I was enticed by the nice artwork, reminiscent of Ratropolis, but ended up extremely disappointed.
The story is subpar from the start. The rats are at war with the toads, and the currently dying king had supposedly secured peace in the past, though we're not told how. As his strength wanes, this safety seems to dissipate, leading me to assume he simply strong-armed the toads into a peace treaty that now, with his advanced age and possible senility, they feel emboldened to break. I say senile because it's obvious that peace achieved through force is unsustainable, and throughout his lifetime, King Rat failed to build an army, forge alliances, or consolidate the treaty. Consequently, when the toads arrive with a real army, they effortlessly overrun the palace and kill the king. It's almost poetic justice.
The end result is a narrative that's a mix of standard and nonsensical elements. Initially, the gameplay involves traveling from point A to point B, constantly backtracking. Your first 'quest' is literally an errand from the cook – fetching vegetables from the basement right behind him. I was perplexed until I realized that the cook is another prince, highlighting the questionable royalty dynamics that may have contributed to the toad invasion.
The gameplay is, by far, the worst aspect. Clearly influenced by Dark Souls, it even features an Estus flask equivalent. However, the Souls-like mechanics are poorly implemented. Blocking and dodging aren't intuitive; instead, you must rely on a color-coded system to distinguish between unblockable and undodgeable attacks, which feels random and unrealistic.
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