Cyber Rats: The Survival Horror Game Lets You Be A Rodent

Perhaps people were not necessarily asking for Cyber Rats, but that does not mean people will not enjoy it. The gameplay concept is fairly straightforward; the protagonist is a rat trapped in a murderous science lab. As the slogan states, “Survive the maze… or become another failed experiment.” The message is ominous, and it can pull gamers in with just a few words.

The trailer released for Cyber Rats is pretty solid, as it shows many of the terrifying ordeals that the player’s rat will have to go through. Some are not particularly horrifying, but others definitely are unexpected and have jumpscare potential. Perhaps the best part of the trailer is the ominous “who’s next” that flashes right after the rat’s death. Overall, the trailer definitely makes fans intrigued to see more.

The maze that is featured in Cyber Rats is run by AI and procedurally developed. The labyrinth constantly shifts and changes, and is littered with dead companions. Taking elements from both horror and roguelike allows the game to fit its niche category. As 80LV describes on their website

“The world around is a “constantly shifting labyrinth” since the maze is procedurally generated, so you won’t go through the same paths, and you’ll never know what’s hidden in those dark shadows. The goal here is to find cheese and survive the mazes. That means avoiding a variety of traps, such as spinning blades that can turn you into minced meat, a fire trap that’ll burn you into a skeleton in one second, or a gigantic tail-like hammer that suddenly reaches down from the ceiling. In the process, you’ll be able to unlock new, twisted rat experiments, zombie rats, cyborg rats, and mutants, and upgrade to give them the necessary edge to escape.”

Indie games have been essential in shaping the horror genre time and time again, and Cyber Rats appears to be no exception. With a plethora of morbid ways to die, an ever-shifting maze that ensures no two runs are the same, success ensures growth and better equipment to help escape the next run. Cyber Rats may look adorable, but it is truly anything but. A free demo is available now for Steam players on PC.

Final Thoughts

Cyber Rats challenges the status quo in ways only indie games often can. With a growing list of new horror indie games expanding the list of new concepts, this game shall be another notch in that creativity wheel. Fans of roguelike games will enjoy this format, and the additional horror elements and creative storyline should allow all players to enjoy and engage with the new entry. Cyber Rats is expected to launch at some point in Q3, so until then, players on PC should enjoy the demo and see how the game strikes them.