Santa’s Rats Issue is a free-to-play platformer developed by Marco Giorgini. In this 2D adventure for Commodore 64 (C64), you get to play Santa Claus as he saves Christmas by taking the trapped gifts laid by rats and bats out for revenge against mankind. You dodge these pesky animals while you collect all gifts.

In its theme and premise, Santa’s Rats Issue is a Christmas-themed C64 ROM like Snow Wars or Pillars (C64). Its gameplay, however, is a lot closer to Mappy for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This game helps bring the 80s gaming experience to new players.

Collect gifts, dodge pests

The first thing you have to remember about Santa’s Rats Issue is that it is not a standalone executable. As a C64 ROM, you need a supported emulator to run it. Once you have it, you can start playing. Each stage in this game resembles a house, and in true Santa style, you start and end each level by going up and down a chimney. 

Graphics-wise, the game’s 8-bit graphics capture what a legitimate C64 game looks like. It uses solid colors that be distinguished down to the pixel. Even the top dashboard showing the lives, score, the stage, and remaining time has the design options common at the time. For those who played the original C64, it’s a great nostalgic trip while for younger players, a good opportunity to try an authentic retro game.

Although the game looks easy, it actually becomes increasingly difficult thanks to the number of gifts and the animals that guard them. Remember that it only takes one touch from these creatures to take away your limited lives. Once you run out of lives, it’s game over. Also, each attempt at a house has a limited time, which increases by five seconds for every succeeding stage.

Great for holiday game sessions

Whether you’re an old or a new gamer, Santa’s Rats Issue is a good addition to your next holiday gaming session. Its overall retro feel captures how visually simple games can still be enjoyable for hours. The developers presented a unique Christmas-themed game, which it nails down to the chimney serving as the game start and endpoints. Also, it features the most common things that made old-school games difficult.