It is London in the year 1664, and the whole of European society is on the brink of upheaval. The streets of London are congested with a swell of both man and beast, and the magnificent population of the rats has finally rivaled that of people. You, Ratcliff Bearclaw, the honorary rat knight who has pushed the revolt towards rat prominence, are reaching the twilight of a life of exceptional accomplishment and extended years. Though your people love you as a legend, your passion for them has waned over the years as the accolades of your accomplishments have failed to quench your need for validation. If fact, this long life of grandeur without fulfillment has left you even bitterer than when your mission against the humans first began.

You awake in a trash pile in a debilitating haze that seems as if it was fueled by masochism and alcohol. The feeling is familiar but the location is new. The memory of your parent’s death at the hands of the humans haunted your dreams since you saw them die as a young rat child. Lately, even drowning the image with a quick swim in the local pub’s beer cask hasn’t helped. Over the ringing in your ears, the sound of “Ring around the Rosy” being hypnotically chanted pierces into your conscious. The haze clears and a band of small fleas sit at the tip of you nose, starring at you. Wait… the ringing in your head is different. You can’t seem to shake it. One of the Fleas approach you, “I got something you don’t want” he says. Your vision begins to blur out. “Now you’re on our team.” In your last moments of consciousness, you feel the sickness start to take you over. From here, the player begins the game. You now have seven days before the virus takes you. Seven days to exact to exploiting the allowances that such a society encourages. Seven days for futile existential revenge... Septum Dies...

You will play the seven day countdown towards death day by day, each day awakening in a new location and inflicting as much damage and attempting to end the day alive, and moving towards a new location. By spreading the plague to as many humans as possible, you earn points for infecting each individual, as well as bonus points for particularly connected individuals such as messengers, merchants, and doctors. You will need to be stealthy to sneak through crowded streets and quiet rooms, as levels will require you to sneak up for individual attacks and move into optimum transmission zones. As seen from a mostly top-down, third person perspective, each level will produce new challenges, like lack of cover or a cat or two in the area, that will make transmission more difficult and explore some of the preventions different social classes took to limit the spread of disease.

Through his mythic travails, the rat warrior Ratcliff Bearclaw has developed a repertoire of impressive maneuvers that deftly translate into methods of biological chaos.

• Dinner for One: This is a quick, two step attack that accurately portrays the way the plague was transmitted. The player holds a button down to bite a victim and then ferociously taps the button to release blood soaked vomit into the wound. This is a direct and precise attack
• Do The Twist: In this method, players vigorously tap alternating buttons to shake fleas from Ratcliff’s fur and into the surrounding area. The fleas spread for a limited distance, randomly infecting those in the surrounding area. This method is best used as a melee attack in a densely populated location, but has a limit of number of uses. When the player expends their flea ammunition, they must collect more by moving through dirty areas in the level.
• In Yer Eye!: In this most comical method, the player holds down two buttons, causing the rat to flip around and vomit on its tail, moving the camera into a first person perspective, and allowing the rat to flick blood from a long distance. The tail flick is best for long range, subversive attacks, but inaccuracy will threaten to give away the player’s location.

The concept of having seven days to infect as many humans as possible while moving throughout London and the surrounding country side turns each level into a single, three part, day with each minute of play time representing an hour of game world time. You will first need to quickly adapt yourself to the new environment and either start striking terror or find a mission, which is given out by local rats. Next, the player will do their dirty duty in the level while keeping an eye out for potential escape routes (which will also be hinted at in the missions). Finally, the player must make their escape, special modes of transportation to get to each new location. a leaving time and provide This will often dictate time constraints for each level to end, and move the player on to the next city. Below are some examples:

• Marketplace: In this first level, Ratcliff finds himself in a densely populated marketplace in Amsterdam with people teeming through the narrow streets. The bustle allows for plenty of cover and provides ample opportunity for attack, but you must constantly be wary of the feet of inattentive shoppers storming through the streets. The mission here is to bite as many merchants as possible and hop into Edwin of Westminster’s carriage before his boat leaves to return home.
• Boat: In claustrophobic challenge, Ratcliff must infect everybody on a boat moving from City A to City B, but the captain’s cat has other plans. Avoid the feline’s patrols and keep to the shadows as you turn the tight quartered vessel into a time bomb. Find the captain’s chambers and hop into the case of sacrificial wine being specially transported to the local cathedral.
• Church: From the priests secret cellar, you are present your next chance for havoc. With death a daily diversion, the church in the 17th century is a popular place. Move through the secret tunnels that scatter the ancient cathedral to make quick strikes against unsuspecting worshipers. Move your way through the kneeling masses and spread your fleas to the flowing robes of the nuns who move throughout the congregation. And as your time comes to an end, make your way again to church cellar where your admirers wish to assist you towards your next goal.
• Bonus: As your body beginning to wear out and the dreaded buboes begin to covering your rat skin, your time is quickly coming to an end. Sensing your desperation your rat brethren form a torrent through the sewer system of London and propel you across the city by allowing you to scamper atop them. Because a dead rat can still infect humans for up to 24 hours, by choosing a densely human populated location to make your final resting place, you can inflict damage even in your final act. Earn bonus points by expiring in the water supply, food markets, or medical offices.