When you look at Cat Quest’s aesthetic, it’s pretty telling from the get go that it’ll be a tongue-in-cheek tale about cats saving the world, and for the most part it’s exactly that. You’re a breed of legendary cats known as Dragonblood, the only known species capable of vanquishing dragons, who threaten to destroy the world. The story begins when your sister is kidnapped and you set out on a journey to rescue her and slay dragons along the way.

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The premise is pretty standard and your adventure will be filled full of witty cat puns and oddball characters. It’s fun stuff and the side quests especially are pretty hilarious. While I definitely enjoyed it, it is largely forgettable, which is fine, given that this is a pretty laid back kind of game. However, there’s another plot thread that plays out on the side too, which is just completely at odds with the game’s overall tone, and I absolutely loved it. It’s a weird inclusion that I honestly didn’t expect but I always appreciate it when a game adds in some intrigue to keep players hooked. This, coupled with the various bits of lore you can find throughout the world, created a backstory I was actually invested in. Needless to say, I was surprised, but pleasantly so.

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On the gameplay side, you’ll traverse an overworld going from area to area, conversing with NPCs, taking on side quests and exploring dungeons. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but there are quite a few secrets littered throughout the world for you to find, so exploration always had some sort of pay off, even though backtracking was a pain sometimes. While the overworld is colourful and visually interesting, the dungeons are anything but that, and are easily the weakest part of the game. There’s no real interesting design to them and they’re nothing but a bunch of plainly interconnected pathways. At least there’s always loot inside of them.

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It wouldn’t be a hack n slash RPG without loot and this game has plenty to spare. You’ll find various cool looking Armor sets and weapons which you can equip to not only change your physical appearance but also your stats. Building your character mostly revolves around either focusing on physical strength or magic. I mostly found myself equipping whatever looked the cutest. I mean, who wouldn’t want to dress a cat up as a ninja with a katana. Getting all the gear was probably my favourite part of the game as majority of them are cool looking. Fashion over stats, yo.

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When it comes to combat, it’s your typical hack n slash affair. It’s all about mashing the attack button and dodging when you see an enemy is getting ready to attack. You have a couple of magic spells at your disposal too which you can map to the four shoulder buttons. It’s a simplistic combat system but it’s functionally competent, and gets the job done. Enemy encounters can become quite challenging too if you find yourself under-levelled for a fight. That said, it does kind of get stale after a while and though it does work well for the type of game that it is, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bored the more I played. Playing in short bursts helps in alleviating the monotony, and thankfully, the Switch is geared towards easy pick up and play sessions.

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The game looks absolutely wonderful. It has a vibrant and cartoony art style that really makes the world come alive. I also have to applaud the creators for some of the NPC cat designs as they’re both imaginative and entertaining. Unfortunately, I can’t really express such enthusiasm when it comes to the audio. While the sound effects are perfectly fine, the music, while enjoyable at first, becomes extremely repetitive. I can’t say that the compositions themselves are bad, but it doesn’t have any lasting appeal, especially for the amount of times these tracks are looped.

https://youtu.be/asDUOd5IZH0

Cat Quest might not always hit its mark, but it’s a little game with a lot of heart. The story is sure to put a smile on your face and even though it falters in the gameplay department, it manages to be entertaining in the end. Also, the game is about heroic cats saving the world, so that alone should be reason enough to pick it up.

Last Updated: November 14, 2017

Cat Quest
Cat Quest’s combat can get stale and the lacklustre dungeon design definitely hampers exploration, but the surprisingly entertaining story and cool loot system is enough to keep you engaged to see it through to the end, if, you’re playing in short bursts.
7.0
Cat Quest was reviewed on Nintendo Switch
74 / 100

2 Comments

  1. I LOVE cats, all forms and shapes, I love the attitude, I love the grace.

    I see no point in playing this game. It does not look, um, cute? appealing? Not even for 1 second. I think it is the cats they drew, I intensely dislike them, at first and second and third look.

    Reply

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