Developer: Cosmic Stag Games
Publisher: Cosmic Stag Games, Craftmos Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Cat Me If You Can – Review
From the 100 Cats series to titles like Secret Paws, cats are a beloved (and thankful) subject for hidden object games. While we do consider ourselves cat enthusiasts, we’re not necessarily fans of the hidden object genre. We enjoy a cosy or casual game once in a while, but more often than not, hidden object games are a bit too casual and simple for our liking. Cat Me If You Can seems to want to break that mold, offering a much deeper and more interactive hidden object experience. Plus, it’s about cats, so that’s already a win in our book. But can this feline finding game convince us of the genre’s merits, or does it end up feeling like a cat-astrophic waste of time?
Story
There is no narrative here in the traditional sense, nor is there dialogue or cutscenes. The tutorial does hint at Cat Me If You Can’s backstory, but there is no outright explanation of what is going on here. The overarching premise sees you exploring a series of lifeless, black-and-white environments where you need to take photos of hidden cats in order to restore colour to the world. While you start out floating in the vacuum of space, your bright orange time machine allows you to travel to the game’s three cat-themed settings: The Land of the Rising Meow, which is based on modern-day Japan, the Meowdieval Era, and the Purramid Kingdom. The names of the latter two already hint at when and where on the timeline they are situated.
Graphics
The three different worlds of Cat Me If You Can start out with a high-contrast monochrome palette. Gradually, colour is reintroduced as you interact with the environment and find cats. Cats vary widely, not just in size, colour and breed but also in what they are doing. Most are engaging in realistic cat behaviour, but don’t be surprised to find a medieval beekeeper cat or one hanging out inside a washing machine. Upon discovering a cat, it’ll burst into colour, accompanied by visual flourishes like hearts, stars and confetti. The game’s hand-drawn comic book aesthetic matches the game’s overall light-hearted tone. Cat Me If You Can also runs smoothly, with no frame rate or resolution issues, owing to the fact that this isn’t exactly the most demanding game in the first place.
Sound
As you make your way through Cat Me If You Can, you’re accompanied by a whimsical soundtrack that reinforces the game’s cosy and pressure-free atmosphere. Subtle sound effects contribute to the game’s relaxing ambience. A fitting touch is the inclusion of realistic cat sound effects, such as a purring noise when you snap a picture and a distinct “meow” whenever your radar is triggered. Human voice acting is notably absent, though we’d say that the cat noises technically count.
Gameplay
In essence, Cat Me If You Can is a hidden object game, though that description does sell the game short somewhat. The worlds you find yourself in are fully rendered in 3D and have a lot of verticality to them. You’re not just clicking but instead actually have to walk around and explore. The game plays like a basic FPS title, where you can run, jump, and crouch, and have to use a Polaroid-style camera to “shoot” the cats in order to bring back colour to your surroundings. Your trusty tablet tracks your total finds, level progress, and active quests, while your radar pulses to guide you towards undiscovered cats.
Stages contain both regular cats as well as special ones that require you to solve environmental puzzles in order to reach them. These puzzles rely on manipulating switches or locating specific sets of items scattered throughout the levels. Levels are divided into sub-regions, each containing a bright orange noticeboard that displays the items you need to sniff out. Conveniently, these noticeboards also act as fast travel points. Unlocking subsequent regions requires finding a set threshold of cats. It’s the only real restriction in the game, as there are no timers or fail times. Instead, you can find the cats at your own pace.
With over 700 cats to find, you’ve got your work cut out for you if you want to complete Cat Me If You Can. Depending on how good you are at finding cats, you’re looking at around 12 to 15 hours for a 100% playthrough. That’s fair for the game’s €17.99 price tag, though we should note that the game has little to no replay value once all cats are found and all puzzles are finished. This is of course something inherent to the genre, though we’d say Cat Me If You Can is a game that in theory has ample opportunity to randomize cat positions because of how it implements 3D environments and verticality, as opposed to more traditional 2D hidden object games.
Conclusion
Usually, we’re not the most ardent fans of hidden object games, but Cat Me If You Can pleasantly surprised us. Its gameplay goes beyond what you’d typically expect from the genre, and something is endearing about finding some of the missing felines in unusual situations. While Cat Me If You Can wasn’t able to convert our opinion on the genre as a whole, we’d say that this one is worth a look, even if you’re not a hidden object aficionado.
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