Doctor Cat (Review)

Life is hard sometimes – that’s something most people can agree on. From bills to family stress to unexpected tragedies, everyone is bound to eventually find themselves needing an extra hand. This is where Doctor Cat comes in. A renowned psychologist of the kitty world, Doctor Cat is ready to listen to his patients’ problems and help them find their pathways forward to more fulfilled, happier lives and letting go of grief.

 Developed by Afil Games, Doctor Cat is an imaginative look into the day of a psychologist as he helps his patients.

The gameplay is fairly standard jigsaw puzzle play. As the patients explain what brought them to Doctor Cat’s couch, a memory will be conjured. It’s scrambled, so it will need to be put back together again. For each patient, the player will have the option to tackle their memories in easy or normal mode. While they work on this, the patient will talk a little bit about their feelings – what happened, what’s going on, and what they hope for the future.

The jigsaws are procedurally generated, meaning that no matter how many times one plays the game, things will always be a different in some way. As an avid jigsaw lover, I like this – it means players can return to the puzzles without feeling like they know the exact solution. It’s worth noting that you’ll still be working with those same 12 puzzles, but after the story mode hard options unlock in the gallery for players who like an extra challenge.

I enjoyed playing through Doctor Cat – I think that for players who enjoy putting together puzzle images this is a fairly wholesome experience that should resonate. The cats in Doctor Cat are going through the kind of things we all experience. They’ve lost friends, have communication issues, or are just depressed and unmotivated.

If there’s one place I’d have liked to see more from Doctor Cat, it’s in the stories themselves. We learn what brought each patient to Doctor Cat in the first place, and so many of their stories are painfully relatable. Who amongst us hasn’t had to say goodbye to a friend, gone through a breakup, or struggled with the many aspects of live being just too much? But after being introduced to their stories and becoming invested in their growth, we don’t ever see what happens to each character. Instead, we reach the end of the session with a promise from Doctor Cat that they’ll work on it together. I really wanted to see some happy endings and put the game down with a feeling that things always get better.

 Overall, Doctor Cat is an enjoyable experience. The base game will take most players an hour or two, but with twelve stories to work through, it’s also an easy game to pick up and put down here and there, and you can always revisit to put the puzzles together again. I would have loved to see the stories expanded upon, but the game offers a promising little jigsaw experience with fun artwork and a nice difficulty variance. It’s a good fit for jigsaw puzzle enjoyers who have an imagination and wouldn’t mind stepping into the world of cats for a day.

Overall Rating: 6/10

You can pick up Doctor Cat on your platform of choice! Including Xbox One, the Playstation Store, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.