Thanks to the game, I finally cried like I never had before.
The story really touched me, especially the ending. I tried my best to save Liam, and I'm glad I did. The characters are amazing. I love every character, especially Shannon, Liam, and Karl. Playing as an Aspen made me truly realize how life could be from a cat's perspective. You can see and walk through the whole family's lore without really interrupting or making it worse.
You can truly change someone's life while being a chunky old cat, haha. I never knew that a game could change my mood so fast. I'm truly happy I was able to get this game and try it myself.
I loved the story and each character's lore. I loved being a part of the family, especially as Grandpa's favorite old cat.

What really made me tear up, though, is the family's backstory itself. At first, when you start playing, you might think Shannon is a bad mother, always yelling at her own children, always making bad decisions for the family, or being a low-tempered woman. You might think she's some emotionless mother, but by the end, I started to love her more and more. Each time I was able to learn something from her past or what actually happened that made her so low-tempered, it broke my heart.
And Liam... such a drunkie, haha, am I right? He doesn't care, he always brings a bottle with him. He even drinks when kids are around and always ends up being too drunk to speak he starts yapping and he falls to the ground. But after a while, I realized he was the youngest son of Mason's family. I knew he had a wife and a kid, but I couldn't put the story together when I saw three ghost children running around the house. I thought Liam was the boy scout at first, haha.
But then, at the end, I almost tore my heart out. I couldn't stop crying knowing that all of this mess was due to a child's disappearance, the oldest son of the Masons left to find his father and never came back, while Shannon couldn't forgive herself for letting go of her own brother and almost losing Aspen. I loved them. I loved the whole family. I lived through it all as if I were a part of it too. I could never forgive myself if I wasn't able to save Liam when he almost lost himself too. His alcohol couldn't stitch his scars from the inside, and he almost decided to give up in the bathroom, all alone.
I'm glad I was able to save him, and I knew he couldn't forgive himself too. The whole family suffered, and the story just made it deeper. I know the story has a bigger meaning about how the father tried to found his own city of some sort called Aason/Aaron? Something like that... But what truly touched me is the connection, the characters, and of course, my little chunky cat Aspen.

Thank you Qultic Games. This game is truly worth more, it's too good to even exist.

Cats and the Other Lives is a very cozy point and click adventure game where you play as the family pet cat. It is excessively slow paced, especially its beginning, but eventually picks up the pace and reveals an intricate look into the Mason’s family problems, both past and present.

Pros

• Excellent cat portrayal with fun behaviours, mini-games and general cat antics
  
• Simple to navigate and locate hotspots
  
• Ample dialogue to read, with much of it being optional extras
  
• Touching ending to the narrative
  
• Large focus on mental health and managing past trauma

Cons

• Gameplay can be quite dull, struggling to maintain player engagement
  
• Some mouse-based puzzles were quite difficult
  
• Very slow beginning

The Mason family return to their childhood home to commemorate the passing of Bernard Mason, the owner of the sprawling mansion and head of the family. Bernard is not well perceived by everyone, and the family struggle to get along with each other. Many characters are held down by grudges and happenings from the past but are all brought together for his wake and forced to coexist and interact. Interestingly, players witness all of this drama through the eyes of the family’s pet cat, Aspen.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2896835079

Aspen roams around the mansion, entering rooms to eavesdrop on conversations. The conversations and general understanding of the characters are all rather lifeless in the beginning, as it simply begins at Bernard’s funeral, without any further context. It only appeared as if a rich member of a well-esteemed family passed away and the superfluous family quarrels ensued. Luckily, I continued with the game, and it does improve. Each family member has a rich backstory that is further investigated as the game progresses. Discover the truth behind Bernard’s personality, how and why he came to be this way, the connections between all the siblings and why is Dawn an outcast. Why is Shannon so cruel and why is the handyman so lazy? All will be revealed in the concluding chapter and culminate in a poignant ending.


The focus in Cats and the Other Lives is the atmosphere and its detailed narrative. Gameplay is dull and feels like a very secondary component to the game. Of course, the big drawcard is that you play as a cute cat, and this is great, but the rest I found quite mediocre. It is a 2D point and click game where all you really do is click and hold either left or right of the screen to make the cat go either side. Whilst it is a large mansion, it is quite easy to navigate, as only the rooms with open doors will be the ones where a task is needed to be completed or demonstrating that there is unseen dialogue in this room. Aspen can see ghosts of the past and can view these apparitions to grasp a better understanding of the surviving family members. Sometimes when Aspen walks into a room, there is dialogue unfolding between characters that is optional to read. It is automatic and cannot be sped up, Aspen can simply walk out of the room, or you can choose to stick around and read it all. I liked this feeling of freedom, but I never knew when the dialogue loop would stop, worried I may have left too suddenly and have missed something as only core dialogue requires a click to continue each speech bubble.

There are minor puzzles along the way, but they are very obvious, and I am reluctant to label them as puzzles, but are more like minigames. There are interesting sequences throughout such as interfering with the role of a dice and using your cute cat paw to catch it, jump and roll out of a bin, hide from a human to get them to open a door for you and so on. The final minigame (without spoilers) seemed out of place, but the ending was very well designed and shone the spotlight on the reflection of our issues and what matters most.

I did struggle with the mouse-based quick-time events, and they seemed much more difficult than intended. An icon comes on the screen with two arrows in opposite directions, hinting to shake the mouse. I do this, but nothing happens. I then try all sorts of combinations to no avail, until I hold down M1 and then shake the mouse but with long, slow movements from side to side, and only then, after a long time, does it finally work.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2897803180


Cat Antics
I suspect the reason most of us are looking at this game is the inclusion of a cat as the playable character, and it does not disappoint. Playing as Aspen, the ginger-haired domestic cat is especially fun. Make a mess, step in paint and spread it throughout the house, catch mice, chase birds, attempt the catch that incessant laser-pointer, track scents, scratch your claws and the most importantly, get humans to do exactly what you want, all the time. In later sections, the narrative becomes quite heavy and although this is portrayed well, the juxtaposition of being a cat and doing “cat stuff” whilst reading the intense dialogue is unusual, but in a good sense.

The developers Cultic Games, a small team from Turkey, are also donating a portion of their profits from this game to cover the expenses of medical operations for street cats. They clearly have a soft spot for felines, and upon looking up their social media, it is very wholesome indeed.



The manor is filled with a homely, but almost nostalgic atmosphere which is amplified by its bright 2D pixel art. The cat animations are fantastic, the way Aspen runs around, licks himself and rubs against characters legs is all detailed and well animated. Conversely, the human faces are very sparse and actually do not have any features, no eyes etc. They are plain slates. I do not mind this design choice, but it contradicts all of the detail that went into Aspen the cat.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2896833845

There are no voice-overs, besides the random grunt or crying baby and most of the game is very silent. Nothing too severely noticeable, and most likely out of budget for the developers, but I do believe the addition of voice actors would improve maintaining player engagement.

This game was played using mouse only and with the following PC specs.:
Intel i5-9400 2.9 GHz
16GB RAM
GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
2560x1440 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

Playtime: 7-8 hours long and appropriately priced

Controller Recommended? No

Replayability value: No (only for achievement hunters)


Cats and The Other lives is a decent point and click that tells an interesting story filled with family drama, long-held grudges and different perspectives and responses to trauma. It has an awfully slow start, but with patience, it does blossom into a narrative worth experiencing. Despite its lacklustre core gameplay, the ability to witness the world as a pet cat and get up to some cat mischief makes this a title I recommend to all narrative lovers and especially those fond of cats.

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As a "game", it is only alright. As a story, I personally consider it an absolute masterpiece. But I also think that it is one of those stories where the response is inevitably going to be divided based on where the player is in life. If you don't identify with it, the gameplay won't be enough. If you are sentimental, like cats, and like stories, it will be decently good. If you are later in life and have a lot of life experience to draw from and can personally identify with things in the story, it will pull emotions from somewhere incredibly deep and painful.
It always gives me pause when I recommend this game because it is one where if you don't find some kind of connection, I can easily imagine it as being a bit boring.

I am getting older. This game absolutely destroyed me. This is honestly the only game, ever, where I actually just sat there and sobbed at the end. Not even just at the end, at the latter 5th of the game.

Life doesn't always end up how we want. Things don't work out. Sometimes there are no answers.

Well, that's official: I've been playing PC games since mid-90s, and this one is the second game ever that made me cry. And that's totally a compliment: I hate phony overly-sentimental stories that try to manipulate my emotions. Cats and the Other Lives is definitely NOT one of them. The writers skillfully build a story of a family (a rather broken one, of course) where each and every member has a detailed and complete personality, never superficial, always believable and relatable. We witness 3 days of this family through the eyes of an elderly cat Aspen. We eat, sleep, scratch a sofa, play a lot, communicate with humans, meow to get a door opened - basically, do whatever any cat does, but also see visions from the past and sometimes direct our relatives' actions. Being a passionate cat person, I'd say that it's a pretty valid depiction of cat behavior (considering a bit of artistic interpretation, of course).

Gameplay-wise, it's mostly a point-and-click interactive movie with a bit of puzzles, rather simple, yet witty and satisfying. The only thing I didn't like were completely unnecessary arcade sequences; to be fair, most of them were pretty easy even for such a clumsy person like me, but the one at the end required maybe 20 attempts in my case (maybe add a skip button?). Still, totally worth it for the profound catharsis in the end.

I had a lot of difficulty getting this game started. The crush was guaranteed in fullscreen. Editing in windowed mode I'm finally able to play without problems. Unfortunately, for some strange reason, it is not possible for me to take screenshots with Steam's F12 and it is a shame because despite having pixel graphics, the settings are beautiful and pleasant. Very easy controls, it's a point and click game with a cute cat who sees ghosts. Many of the interactions are fun. My overall rating is 8/10 for the game complete with achievements, cards, medals and items in the shop.

This is the most charming game I've ever played. Let's just say that if you've ever been fortunate enough to raise a cat and unfortunate enough to have had truly bad life experiences during his lifetime, this game will hit you with the force of ten thousand bricks.

Gameplay-wise, it's not much more than a very easy graphic adventure game with a few twists. Where the game truly, veritably, indubitably shines is the story, which is frankly better than 99% of the media consumed today. I can't praise the devs enough for the story. Cultic Games understands people and what makes people go good and bad. Play the game.

There's a cat and you get to live as a cat raised by a family going through a particularly ♥♥♥♥♥♥ time in a sequence of ♥♥♥♥♥♥ times. You have a chance to save them, though they will never understand your purpose. You're the only creature that truly lives the metaphysical world they dream about in your dead master's library. You have a duty to rescue them from the hole they dug for themselves, and by Bastet you do that.

This is a cat lovers' game for cat lovers who've survived ♥♥♥♥♥♥ times thanks to a cat.

Cucumbers. Why did people come up with the idea of leaving cucumbers everywhere! A very cozy adventure and part-time simulator of the life of a domestic ordinary (is it true?) Cat in a strange house. The old owner is dying and now the cat will plunge his little soft paws into all the secrets of this family, helping her to solve emerging troubles and make peace with each other along the way. The story here is sustained in a calm mystical flow, you should not expect any elements of horror or something like that. Playing as a ginger cat, you will have to deal not only with solving mysteries, but also with quite everyday cat activities that will make you smile more than once. There are also several mini-games, not all of which are implemented successfully, let's be frank, but in general they do not spoil the mood.

Navigation in the game is very friendly, it is almost impossible to get lost here. Only those locations that are important for the current moment of the plot are usually open for exploration, so that the player does not have to aimlessly climb through a huge number of rooms just to drag out the gameplay. The budget of the game is noticeable, a huge amount of resources have been invested in the cat (this is especially noticeable in its magnificent animations), there are not so many resources left for the rest of the characters, so in places they look simple. In general, everything looks nice, the pixel visual performs its task quite competently. The game has a soul, it does not feel any commercial emotional emptiness, which is why you get involved in it with ease. Nice memorable adventure.

I am playing this game as it rains outside with a cup of coffee in my hand and a blanket over me, perfect cozy game experience. Haunted house, mysterious story, beautiful pixel art, wonderful music and you play as a cute cat...If you like any of those, this is a no-brainer.
P. S. Now I think my cat is spying on me...

Full Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/AoOuFtguK5Y

Gameplay: Good
Graphics: Good
Audio: Epic
PC Requirements: Fast
Story: Lovely
Difficulty: Easy to Learn
Game Time: 5-8 hours

Cats and the Other Lives is a point and click adventure that centers around the Mason family as they gather to pay their last respects to their father, Bernard Mason, after he passed away.

The story is told from the perspective of the family cat, Aspen, as he follows family members around, listening to conversations, and even interacting with objects and people to influence events.

A congregation of family members is not always a happy affair, and we witness many confessions, dramas, and revelations, all whilst just trying to be a cat and all the issues they have.

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I was very impressed with the visual presentation of this title. You could tell a lot of hard work went into directing and planning out events, with some excellent screenplay and intense character development. Many times I marveled at little visual treats that added a bit of sparkle to events.

Primarily, I would describe this as a visual novel in pixel art format with small amounts of puzzle elements, as there are copious amounts of dialogue to read, and apart from navigating the halls of the mansion, there’s really only a small amount of puzzling to perform, tagged with some action sequences.

If you’re the kind of person that enjoys soap operas or serious dramas then this might appeal to you, but be warned, it’s quite heavy and depressing, but interesting nonetheless.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2924970445
As the family cat, Aspen, you follow around the Mason family, listening to their conversations and watching them interact.

This is a clever way of entering someone’s private space and sharing their innermost thoughts without them withdrawing. We all love our pets, and often confide with them knowing that they’re good listeners and don’t offer any judgement. The game uses these privileges to delve into the private lives of all the characters, in quite some detail, painting a no holds barred depiction of Mason family life, and it’s not pretty.

If a character is reluctant to divulge information, or is just not paying attention to you, there are some interact ways to get their awareness, like pawing at them, meowing, or caressing their legs to charm them into submission. These interactive events are easily noticeable by icons below the character, and there’s never a wrong answer, so they’re just mechanisms to bring Aspen’s character alive. There are also cat duties to perform, after all, he is a cat. Take a cozy nap on the bed after action sequences tire you out; eat your food; chase mice around; and generally, behave like a cat would. I enjoyed the way Aspen had his own personality and wasn’t just used as a gimmick. He looked very realistic and his movements were spot on.

Navigating the hallways of the mansion is quite linear, and the game is designed to nudge you in the right direction. There are some wrong turns to take now and again but I never got lost or felt unsure of where to go. Aspen runs quite fast, so even if you do end up running the whole length of the corridor to find a dead end, it’s not really a problem. The mansion is quite big, but you soon learn where rooms are, and following characters usually leads you to the correct destination.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2922983402
Sometimes, characters you are following will go into rooms and lock the door, meaning you will have to find alternative routes to get in there and listen to the conversation. This might involve trying to get a character to open a window, or climbing through a grate, for example. There’s never any time limit to get in there. The conversation will wait for you.

Young and vivid imaginations know no bounds and often you are the unwilling subject in Will’s adventures, the youngest of the Mason family. Sequences either involve helping Will by finding objects for him, or when he is getting particularly annoying, running away and hiding behind objects, or climbing bookshelves and furniture to get away from him.

Cats instincts are to kill things, and birds and mice are no exception, so there are some interesting scenes chasing mice around the sewers and birds on the roof tops. There’s even a scene getting away from the cat control officer. Most of these action sequences are the same where you move the cat up and down the screen, avoiding traps and pitfalls to escape. The control mechanism is a bit fiddly I found, and one scene catching the mouse was particularly annoying in this respect, but mostly it is a welcome distraction from all the snooping around.

I never had any real difficulty with the puzzles and never had to use a walkthrough. Some were obvious, as the puzzles are very intuitive and logical, whilst others require a little thought and thinking outside the box, but they were all well designed and quite engaging. They fitted nicely into the story and helped immerse you into events.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2922155682
I will try not to reveal any story plots or spoilers.

The bulk of the game is listening to the Mason family and other characters’ stories and conversations, and this is done in the past and the present. The time line moves quite frequently between the past, where characters like Bernard Mason (the deceased) are shown as ghostly apparitions, and the present. There are plenty of games that use a similar technique with short sequences showing past events, but not to the extent that Cats and the Other Lives does. Probably half of the story is in the past and the other half in the present, so they’re not just memories, when you touch an object or similar triggering an event, but a fundamental part of the story, and we get to know the deceased characters just as much as the alive ones.

The characters are developed more in this story than probably any other indie game of this type I have played, and this is reflected in the amount of dialogue. Some of it I thought was a bit unnecessary, especially at the start where it seems to take a while to get going, but I guess any glimpse into their lives is another layer added to the overall picture, and we certainly get to know a lot about them all.

There are a lot of red herrings in the story, and the conclusion will probably not be the one you were expecting. I’m not sure if this was a good idea or not, as some of these diversions took up a lot of time to explain and build, yet they seemed to remain unexplained, as if the story had run out of time.

For certain, it is a dark and often uncomfortable ride, and although there are sprinkles of joy and happiness here and there, it is a serious and depressing look at family dysfunctionality.

The game was presented expertly and all characters are full of life and animated excellently. The house, where the majority of the story is held, looks creepy and daunting, and the ghostly apparitions looked great too.

No voice acting, apart from the odd mumble, scream, or gesture, but music is very atmospheric and manages to create a somber and sullen mood.

Cats and the Other Lives is an interesting look at family dysfunctionality through the eyes of the family pet and contains in depth character examination and scrutiny on pivotal events.

If you enjoy visual novels or lean towards a story-based game, then I think you will find this fascinating, but there is a lot of dialogue to read, and most of it is unpleasant, with heavily weighted themes of guilt and regret.