<- Back To Masterpost

the ratchelor: a rat dating sim (*/*, free, browser)

• overall: D+. enjoyment: C.
• the ratchelor is a game where you play as a rat, and date rats. thats about all there is to it! i know i gave this game a D+ but that doesn't mean you shouldn't play it. as the only rat themed dating sim i've yet to play, it still has its competition beat. it's a short game, so you might as well.
• plot: D. you are the rat batchelor (ratchelor), and 21 rats have applied to try and win your love. its just a dating show game. its very simple, and as bare bones of a dating sim plot as you can get. but also they're rats!
• characters: C. each rat essentially has one, maybe two character traits that they consistently present in their dialogue, most of which are pretty weird. it makes characterization very easy, which helps to differentiate the 21 rats despite the short runtime. some of the rats are really just kind of there, though.
• writing: C. the only writing is the love interests dialogue, which consists of a single line every round. so theres not much to work with. but the dialogue is interesting and funny. it makes the most of the limited playtime.
• routes: jagadoo > arealrat > egg salad > dr plagueus > hiberdean > reggie-231 > migg mouse > hempleton > slim jim > vim > heighness laure > emacs > hottie thespule > gerott > manelo > l'artiste > ode > bora xiv > one eared jerio > bear > largathon
• gameplay: F. the gameplay consists of choosing which rats you like, and making dialogue choices. however, as best as i can tell the dialogue choices don't affect anything -- the rat you choose will like you either way. i usually disqualify games that function like this from getting reviews, but included it based on the premise. there's no way the rose system could have been excluded -- but if there was a way for the rat you pick to dislike you, or something else that changed, i'd like it better.
• art: C. its really hard to judge art that's intentionally bad on an objective scale. like, does it look like dogshit? yeah. is that a bad thing, here? of course not. it's a well designed game. it looks how its supposed to look. the framing, logo animation, and design make it clear this artist knows exactly what they're doing. however, i can't say it's pleasing to look at either way.

https://algorat.itch.io/the-ratchelor-a-rat-dating-sim