Ratocalypse Mixes Strategy With Programmable Auto-Battler Mechanics

Don’t let the B-movie title fool you. While it sounds like a campy horror film, Ratocalypse is a newly spotlighted strategy RPG featuring anthropomorphic medieval rats fighting through a zombie plague. According to a report by Rock Paper Shotgun, this Fire Emblem-adjacent title tasks players with uncovering the cause of a kingdom-ending virus and finding a cure.

Customizable AI Combat

The core of the game is its auto-battler system, which leans heavily into unit customization. Rather than manual turn-by-turn control, players design their units’ AI behaviors. As noted by Rock Paper Shotgun, you slot skills into a list, dictating precisely when and how they trigger. You can define triggers based on HP levels, the number of allies on the field, and specific target parameters. Once the battle begins, the units execute these logic strings themselves, though players can still influence the fight with a limited selection of active abilities to keep their fragile warriors alive.

From the makers of Ratopia

This project comes from the team behind the city-building game Ratopia, which released last year and received an update as recently as this July. While Ratocalypse currently lacks an official release date or even a specific launch window, players interested in the studio’s latest work don’t have to wait to see it in action. A demo is already available on Steam, offering several hours of gameplay to test out the logic-based combat system.

Why it matters

For strategy fans, Ratocalypse offers a fresh take on the auto-battler genre by focusing on player-defined logic rather than pure RNG or basic auto-attacks. The ability to granularly program how a unit responds to the battlefield provides a layer of strategic depth that differentiates it from typical hands-off auto-battlers. Because the game is currently in a demo state without a firm release window, players should keep an eye on the Steam page for future updates regarding a full launch. There is no information at this time regarding regional availability or language support for players in the Middle East.