Short Thoughts: Stop Calling Your Things Rat Kings!

Have you ever run into a character or enemy in a game referred to as “Rat King”? More often than not, characters bestowed this moniker are either sneaky brigands leading a colony of like-minded ne'er-do-wells or a gigantic and vicious rodent ready to rumble. For example, both DARK SOULS II and the Teenage Mutant Ninja franchise have examples of this, and honestly, the title makes sense. It’s cool! I used to love it myself, until I learned what the term rat king actually referred to… and now you’re going to join me in this ruinous knowledge!

A rat king is, supposedly, a group of rats (or mice) whose tails are stuck together, either due to being entwined or adhered by sticky substances. These things are not pretty; just imagine 10 rats stuck together, writhing and screaming out of panic and fear. Now imagine one of these seeming monstrosities scuttling towards you at high speed! Considering the real-world use of the term, you can hopefully understand how my skin crawls whenever voice is given to this unfortunate title.

I can understand the allure of using “Rat King”, as it does have that delicious dichotomy of the dirty and lowly rat mixed with the highest power of the monarchy. As such, I propose a compromise: keep using the term, but only for applicable beasties! Have a horrendous monster composed of bits and pieces? There’s your rodent sovereign! The title is still great, but now it carries with it the stomach-churning distaste of its actual counterpart; everyone wins… or maybe nobody does. Just look at The Last of Us Part II, it knows what I’m talking about!

Now, it should be said that the phenomenon itself is still under some uncertainty and scrutiny, so I may have a sizable portion of egg on my face after a while, but I stand by what I said! If you are going to call something the rat king, at least make sure it has a few extra limbs or something.