The upcoming launch of Cat Quest 3 solidifies this because the definitive period for cats in video video games. From titles corresponding to Stray, Little Kitty Huge Metropolis, and 9 Sols, it appears that evidently avid gamers can’t get sufficient of of those cute furry little pawtagonists. As a self-professed cat lover with two magnificent ginger tabbies myself, I’m all for it.
In fact, The Gentlebros have been fur-crazy since their first Cat Quest sport was launched in 2017. Now, seven years later, Cat Quest 3 will mark the third entry within the developer’s feline-inclined motion RPG sequence. After sinking a handful of hours into the preview construct, I can safely say you don’t want to like cats to dig this sport. It seems to be prefer it has sufficient going for it to please any fan of whimsical motion adventures.
As with each different entry, Cat Quest 3 is an indie motion RPG, impressed by Torchlight and Zelda. Having by no means performed a Cat Quest sport earlier than, getting acquainted wasn’t a difficulty because it’s pretty simple to select up. This time round pirates are added into the fold. You are taking the reigns of a cutesy swashbuckling purrivateer as you search the seven seas for a legendary treasure.
Proper from the get-go, you’re handled to a splendidly animated opening cutscene which units the scene. After your ship is destroyed at sea, our younger hero is saved by an cute blue cat ghost, Captain Cappey. Right away you end up on an island prepared to search out the famed North Star treasure.
That’s all of the backstory you get, and fairly frankly, it’s all I actually need. Simply from the few hours I bought to play, it’s clear this isn’t essentially the most refined story on the market. However that’s okay. It serves extra as a set dressing for the sport’s whimsical and colourful tone.
That is most obvious in Cat Quest 3’s incessant use of cat puns. Virtually the whole lot is a cat pun on this sport; it’s chock-full of them. It pervades the whole lot, from places, to characters, and even dialogue. It could actually induce the odd cringe and eye roll once in a while.
As you might inform from this preview, I admire pun with the very best of them. Nevertheless, even I discovered it a bit tiresome after some time. It’s one thing followers of the sequence will undoubtedly be conversant in (and sure love), however it’s price flagging for individuals who could have a low tolerance for such issues. Both means, the story and plot in Cat Quest 3 appear primarily to serve the actual meat and potatoes of the sport: its exploration.
Exploration is the place Cat Quest 3 actually shines. First off, the whole lot is beautiful to have a look at. As with the earlier Cat Quest video games, it has a delightfully vibrant and colourful visible type. It expertly merges the two.5D motion of Cult of the Lamb with the distinctive character fashions of Paper Mario. The textures and draw distances are additionally one thing to behold. They appear to be an enchancment on earlier iterations within the sequence. It’s a pleasure to see the brilliant visuals pop on the display screen.
This vibrant backdrop serves the sport’s exploration splendidly. In line with its pirate theme, Cat Quest 3 introduces ship traversal to the sequence. It’s factor, too, because the map is stuffed with small islands to discover. Fortunately, you may embark and disembark out of your ship at a whim.
Ship gameplay is surprisingly speedy. You simply hop straight on and may zoom and zip shortly to the place it’s worthwhile to go. It’s an effective way of getting round as you discover the islands, caves, dungeons, and puzzles that litter the map. There’s a pleasant combine between ship and on-foot traversal, providing you with a deeper sense of freedom as you get about.
Every island additionally has a certain quantity of treasure to find. It’s all tracked in your map with a inexperienced checkmark after discovering the whole lot, which my interior completionist is grateful for. You can too play the whole sport in co-op, which makes the exploration much more enjoyable. In the end, there appears to be a powerful quantity of content material on provide. It makes me very intrigued to expertise extra when the total sport drops in August.
Whereas swashbuckling your means by way of Cat Quest 3’s vibrant world, you’ll be getting in loads of battles and skirmishes with pesky pi-rat enemies. As an motion RPG, the sport options real-time fight with melee, ranged, and magic assaults. Initially, the melee fight feels just a little lackluster, as you initially solely get a fundamental slashing transfer and a dodge roll. It feels wonderful and serves its function, however it’s undoubtedly not as attention-grabbing as a extra animation-based fight system that you simply’d discover in Darkish Souls or the newer No Relaxation for the Depraved. Nevertheless, with the Cat Quest 3’s a lot youthful viewers, maybe that is for the very best.
Whereas finishing facet quests, dungeons, and caves, you will see higher gear, weapons, and trinkets. As you gather higher gear, the fight begins to open up a bit extra. Melee weapons behave in another way relying on their sort, whereas spells add a pleasant little bit of selection whenever you wish to do some injury from afar. Maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing gear sort is Cat Quest 3’s trinkets. These every grant a particular potential and in addition enhance your predominant stats. They appear like a great way so as to add selection to your construct. It makes essentially the most sense in co-op whenever you’re working to enrich one another’s ability units.
Speaking of stats, Cat Quest 3 has well being, assault, magic, and armor stats that you would be able to improve with gear and by leveling up from finishing quests and defeating enemies. Your ship even has its personal stats, with weapons and upgrades you may change out on the fly. It’s too early to inform how all of this may coalesce to serve the sport as an entire, however I did get pleasure from my time experimenting with its motion RPG parts thus far. I hope to see extra construct selection and kinds at launch.
All in all, I loved my restricted time with Cat Quest 3. Whereas it doesn’t provide essentially the most refined story or complicated fight system, it left me excited to sail the open seas of the Purribean. By far, my favourite facet of the sport is its rewarding exploration and beautiful and delightfully whimsical feline-inspired visuals (regardless of entering into a bit heavy with the cat puns). The RPG-esque stats system and potential for attention-grabbing gear go away me intrigued by the sorts of builds I can create as I get deeper into the sport. I’ll have to attend and see the way it will all come collectively when Cat Quest 3 formally releases in August.