Cat Quest

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in Cat Quest + Cat Quest II: Pawsome Pack, along with Cat Quest II. It is also included in Cat Quest: The Fur-tastic Trilogy along with Cat Quest II and Cat Quest III.)

Cat Quest is a family-friendly Action-RPG released on multiple platforms including the Nintendo Switch in 2017. This is a game that takes the typical quests and adventures of the genre and streamlines them and makes them user-friendly and easy for anyone to play.

The presentation for this game is quite good, using a combination of 2D character sprites on a 3D-ish world. I say “-ish” because the details on this 3D world are also 2D sprites. I could compare this game to something like Paper Mario, except the two definitely feel distinctly different. In any case, the visuals here are distinct, colorful, and memorable, even though they don’t do anything impressive, they still set this game apart. These visuals are backed by a very good orchestral soundtrack befitting an epic adventure.

And of course the amusing thing here is that while the tone and story here shout “epic adventure!”, everything else very deliberately does not. You’re a cat hero in a world of anthropomorphic cats, place names and dialogue are filled with terrible cat puns like “Catpital” and “Purrfect!”, and dialogue in general is lighthearted and doesn’t take itself seriously at all. It’s amusing and actually feels perfectly suited to the style of gameplay present here.

And on that note, the style of gameplay here is one that has all the trappings and outward appearances of a more serious Action-RPG, but streamlines every part of the game so much that playing through this adventure is far more breezy and user-friendly than even some of the more simple RPGs. That is not to say that this is a simple, mindless game. Rather, that Cat Quest does everything it can to remove unnecessary busywork from the genre.

Want to sleep at an inn? Just walk up to one, press X, and your cat hero will drop down on its stoop for a moment. Get a new piece of armor that’s the same type as one you already have? Rather than making you compare inventory and bring your unneeded gear to a shop to sell, the game just upgrades the armor you already have, easy-peasy.

There’s still some depth here, though. Players will have to decide on what loadout to equip, and combat still requires you to pay attention to attack, magic, and the timing of your attacks and your enemies’ attacks. There are hidden secrets to find, and plenty of things to do… it’s just that all of it is made as quick and easy to hop into as possible.

In terms of flaws, the light nature of the game’s tone and the uncomplicated nature of its mechanics do mean that it feels like a less significant game than others in its genre. This is a fun, lighthearted romp, not a truly epic entry in the genre you’re likely to look back on fondly a decade from now. However, I think it’s fair to say that the game knows what it is and has no illusions about being anything more than that.

If a simple, lighthearted Action-RPG sounds good to you, Cat Quest is definitely worth a look. It cuts out so much of the fat of the genre, leaving only the core essentials without sacrificing much of the nuance or depth. It may not be a game you’ll remember as one of the best in the genre, but at the same time it’s a game that’s hard not to like. Well, as long as you’re not bothered by an abundance of cat puns.

tl;dr – Cat Quest is a family-friendly Action-RPG that simplifies numerous elements of the genre to produce something streamlined, user-friendly, and… well, full of cat puns. It may not have the weight of some of the more impactful games in the genre, but it is nevertheless a thoroughly enjoyable game, and one fans of the genre would do well to give a look.

Grade: B

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