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Ratatan Game Launches in Early Access on September 19 After Delay
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Japanese developer Ratata Arts revealed on Thursday that its Ratatan "rhythm roguelike action game" will launch in early access on Steam on September 19 at 12:00 a.m. JST (September 18 at 11:00 a.m. EDT).
The developers also revealed new screenshots from the game, and a new gameplay video for World 3.
The game was originally slated to launch in early access on July 25, but was delayed.
ANN sat down with game designer Hiroyuki Kotani and producer Kazuto Sakajiri at the BitSummit 13 event in Kyoto last month. Kotani and Sakajiri told ANN that when the game had a demo available during the Summer Games Fest event, they noticed certain things about the reactions from new players, and decided to rework some of the onboarding process to make the game a better experience for new players. This was part of the reason the game's early access was delayed. After the feedback, they decided they wanted to make the game friendlier to new players, and also wanted to consider the game's overall structure, how it will progress from start to finish, and how to maintain the "fun factor" in latter stages in the game.
The developers plan to implement at least two major updates during the early access of the game, with a full release planned for PC and for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X|S as well.
The developers also confirmed to ANN they are developing the game and testing with Steam Deck in mind, and plan to make the game compatible with both Linux and Steam Deck.
The game won the "Vermillion Gate Award," BitSummit's top honor, at this year's event.
The developers describe the game:
Tippytap, badaboom and "Ratatan" across the battlefield in this latest roguelike adventure from the creators of the beloved rhythm classic, Patapon! March across the world of Redo, build your Cobun army, and combine forces with your closest chums to defeat any evildoers silly enough to stand in your way!
The developers of Patapon are creating the game. Nelnal is the character designer and Kemmei Adachi is the composer. The game will feature more than 100 controllable characters, and will feature rhythm-driven combat.
A demo for the game is now available on Steam, and supports the four-player multiplayer that will be in the full game.
The game raised more than 170 million yen (about US$1.2 million) during its Kickstarter campaign in August 2023.
Sources: E-mail correspondence, 4Gamer (大陸新秩序)
