9 Lives to Defend Review

Developed by Goldarait and published by Silesia Games Sp. z o.o., 9 Lives to Defend is the time survival, roguelike feline answer to what would happen if you smashed Vampire Survivors with cats and a sprinkle of humour.

                It’s time for Loki the house cat to fend off enemies and invaders until the human owners return. The game may seem like a childish version of Vampire Survivors as you’re firing flip-flops at snails or shooting cat poo at buff-looking mice. But you would be a fool not to take the game seriously, as it is far from a breeze.

The game looks fun and attractive, even if it is aimed more at the younger market. Loki looks cute and vicious at the same time. The enemies are a bit cliché, but they are cutely designed. The background music is neither memorable nor annoying, which is vital in games like this. The sound effects of the meow when you get hit did cause confusion, as I have cats on my own, it was amusing to see their reaction when they heard it.

                As is widely linked with cats, you have 9 lives on each run through. Early on, you will need every single one of them as the levels are tough. You do have a dodge and a variety of weapons to unlock to even things out. But you will need quick reflexes to last until the timer runs out.

                There are 8 different arenas to play through and survive in. There are 8 different difficulty levels, which yield better rewards the harder the difficulty. You can also choose from 9 different versions of Loki, which have different main weapons. But they are not all available, so you have to meet certain criteria before you play as these other Loki versions.

                The roguelike elements come in the form of collecting the currency kibble as you defeat enemies and survive the level. With that kibble, you can buy upgrades to the versions of Loki which improve the power of the main attack or other improvements like movement speed or critical damage. You can also purchase amulets, which provide beneficial perks. They can be short-term perks, like allowing your dodge to fire an electric bolt or a long-term perk like earning double the amount of kibble at the end of the round to help purchase upgrades.

                The game controls are very simple as the attacks are automatic, so you only have to move and dodge. You can make the attack manual, but that would only benefit certain versions of Loki, not all of them. The movement feels slick enough, and it’s everything you would expect from a pickup and play game. It does suffer from what all of this genre suffers and that is repetition fatigue. Although you can play more times to earn better upgrades and go further, it can wear things quite quickly, so it’s probably best played in moderate doses.

Conclusion

9 Lives to Defend is a great game to have installed and play now and then. The shortest round is 12 minutes, and it is fun to try and survive the level to earn the kibble to try and maybe complete a harder round next time. The game is cute enough to be enjoyed by kids, but it is tricky enough to be enjoyed by hardened gamers. So, if you prefer a more innocent-looking Vampire Survivors-style game, then this could be the one for you.

This game was reviewed based on the Xbox Series S/X release played on Series S|X. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. The reviewer purchased the title.