#loveindies Day 5: Cat Quest (The Gentlebros)
By Rae
When I added Cat Quest to my library forever ago, I was sold on the promise of cat puns alongside a disgustingly cute and clean art style. It honestly looked too good to be true.
And then, in true Rae fashion, it sat in my library alongsideeverything else that I swore I would play when I had time.
Needless to say, it was a “must play” for me for #loveindies, and I was so excited to finally enjoy this pawsome-looking meowventure.
Cat Quest starts off right in the action – our pawtagonist's sister is kitnapped by proud villain Drakoth. Boat destroyed, they wash ashore to find their spirit guide, Spirry – a lovably sassy cat spirit, whose expressions I never got tired of seeing. From there, most RPG players will recognize what to do. You follow quest leads, buy magic spells, level up, and work your way around the world.
To be honest, if it weren’t for the cat angle, Cat Questmight be rather generic. You’ve got a large overworld reminiscent of the mapsfound in fantasy books, sidequests to grind out for levels, and rather simplefighting mechanics. But the charm of Cat Quest – with it’s ridiculous dialogue,surprisingly narrative sidequests, and purrfectly purresent cat puns – outweighsthe otherwise slightly generic RPG feel for me, and I quickly fell in love withhow fun it was to play and experience.
While a bit standard, I don’t agree with some of the reviewsthat refer to the game as grindy. Sure, Cat Quest has a level system that willforce you to get exp and level up, but if you’re exploring and doingsidequests, you’ll find your level going up fairly quickly. Not a lot of timehas to be spent mindlessly beating up sheep or dragons – you can mostly go fromone quest to the next. I’m actually pretty happy with the lack of time requiredto sink in – I’ve always hated the grind. When I play a game, I want to playit. I don’t want to spend hours running around the overworld to repeatedlysmash buttons, just so that I can finally move on. I also appreciated thatsidequests had a bit of a story to them – it feels like playing a true part ofthe game, instead of being the thing you do to get exp whenever you’re short.
If there’s one thing I really didn’t love about Cat Quest,it was the back and forth on the overworld. Towns are mostly the same, andbecause you can’t really enter them (the only enterable things here arethe dungeons) you don’t get to experience much variety. As a result, runningback and forth for the next sidequest or fetch quest could feel a little tiring– there’s no warping or extra fast running. You simply have to run from oneplace to the next – sometimes over and over. On the plus side, you do get alittle arrow telling you which direction to head in. Unfortunately when youopen up the larger map you can only see so far, and it’s easy to end up blockedby a lake or mountains if you’re not cautious. This could be a bit tedious, buthardly a deal-breaker.
Overall, Cat Quest is a fun and cute little adventure. Theart, music, and details are charming and enjoyable, with dungeons that change alittle every time. The dialogue is fun and amewsing – a silly, refreshingbreak. A lot of my enjoyment of Cat Quest was based on what I like to call the“frosting” – the pretty layers of a game that you first see and hear before youget deeper into gameplay and story – but it was well worth the money, andwell-worth every moment. If you’re interested in what you see on the store pageand you like fun, lighthearted RPGs, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
If you’ve played Cat Quest and are looking for more fun, Singapore-based dev team The Gentlebros have two great options for you. The first is their award-winning game Slashy Hero – a Halloween action adventure where you’ll suit up to save stolen candy. The second is Cat Quest 2 – the soon arriving sequel to Cat Quest, complete with all-new co-op options so you can travel the furrocious world with a friend!