IN DEVELOPMENT / CO-OP TOWER DEFENSE
RATS!!: build a defense while it falls apart
Linked towers, hungry catfish and a developer who uses AI-assisted code to draw the game.
RATS!! - Co-op Tower Defense gives the farmhand two jobs: deal with the rats in front of them and keep changing the defense behind them. Lanza Studios describes a game where players build during a wave, sell towers that are not helping and link useful ones together. The oddest part of the farm may be useful too: knock rats into the water, and a catfish becomes part of the plan.
Change the defense during the wave
The clearest example of a tower link is a tar-pot connected to a brazier, which creates a burning route for the rats. Players can place defenses where their farmhand stands, so building is part of moving through the fight. The announced terrain interactions include sewer grates and thin ice as well as the hungry catfish.
What interests me is the chance to repair a bad plan while it is still being tested. A weak tower does not have to define the rest of the wave. Selling it and rebuilding could make failure a reason to adapt, with something useful for several players to do at once. That is the appeal of the design described here; how clear it feels in a busy fight remains a question for the playable version.
The store advertises one to four players, with solo, couch, Steam online and LAN options. It also describes a choice to call the next wave early for a bonus. Together, these ideas suggest a co-op game about deciding how much trouble the group can handle.
Graphics drawn in code, with AI assistance
The production account is unusually specific. The developer says that every visual is drawn in code. AI coding tools helped write that code, the synthesis for some sound effects and the game's text, under the developer's direction and review. The Steam disclosure says no AI runs during play. This places the stated AI contribution in development.
The creator's public development post names Godot CLI and Claude Code, and describes the artwork as code-driven. The Steam disclosure separately says that no image, music or voice generators were used. Music and recorded sounds are described as human-made. Code used to draw a scene and a generated image are different production methods, even when AI tools help write the code.
This is why a single AI-art label would lose useful detail. It would hide both the role of the visual code and the human audio work. These are attributed developer statements, not an independent code audit or a measured percentage of the finished game.
A project to watch, with a demo still planned
At the 7 November 2026 Steam check, the main game still said Coming soon and was not available. No live demo offer appeared on the checked main-game page. The creator's development post announces 4 December for the demo; Steam's description gives December. Those are plans, not a present invitation to play.
For now, RATS!! is a prospect for players who like building useful combinations together and changing a defense under pressure. Its next important test will be how well the tower links, movement and farm hazards work together in players' hands.
For a broader view of visual production, compare three ways AI-assisted game art is built. Explore the game shelf, or follow the free AI Made Games Steam curator for more discoveries.
Sources and image credit
Lanza Studios’ Steam description, current availability, official screenshots and AI disclosure, checked 7 November 2026; Masterkiefs’ development post, read 6 November 2026. Game images belong to Lanza Studios Inc. No interview, paid arrangement, supplied review copy or developer endorsement is claimed.