Ratatan, the new rhythm game from the designer of Patapon, delays early access release in response to negative demo feedback

Ratatan screenshot — (Image credit: TVT Co Ltd)

Ratatan, the spiritual successor to the wonderful PSP rhythm game Patapon, turned up at the PC Gaming Show earlier this year to reveal a new trailer, as well as a demo on Steam and an early access release date of July 25.

But with that date now just a few weeks away, developer TVT Co. has decided to push it back, and for that you can blame—or thank, as the case may be—the demo.

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The Ratatan demo was downloaded more than 200,000 times, the team said in a Steam update, resulting in more than 1,200 Steam user reviews and 2,000 comments sent directly to the developer. "The sheer volume of responses has exceeded the team’s expectations!" the studio wrote.

Unfortunately, that feedback was not entirely positive. There are five "main points" that players weren't happy with:

The tutorial and UI being difficult to understand
The roguelike structure and reward pacing feeling unsatisfying
Frustration over some Ratatans being unable to use skills
Lack of impact in visuals and presentation
Requests for improvements to content structure, pacing, and mid-term gameplay flow

And, simply put, there's not enough time between now and July 25 to address the complaints—thus the delay. A new release date hasn't been finalized yet but will be announced as soon as possible; TVT Co. warned that even with the delay, "it may not be possible to address all of these requests by the time we launch [into] Early Access."

The studio also reminded followers that "Ratatan is not Patapon," seemingly a response to complaints from some players that the new game is not what they were expecting. "[Ratatan] is an indie game aiming to deliver a completely new experience," TVT Co. wrote. "So there will naturally be some differences in direction."

TVT Co. also said it's looking into "making adjustments" to rewards for its Kickstarter backers to ensure they're treated "fairly and appropriately," including possible additional rewards for console backers "since they will have to wait longer to play the game"—PC backers will get the early access version, but people who want to play on console will have to wait for the full release—and "establishing thoughtful measures tailored to the support tiers and chosen platforms of our backers." I have no idea what that means but TVT Co. said details will be shared in a future update.

(If you really want to play Patapon, by the way, it's finally coming to PC on July 10.)

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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