Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first few minutes of Rat Splat! are easy to understand and immediately stressful. You move around platforms and ladders, lay out cheese to bring rats into the open, then rush over to crack them on the head with a hammer. Killing 15 rats ends the level, but the cheese is not just bait: if the rats eat it all, they stop appearing and you lose the chance to reach that quota.

That single rule gives the game more tension than its simple premise suggests. You cannot merely camp out and swat every rat you see. Letting them roam risks your cheese supply, yet charging after each one can pull you away from a better position. The clock adds another pressure point, since lingering too long means the cheese smell can overwhelm you. Rat Splat! wants you to act decisively rather than play cautiously.

The monster is the wrinkle that makes the routine properly dangerous. The hammer is for rats; the aerosol can is needed to kill the monster. Having to change tools while navigating the same compact screens forces you to keep track of more than one threat at once. It is likely to frustrate you when a monster interrupts a clean rat hunt, but that interruption is also where the game stops being a one-note arcade chase.

This is a hard-edged fixed-screen platform game, not a relaxed extermination romp. Repeating the same basic actions is part of the deal, and success comes from learning when to protect the cheese, when to pursue rats, and when to deal with the monster before it corners you. If you enjoy concise arcade rules that turn into a frantic balancing act, there is real bite here.

Graphics

Rat Splat! uses side-view, fixed-screen sewer stages built from platforms and ladders. Rats scurry along the platforms while cheese sits out as bait, and the player and monster share the same cramped hunting ground. The layout should make it easy to see the immediate route between a target, a ladder, and danger.

Story

The story is knowingly slight: the sewers have a rat problem, you are sent down with a hammer, and an angry monster cares rather more about the rats than you do. It is an effective excuse for the action because it explains why a routine cull turns into a fight for survival.

The monster’s sentimental attachment to the rats gives the setup a playful, offbeat edge. Rather than facing an evil mastermind or a generic sewer beast, you are dealing with a creature that has a personal objection to your job. That small joke is more memorable than the usual arcade-game excuse to clear rooms of enemies.

Do not come to Rat Splat! for a deep sewer adventure. Its story works as a compact comic premise that keeps the goals clear: preserve enough cheese, eliminate the rats, and survive the monster’s retaliation.

Overall Experience

Rat Splat! succeeds when its rules begin colliding. A rat near the last of your cheese is urgent; a monster closing in is more urgent; the timer means neither problem can wait forever. That compact pressure is the game’s strongest quality, turning a basic platform layout into a series of uncomfortable decisions.

Its limitations are tied to that same focus. You will spend the game in a narrow loop of climbing, baiting, hitting rats, and switching weapons for the monster. If that loop does not grab you early, the escalating pressure will feel more punishing than compelling. There is little room here for anyone who wants broad exploration or a long-form narrative reward.

For an arcade-minded Commodore 64 player, though, Rat Splat! is worth a look. It has a clean objective, a mischievous premise, and enough competing dangers to make every completed 15-rat quota feel earned. Give it a chance if you like platform games that demand quick prioritization rather than flashy complexity.

Retro Replay Score

7.2/10