Kitten Squad

Genre: 2-Stick Shooter

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Kitten Squad is a free-to-play 2-Stick Shooter released on PlayStation 4 in 2015, later ported to PC in 2017 and then to Nintendo Switch in 2018. This game puts players in control of a gun-toting cat looking to save animal pals from malicious robots.

The presentation here is serviceable, but nothing extraordinary. The game’s 2D visuals feature blocky backgrounds and cartoony characters that stick out somewhat, backed by forgettable whimsical music. This is all wrapped in an interface that seems hastily-designed. I will say that the character designs are at least unique, though I hesitate to call them appealing.

Those looking at the words “free-to-play” may undoubtedly be wondering what sort of monetization this game uses, and the answer is apparently “none”. Rather, this is a game that’s endorsed by PETA, and it doesn’t let you forget that fact – you will be bombarded with messages about how animals are mistreated in various situations, and the game’s goals all revolve around rescuing animals from various evil industries. Suffice it to say, if you’re not comfortable with being bombarded by propaganda, you may find the sheer heavy-handedness of this game’s messaging to be unsavory.

As for the gameplay, this is a pretty standard but decent 2-Stick Shooter. There’s nothing mechanically or structurally unique or inventive about this game, save for some of the weapons being somewhat creative. But on the other hand, for the most part there’s nothing terribly wrong with the gameplay either. Largely, this is just a decent but unspectacular 2-Stick Shooter.

Well, okay, I do have one complaint here. The game’s difficulty curve is all over the place. The moment you head out into the game’s randomly-generated levels, you may immediately be swarmed by robots, or may find yourself fighting against a bigger robot that takes forever to whittle down with your default weapon. Because of this inconsistency, you may find making a successful run requires a bit of trial and error.

In the end, if you don’t mind being bombarded with PETA propaganda, Kitten Squad is a perfectly decent 2-Stick Shooter, and well worth the price of… well, nothing. If nothing else, Nintendo Switch owners may as well give it a try, because it’s not going to cost you anything. This is far from the best the genre has to offer, and there are absolutely better Two-Stick Shooters on the Nintendo Switch, but for a free game, this is decent and worth a look.

tl;dr – Kitten Squad is a free-to-play 2-Stick Shooter that doesn’t have any monetization, instead being a way to deliver PETA-approved propaganda to players. If that doesn’t bother you, the game itself is a decent but unspectacular 2-Stick Shooter, and for the price of $0 it’s at least worth a look, even if there are plenty of better games in the genre on the Nintendo Switch.

Grade: C

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