Ratropolis Review
Purchase Price: $14.39 (-20%)
Regular Price: $17.99
Play Time: 30-45 minutes for first 30 waves
100% Completion: No (78% of the way there!)

tl;dr - Ratropolis is a unique blend of deck-builder and tower defense with an adorable artstyle that has become one of my go-to “I don’t know what I want to play” games.

Ratropolis immediately captivated me with it’s artstyle. It’s unique blend of deck-builder and tower defense has kept me coming back for more. The game is straight-forward & easy to learn, yet difficult to master. UI is intuitive and provides all relevant information to the player. Animations and SFX are very well done, and excellently supports the artstyle.
There is meta-progression by earning xp as each of the six leaders in order to unlock more cards. In addition, after one has beaten the game once, pollution is unlocked where each subsequent victory will add an additional modifier making the game more difficult (ala Monster Train). There is also a feature that allows one to continue playing after having beaten the first 30 waves as a new leader which triggers again after each additional 30 waves survived (the leader choices are random, no additional xp will be earned, however).

Although the re-draw timer has been brought up by some as a negative, it truly does add an entirely different dimension to the game, and I believe that it is a generally positive addition to the game. In most deck-builders (e.g., Monster Train, Slay the Spire, Guild of Dungeoneering, etc.), one needs to be certain that they are making the best play, and a timer simply does not belong. However, in a tower defense, time is just as much a currency as gold. Having a re-draw timer applies pressure, and instills a sense of impending doom - which I believe adds to the immersion in this post-apocalyptic world our little anthropomorphic rats must survive within. The hordes are drawing nearer by the minute, and the ratizens must rush to the defense of our city!

My main gripes with the game are the initial difficulty curve, the lack of maps (there are only 3), and the tediousness of achievement earning. Firstly, it seems that an early victory is extremely difficult without unlocking certain cards for each leader. Although, some leaders are easier than others (The General should have been the first unlocked leader, not the Merchant). Secondly, a campaign would be a very welcome addition to the game, and would easily allow the developers to add in a few more maps. Lastly, some achievements are simply a slog (survive the 120th wave), irritating as all hell because of uncontrollable factors (achieve victory while never exceeding 999 gold) or are RNG based (have x, y, & z advisor).

Other than those minor criticisms & quibbles, I truly enjoy the game, and wholeheartedly recommend it.

tl;dr - Is this a great game that will keep you on the edge of your seat? No. Is it full of bugs? Yes, a lot. Are they game breaking? No, just highly annoying & unprofessional for a paid game no matter how cheap. Is it worth purchasing? Yes; however, with two stipulations: 1.) it's on sale (yes, I know that it's regularly $0.99), and you are an achievement hunter. Other than that, this is a definite pass.

First off, this feels like a student project, so I will be critiquing it as such. Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the feeling that I get when playing. Now, this game is chock-full of bugs. And, I mean a lot of bugs - from graphical to audio to textures to screen tearing, and probably more that I simply am forgetting despite having played through it twice not a moment ago (the second was to take screenshots for this review).

So, what's good about this game? The atmosphere is great. The god rays are ridiculously good. I'm very impressed with them. The level design is intuitive; there was never a point where I felt that I was lost. And, the achievements are extremely easy, and able to be 100% completed in about 15min. Aside from these, there really is nothing else good worth mentioning. The bugs simply far outweigh any of the few positives of this game.

So, why the recommend, you might ask? Honestly, it's an easy 100% for achievement hunters. Apart from the numerous & persistent bugs, it was somewhat enjoyable taking a break from other games with the bonus of another completed game for my profile. Is it worth $0.99? Absolutely not. It could be forgiven of a lot of its misgivings, if it were free. However, I got this on sale for $0.66. My metric for analyzing if my money is well spent is $/time. I spent $0.66 for 20 min of playtime. I did enjoy it somewhat, and I've spent far more for less time & enjoyment than this.

If the developer ever reads this, here are some recommendations for improving/fixing this game, and I will have uploaded screenshots to my profile for your perusal .
1.) Whatever that black line that cuts through horizontally in the middle of the screen it needs to be fixed ASAP!
2.) There is a white line that randomly, yet consistently, appears throughout the ground.
3.) A black zig-zag that looks like a tear in the warp appears at the beginning of the game (in both of my playthroughs).
4.) Persistent floating grass at the first bend of the road should be rectified.
5.) Many of the fences are disconnected in very disconcerting positions, and a lot of the posts are either misaligned or simply non existent.
6.) Various interactions would be a nice addition.
a) For example, an interaction with any of the achievement landmarks.
b) Instead of forcing the player to walk around the extremely long path around to the
tent, an interaction to hop the fence would have been nice.
7.) The invisible walls around the trees & bushes should be minimized.
8.) Various parts of the frozen lake move like jello.
9.) The church is missing two visible walls, yet the invisible wall is still functioning.
10.) Huge frame drop going through the field of grass before the abandoned town.
11.) There were options in the menu for subtitles & voice level, yet there were neither in the game for me.
12.) The graphics options are highly irritating. Simpler/more common screen resolutions or an auto-detect feature would be a nice addition.
13.) This is an idiosyncrasy of mine, but an option for rotating the camera using "q" & "e" would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Typo