Fans of pirates and Metroidvania-style games have only a few months to wait until Curse of the Sea Rats sets sail on a variety of consoles, according to a new trailer. The video from publisher PQube gave fans a small glimpse at many of the boss fights players will encounter in the new action-platformer being developed by Petoons Studio. Both indie companies are hoping Curse of the Sea Rats' art style and local 4-player co-op will be able to catch players' attention at its release later this year.
Curse of the Sea Rats is only the second game created by Petoons Studio, after the company's launch of Petoons Party back in 2019. Though Curse of the Sea Rats is a vastly different style of game from its first creation, the developer is hoping their new "ratoidvania" game can make an impact in the crowded indie video game scene. Publisher PQube is known for its growing library of published indie titles, such as Potion Permit and Super Bullet Break.
Fans will only have to wait until Curse of the Sea Rats launches on April 6 to begin playing. Featuring gorgeous hand-drawn art, the new trailer shows off a variety of boss fights against foes like The Necromancer, large rat and monster hybrids, and a few different sea creatures, including a crab that rides another crab and a rat riding a large and mean-looking Toucan parrot named Banana. Most foes also appear to use various environmental objects to assist in their fight, such as cannonballs from a ship firing at players from both sides and octopus tentacles that hide partly behind plants that border the screen.
The game takes place in the 18th century along the Irish coast, where four humans have been cursed and changed into rats by a notorious pirate witch named Flora Burn. The four playable characters, American settler David Douglas, Cheyenne hunter Buffalo Calf, slave rebel leader Bussa, and a warrior on a secret mission, Akane Yamakawa, are tasked with rescuing an Admiral's son and capturing the witch to free themselves from the curse. The game features a non-linear and large map with hundreds of rooms, unlockable skill trees, and a mix of 2D models and 3D environments as players traverse a variety of locations either solo or with three friends in local co-op mode.
Local co-op with and without a split-screen has seen a resurgence in popularity in the video game scene over the last few years. KeyWe, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and TMNT: Shredders Revenge are just a few different examples of this seemingly long overdue resurgence at being able to play side by side with friends or enemies. Non-local multiplayer has been the focus of many, many titles over the last decade, effectively taking away a player's ability to look someone directly in the eye when asking them why they just did that thing that got your character killed. Hopefully, games like Curse of the Sea Rats will help continue the revitalization of that almost always appreciated ability to game together on the same TV.
Curse of the Sea Rats will release on April 6, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Source: PQube
