the physics engine is impressive, and the visual style matches the chaotic tone of the game perfectly.”
- “If you're searching for interesting arcs or characters that aren't cardboard cutouts, look elsewhere - even the backstory of a cereal box mascot has more depth.”
- “There is no story, and this gameplay loop remains the same for the whole game.”
- “It's simplistic, has no real story, and some really bad jokes in just how it's designed.”
gameplay
703 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
54%
10%
The gameplay of Bad Rats is highly polarizing, with many praising its innovative physics-based puzzle mechanics, engaging challenges, and unique blend of humor and strategy, while others criticize its inconsistent physics, unreliable mechanics, and frustrating design. Despite technical flaws and occasionally crude presentation, the game offers addictive, creative, and thought-provoking gameplay that has garnered a cult following and notable replayability. Overall, its gameplay is seen as either a quirky, rewarding experience or a flawed puzzle game depending on the player's perspective.
- “The gameplay mechanics are innovative and challenging, keeping you engaged and excited to see what comes next.”
- “The game's unique mechanics, creative puzzles, and charming humor make it a standout in the puzzle game genre, and its user-generated content system provides endless replayability.”
- “Very good game, graphics high end, rivaling even battlefield, huge amount of gameplay elements and a good and easy to follow plot line.”
- “Its mechanics are unreliable, its presentation is crude, and its puzzle design rarely rewards careful planning.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are so intuitive that a 2d interface affects and transitions seamlessly into a 3d world.”
- “The gameplay is that it’s a physics based puzzle game, but obviously because it’s so terrible, it makes sure that its physics doesn’t work half the time, that basically minimizes anything it wanted to be if it didn’t claim its own genre.”
music
407 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
51%
13%
The music in the game evokes strong and diverse reactions, ranging from being described as captivating, immersive, and emotionally powerful to repetitive, grating, and annoying. Many reviewers praise the soundtrack for enhancing the gameplay and atmosphere, while others criticize its limited variety and sometimes poor quality. Overall, the music is a notable and polarizing aspect that significantly influences players' experiences.
- “The music score is so captivating that it elevates the overall experience to a whole new level of artistry.”
- “The soundtrack is so suiting it makes you feel like you are actually there in the shoes of the rats and are actually aiding them in their schemes.”
- “The art style and music are truly some of the most creative and inspired visuals and audio I've seen while playing a game.”
- “Music loops are basic and repetitive, offering little in the way of atmosphere or emotional engagement.”
- “The music is repetitive and grating, but that’s nothing compared to the constant, irritating sound effects.”
- “The soundtrack is so bad you will want to stab yourself in the ears.”
humor
327 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
96%
4%
The game's humor is largely characterized by its absurd, dark, and often juvenile style, with many players finding both accidental and deliberate comedic moments in its chaotic physics and crude animations. While some appreciate its quirky, meme-like charm and find it funny in a "so-bad-it's-good" way, others criticize the humor as forced, outdated, tasteless, or simply unfunny. Overall, its humor is a divisive but central aspect, appealing mainly to those who enjoy bizarre, slapstick, or edgy comedy within a flawed and glitchy puzzle game.
- “What truly sets Bad Rats apart is its undeniable sense of humor and self-awareness.”
- “The game’s unique mechanics, creative puzzles, and charming humor make it a standout in the puzzle game genre, and its user-generated content system provides endless replayability.”
- “The object is to move a ball, using different mice and equipment, to knock a boulder off a cliff and smash the cat, press the button to microwave the cat, chainsaw the cat, unleash a dog onto the cat, etc. The ending to each level is quite comedic and is enough motivation for me to continue the game, which I know sounds sadistic but it’s cartoonish and funny.”
- “The levels feel repetitive, and the humor is forced and unfunny.”
- “Crazy machines in crazy way, it was supposed to be funny, it wasn't.”
- “On top of that the game is horribly unfunny and somewhat offensive.”
emotional
183 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a profoundly emotional experience, evoking tears and deep connection through its touching, heartfelt story and character development. Players praise its ability to balance humor with heart-wrenching moments, creating an immersive and moving narrative that resonates on a personal level. Despite some critiques on music, the overall emotional impact has been described as life-changing and unforgettable.
- “The emotional depth of the storytelling adds another layer of immersion to an already captivating experience.”
- “Genuinely life changing, and actually heart-warming tale of the rats' revenge on the cats.”
- “Any game capable of balancing such complex and emotionally poignant themes so eloquently is well deserving of praise and economic success, but a game that manages this in addition to providing such brilliant AAA quality gameplay deserves to be forever exalted in the halls of gaming history.”
replayability
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
62%
12%
Replayability opinions are highly mixed: some praise the game for its multiple solutions, variety of characters, user-generated content, achievements, and sidequests that provide endless or high replay value, while others criticize it for repetitive gameplay, lack of meaningful progression, and minimal incentive to replay after completion. Multiplayer modes, mods, and level editors significantly enhance replayability for some players, but the single-player campaign is often seen as having limited replay appeal. Overall, replay value varies greatly depending on player preferences and engagement with additional content.
- “The game's unique mechanics, creative puzzles, and charming humor make it a standout in the puzzle game genre, and its user-generated content system provides endless replayability.”
- “Players can create and share their own levels, adding to the game's replayability.”
- “The variety of characters encourages players to experiment with different strategies, adding to the replayability of the game.”
- “Bad rats offers little incentive for replayability.”
- “Apart from the single playthrough there's not much replay value.”
- “I don't see a lot of replayability once you know the level solutions.”
character development
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
46%
7%
The character development in the game is widely praised for its depth, emotional impact, and immersive storytelling, often compared to acclaimed narratives like The Walking Dead and The Last of Us. Reviewers highlight compelling storylines, well-crafted characters, and meaningful interactions that enhance player engagement, making it a standout feature alongside impressive character design. While some mention questionable designs, the overall consensus celebrates the game's rich and nuanced character progression as a major strength.
- “The emotional honesty and character development presented here is matched perhaps only by the greatest works of wartime fiction ever written, such as the works of Tolstoy or Boris Pasternak.”
- “Upon further playing however, you discover in-depth character development and a story that dwarfs any I've seen in gaming or even dare I say Hollywood production.”
- “Invent4's masterpiece blends game mechanics and character development to a startlingly affecting degree, constantly bolstering one with the other to create an utterly complete and fulfilling whole.”
- “Not to mention some of the character design is ... questionable.”
- “The graphics are dated, with uninspired character designs and bland environments.”
- “Character development 6/9”
optimization
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
56%
8%
Users consistently praise the game’s optimization for delivering smooth, high-performance gameplay across a wide range of PC specifications, including medium and some low-end systems. The game is noted for pushing graphical limits while maintaining stability and efficiency, making it accessible and visually impressive without demanding overly bulky hardware. Despite a few isolated criticisms, the overall consensus highlights exceptional optimization that enhances the gaming experience.
- “This has the best graphics of the century. Forget Crysis, this game can push your system to its absolute graphical limits while also being highly optimized in every aspect.”
- “The game's requirements are reasonable and the gameplay is optimized such that it doesn't require a bulky system to run on.”
- “The performance of the game on medium- and some low-end systems makes it accessible to a broad demographic of players.”
- “Actually, the first thing that occurred to me after I got to the game proper is just how bad the game looks and runs - for such a simple physics puzzler, the game is optimized poorly, runs like a QWOP athlete played by a guy with no fingers, there's no 16:9 resolution options (only 4:3, so welcome to black bar city), and no windowed mode as far as I can tell. The character graphics are barely discernible as rats or cats - one's a brown cartoon mess, the other's an orange cartoon mess - and the texture work throughout barely counts as 'work', or even 'textures' for that matter.”
- “[*][b]performance:[/b] many games fall off a prospective player's wishlist due to system requirements.”
- “Being a 2-d game only nets you that much speed before optimizations come into play, *cough* Starbound *cough*.”
stability
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game is widely criticized for being buggy and unstable, with frequent glitches, freezes, and physics issues that hamper gameplay and frustrate players. While some find moments of entertainment in the glitches or consider it acceptable for a low price, overall the buggy and unpredictable performance significantly detracts from the experience. A few users noted rare instances of smooth gameplay, but these are exceptions rather than the norm.
- “The gameplay is extremely smooth, and there are absolutely no glitches in the game.”
- “Bugs and glitches are not uncommon, further eroding any semblance of enjoyment that players might hope to find in this title.”
- “You'll spend more time hoping the game glitches in your favor than actually applying any form of strategic thinking.”
- “The game is incredibly buggy, and it is considerably short in gameplay.”
grinding
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
Grinding in the game is largely tedious and frustrating, often requiring repetitive trial and error with little story or content to motivate progression. While grinding is not mandatory, it is commonly used for farming trading cards, and some players find limited enjoyment in this aspect despite the frustrating mechanics. Overall, grinding is seen as a soul-draining chore rather than engaging gameplay.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Spent 2 hours on this game grinding level 1 over and over again to get the trading cards.”
- “Not as interesting conceptually as sandbox games of the same type, you are saddled with a mission every time to kill the cat and there is usually only one solution that you achieve through tedious and time consuming trial and error.”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
47%
16%
The atmosphere received mixed feedback, ranging from deeply immersive and emotionally engaging with stunning visuals and fitting soundtracks, to repetitive music and lackluster audio that detracts from immersion. Many praised the game's ability to evoke strong moods—whether eerie, offbeat, or intense—while some noted clunky animations and poorly executed elements that undermined the overall feel. Overall, when well-executed, the atmosphere significantly enhances player engagement and narrative immersion.
- “The stunning visuals and atmospheric soundtrack create a truly immersive world that draws you in from the very beginning.”
- “Level 2: presentation - Bad Rats uses 3D models with highly detailed textures to craft its deeply atmospheric setting. Every level is drenched in dulled greys, browns, and oranges. A cage of brick and cement surrounds every room. The rats' eyes emote with much hesitation, each rat appearing more traumatized and distant than the last, like their lives have been filled with nothing but torment and suffering.”
- “Beautiful and lush environments, fantastic gameplay, fun and interesting puzzles, and a top notch atmosphere.”
- “Music loops are basic and repetitive, offering little in the way of atmosphere or emotional engagement.”
- “The soundtrack is equally forgettable, providing little to no immersion or atmosphere.”
- “This game freaked me out, really jarring atmosphere and an almost dissociative pacing.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
16%
67%
The monetization of the game is primarily based on optional microtransactions for cosmetic items, with all updates remaining free. Players appreciate the low price and lack of aggressive monetization, contrasting it with other cash-grab titles on Steam. Overall, the game offers a fair and non-intrusive monetization approach.
- “Believe me, this is an amazing game, and at such a low price, it's basically unbeatable, with literally 0 microtransactions in the game.”
- “Even worse, the success of this game unleashed a tide of poorly made cash grabs onto Steam.”
- “Blizzard states that all Bad Rats updates will remain free, with the only additional cost to players being microtransactions to earn additional cosmetic rewards.”