35 people found this review helpful
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 17.6 hrs on record
Posted: Dec 2, 2023 @ 10:47am

"Long ago, dragons ravaged the lands.

Only cats known as the Dragonblood could defeat them.

But suddenly they vanished, never to be seen again..."

Cat Quest is an action role-playing video game developed by The Gentlebros and published by Kepler Interactive.

Story
Cat Quest is set in fantasy kingdom of Felingard, ruled by cats.
During the trip through an open sea, ship of our feline hero gets destroyed and his sister captured by a mysterious white cat who disappears afterwards. Woken up on the shores of Felingard by a guardian spirit, with strange purple mark on the back of the head, he sets out to find out more about mysterious symbol and to rescue his sister!

Gameplay
It's an open world title with top down perspective where our feline protagonist travels across the land to complete quests, slay enemies, grind levels and collect gear along the way!
Quite straight forward.

Main quests are automatically acquired once you complete previous one, while side quests have to be activated by visiting local board. Most of the side tasks is chopped into multiple chapters and features level suggestion as to when you should attempt it.
If quests bore you, Felingard stands wide open waiting to be explored, though few areas will require certain abilities to obtain in order to reach them.
Clear out dungeons spread across the land with sweet loot and not so sweet enemies, find monuments to gain a bit of Cat Quest lore, take naps across towns to save your game or regenerate health and magic, lastly discover mage towers to learn new spells (for a small price). Though beware on your journey as higher level enemies can wipe the floor with you, so it's wise to keep an eye on icons near tough enemies.

When it comes to combat game is very simple in that remark. You either hit enemies (game only features a single melee attack you gonna mash like a madman...or mad kitty I guess), dodge opponent attacks by rolling, or use magic spells for different results depending on spell and your current need. It's wise to experiment with these as different monsters have different weaknesses when it comes to spells.

Completing quests, slaying enemies and overall just collecting enough experience points grants you a level up, increasing health points, damage, and magic.
On your heroic quest you also collect coins, used to unlock and upgrade magic spells or to open up chests at local blacksmith for new, or to improve already owned gear.

Chests and occasional quest rewards contain gear you can equip to improve your statistics (and look!). Grab a weapon, armor, and head gear with most of them coming as sets focused around certain playstyle. Here you can also notice final stat- armor! More armor the better as it means you won't lose your health. No health, no kitty.

Playtime, other modes, replayability
It took me 7 hours to clean up whole map, you can waste half or even less of that time if you will solely focus on the main questline.
After beating the story you unlock New Game+ option where you keep your gear and statistics from previous save plus Mew Game, new mode with tougher enemies and additional modifiers that significantly change the way game is played, rewarding you with parts of a special set if you come out victorious from your runs.
Both of said modes, plus almost unlimited possibility of gear grinding and short game lenght give enough reasons to keep Cat Quest in a backpocket if you ever feel the need to get a dose of cat puns.

Pros and cons
Cat Quest is simple in design and simple in nature. You smack some monsters here, save a peasant there, collect rewards and explore dungeons for loot.
Main thing that game has going for it lies within cat puns, I cannot deny it's a reason I bought the game in the first place. I was satisfied with these. The meows, the mews, the paws, the furs, and more! They crack a smile especially if one is a certified pun appreciator. This make game stand out a bit.
Besides that, when it comes to positives there is a gear system, as all items look good visually and offers some minor changes to playstyle to spice things up, plus give a reason to grind or just clear out dungeons.
New modes after you beat a game and mentioned gear hunting/upgrading adds nice replayability if one is craving more of Cat Quest's simplicity.

As you might have guessed, one can dodge and smash same attack for so long before getting bored. Magic helps to some extend as you can try out different combinations but nonetheless combat is flat. Progression system works alright but sooner or later you reach a bar where you have to grind levels either to make through next quest or to clean up few final dungeons on the map.

Soundtrack could use a bit more...soundtrack. Because 4 or 5 short tracks in game quickly became repetitive. Story and whole narrative are nothing to write home about, it's just...there. Though I appreciate smaller side quest storylines you experience as you make your way through them.

Ultimately I still had decent time with Cat Quest because I knew it will be a good game at best but with cat themed puns. If you are not a fan of these you might aswell skip this title as combat or exploration are nothing special, including extra grinding in between. It's a simple, short title, worth playing for already mentioned word plays and if you need a break from massive, "dozens of hours to waste" titles, best absored in short sessions.

Final words and conclusion
There is a demo of the game on Steam page, feel free to try it out and see if you enjoy what it offers.

Pawsome puns, cute visuals and simple rpg gameplay core with minimal amount of mechanics make Cat Quest a purrfect title for quick sessions. Recommended!

Feel free to check out my curator page for more reviews!
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6 Comments
Logan Dec 4, 2023 @ 1:41pm 
Funky little game is definitely best way to describe it, just throw in a pun in there and you are golden. :lunar2020gigglemonkey: But yeah, it's a quick little title you play every once in a while and appreciate puns.
Sv. Prolivije Dec 4, 2023 @ 1:17pm 
Traded for this a while back. Looks like a funky little game I def should play, even if I'm not much of a cat person. :crashthumbsup:
Logan Dec 3, 2023 @ 10:26am 
I guess it's because they had actual budget for 2nd title after solid sales of this one, plus feedback received helped. Anyhow, thanks! :possession:
aquatorrent Dec 3, 2023 @ 8:13am 
despite the issues, i'm glad you like this one! i completely agree with them. the second one is way better imo. the story is still kinda bland and the combat is still simple for me, but at least it doesn't feel too grindy like this one. plus, they add dog puns too! :)
Logan Dec 2, 2023 @ 1:01pm 
Hell yeah, thanks! :slimetabby: Gonna play CQ 2 in the future for sure, never enough cat puns.
Nomad Dec 2, 2023 @ 11:24am 
Great review, great game, nuff said :eaglegag: