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We first reported on Rat Protocol, a new pixel art puzzle game from developer Pufferfish Digital and publisher EastAsiaSoft, earlier this week. The game is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, priced at $4.99. We’ve had a chance to play through half the game on the Switch, and are delighted to report that Rat Protocol is the perfect title to scratch that puzzle itch, but when you also want the action of an arcade game.
The game is a mix of a turn-based block puzzler with the intensity of having to time your run just right to not get zapped by the lasers. Each single-screen puzzle requires you to move your rat around on squares and push blocks over switches to unlock doors. It all sounds simple, but there are death lasers that zap across the screen and must be blocked with crates before allowing you to pass. The further catch is that the lasers can destroy the crates, so you have to be quick in getting in and out of the rooms, collecting the keys.
Rat Protocol‘s puzzles start fairly straightforward, as you would expect, but once you get to the tenth puzzle, of which there are 50 in total, the headscrathching starts. The main obstacle to finishing the puzzle is less about working out where to push the blocks and more about how to perform all the puzzle’s actions in time to not get zapped. Other gameplay mechanics include moving the laser batteries out of place to turn them off entirely and working out how to create bridges, amongst others.
The puzzles are very well implemented, and there is a real sense of achievement at times when you nail a tough one. There were a few that took some time to work out, but most are presented in such a way that any player, of any skill level, should be able to get through most of them eventually. We finished the first 25 puzzles and didn’t feel that any were particularly repetitive, although most of the rooms do look the same. There is enough variety of gameplay mechanics and puzzle types to keep Rat Protocol interesting throughout.
The presentation in Rat Protocol is retro with some good pixel art, albeit a little basic in places, and a chilled soundtrack that bops along nicely to the action. For a budget game, the graphics and sound are decent, and occasionally, some scientists pop up to send more challenges to the trapped rat. It may have been good to see some more variety in the levels, but overall, for a budget title, Rat Protocol looks great, and everything is clear on the screen.
Overall, Rat Protocol is a short puzzle game that could be completed in a few hours. We only played the first half of the game, and the difficulty had risen quite sharply by then. This is the perfect game for those wanting a slightly different type of block puzzler with its timers and the fact that you’ll need to piece together several moves. Gamers looking for something with a lot of variety may feel that some of the puzzles become samey, but the game sticks to its premise and provides lots of challenge.
