Bat Rats' Revenge, a game released for Steam way back in 2009, is regarded as one of the worst games on Valve's digital game platform. There's a reason it costs a mere 99 cents. Poor graphics, awful jokes, disturbing animal violence and just generally crappy gameplay all contribute to what is widely considered to be a train wreck on all fronts.
Not that you would know it from viewing the game's Steam user reviews. More than a few players have picked up the game during various sales over the years and have adopted a love to hate relationship with it.
"Horrible. The worst experience of my life," writes one user, before giving the game a positive 10 out of 10 review. Another review simply states, "I want death," while another writes, "I hate this game. I hate my life."
It's also become a bit of a tradition to gift the game to "friends" as a joke.
That about sums up the Bad Rats experience. It should bring no small amount of amusement (and pain), then, to learn that a sequel has just been released. Called Bad Rats Show and costing a whopping $4.99 (or $4.27 if you buy it before July 27), it looks to basically be everything fans loved to hate about the first game and then some. Here's the game's official description:
"Some animals are evil and kill without mercy, but sooner or later what goes around comes around, and these bad animals end up getting what they deserve," reads the game's Steam page. "That's what happens in Bad Rats Show: evil cats have been captured by rats and will be executed for revenge in a bloody and bizarre show. On each map, a physical puzzle needs to be solved. When the solution is found, it starts the show and the annihilation of a prisoner Cat is carried out for the viewing pleasure of the audience! This is a crazy rats' party hosted by MC Rat, a band of rats singing original songs and rat dancers as well. This is a show where Bad Rats have some violent fun!!!"
In other words: PETA would love this game. The graphics are still terrible, though they are an improvement over the original. Considering this sequel comes seven years after the first Bad Rats, one would hope the visuals would improve at least a little. Otherwise, it's basically the same old game "fans" have already played.
Is Bad Rats a cruel joke? Divine punishment? Does the developer know its game is universally hated? Why release a sequel now, seven years later? How much money has the first Bad Rats made over the years? These are questions humanity may never learn the answers to, and that's probably for the best.
