{"id":49728,"date":"2025-07-04T15:57:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T06:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=49728"},"modified":"2025-07-04T15:57:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T06:57:44","slug":"patapon-spiritual-successors-early-access-release-delayed-in-response-to-harsh-demo-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/patapon-spiritual-successors-early-access-release-delayed-in-response-to-harsh-demo-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"Patapon spiritual successor\u2019s Early Access release delayed in response to harsh demo feedback\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Fans of the PlayStation Portable classic rhythm game Patapon will have to wait a little longer for its spiritual successor, <strong>Ratatan<\/strong>. After providing a free demo on Steam in June, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/news\/app\/2949320\/view\/520843384949050989?l=english\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ratata Arts decided to postpone the Early Access and final releases<\/a> of Ratatan for the foreseeable future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ratatan Early Access Trailer\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h_UngFO7E40?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Designed by Patapon creator Hiroyuki Kotani, Ratatan is a roguelike rhythm action game that can be played solo or with up to four players through online multiplayer. As the leader of several Ratatan (strange creatures that feel the rhythm in their bones), it is your job to shepherd them to a mystical place called \u201cThe Everafter\u201d using the power of music. Timing your inputs with the game\u2019s catchy tracks will allow you to strengthen your Ratatans\u2019 actions. From strategically repositioning units and attacking to more unique moves like hurling spears and bombs, your Ratatans will do different things depending on which items and power-ups you choose during your run. This roguelike element drastically increases Ratatan\u2019s replayability and sets it apart from Patapon.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1348\" height=\"759\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1348px) 100vw, 1348px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-001.jpg\" alt=\"Ratatan\" class=\"wp-image-49730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-001.jpg 1348w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-001-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ratatan\u2019s Early Access release was initially set for July 25, 2025. Howevever, a free demo released in June prompted criticism regarding various aspects of the game, such as the tutorial and UI being difficult to understand and visuals and gameplay rewards being underwhelming. Players also requested better content structure of the game\u2019s roguelike elements, pacing, and mid-term gameplay flow. As a result, the developers decided to allocate extra time to address Ratatan\u2019s issues. While many studios see Early Access as a safety net that allows them to release a game while simultaneously working on it, Ratata Arts wants its players and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/ratata-arts\/ratatan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kickstarter<\/a> backers to experience the best version of Ratatan from the get-go.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1352\" height=\"757\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1352px) 100vw, 1352px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-002.jpg\" alt=\"Ratatan\" class=\"wp-image-49732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-002.jpg 1352w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-002-380x213.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-002-768x430.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of Kickstarter, Ratata Arts is preparing to give backers extra rewards for sticking with them during these release postponements. Different tiers will receive appropriate compensation, with console backers getting additional rewards due to the longer wait for their Ratatan copies. Regardless of the tier, all backers will be able to play the Early Access version as soon as it is ready.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ratatan, developed by Patapon series creator Hiroyuki Kotani, has been delayed for further gameplay improvements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":49733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-49728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Patapon spiritual successor\u2019s Early Access release delayed in response to harsh demo feedback\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ratatan, developed by Patapon series creator Hiroyuki Kotani, has been delayed for further gameplay improvements.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/patapon-spiritual-successors-early-access-release-delayed-in-response-to-harsh-demo-feedback\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patapon spiritual successor\u2019s Early Access release delayed in response to harsh demo feedback\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ratatan, developed by Patapon series creator Hiroyuki Kotani, has been delayed for further gameplay improvements.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/patapon-spiritual-successors-early-access-release-delayed-in-response-to-harsh-demo-feedback\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-04T06:57:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-04T06:57:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250704-49728-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1352\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"761\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; Zotomayor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; Zotomayor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Patapon spiritual successor\u2019s Early Access release delayed in response to harsh demo feedback\u00a0 - 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