Thank you a lot for playing and taking the time to write that comment! We know the game is difficult, but it's beatable! It's a matter of keeping rat numbers under control and buying extra lifes and shields in the vending machines. Some rats are indeed way more difficult to deal with than others (wait until you see the one piloting a plane!) But there's a strategy for beating them all. It's indeed a game made inspired by oldschool one-screen arcades. Have you tried playing in coop? One player can revive the other one and you won't miss a life : )
In relation to grabbing things, we mimicked how Mario picks and grabs koopa shells by keeping a button pressed, then releases the button to throw them. It's true it can be tiring here, because you are constantly grabbing things. I'll see if press-to-grab then press-to-launch makes sense here, I'm not sure! We certainly tried a lot of combinations during development.
Once again, thanks for playing!