The Gentlebros, developers of the Cat’s Quest franchise, have hit on a winning formula. Well thought out combat and millions of feline puns. I would consider Cat’s Quest II a best in class (some might even call it a purr-fect game) so I jumped at the opportunity to review its sequel.
The good news is that Cat’s Quest III is a worthy successor, but there have been some changes.
The first change is that instead of a sword and sorcery theme, the story is about pirates. The opening explains that a group called the Seekers have collected a McGuffin called the Northern Star. The protagonist, an unnamed cat, is linked to both of these by a mysterious symbol on the back of their head. They are joined by a ghost mentor who does all the talking and a another cat with an eye-patch (if the campaign is played in Co-Op). Their mission is to find the Northern Star while fending off an evil Pi-Rat and heavy rock cat called Meowtalika.
This starts with the hero on an island, this is done in a 2.5d aesthetic, the map is isometric with 3D models. The world is presented as if the characters are walking on top of a globe with things rolling into view as they traverse. The big change is that the sea is not a boundary here like it was in the previous games. As soon as the protagonist hits the sea, they jump into a rubber dinghy, they can also commandeer a ship that allows them to engage in water-based combat.
The combat is much the same as the last Cat’s Quest; there is a standard attack, a dodge, and magic spells. The player can carry a melee and ranged weapon and can flip between them on the fly. The combat is simple and it is one of the best things about this game. There aren’t really combos to memorise but it is more about selecting weapons that work well together and using magic effectively.
To supplement this there are two levelling systems. The first is the character levelling system that is increased with kills and quest completion – each level hands out extra hit points, magic points and at set levels it unlocks extra slots for perks on both the character and their ship.
Perks and weapons can also be levelled up, this is done one of two ways. Either the player goes to the main town and upgrades them at the blacksmith using coins dropped from kills (or collecting bounties), or by completing dungeons and challenges and finding a duplicate of that weapon/perk that will be merged to boost its stats.
It is a good system because every piece of loot found is always useful, it also streamlines inventory management, I loved how it meant all I had to focus on was the synergies rather than worrying whether my level 10 shield had less good stats than my level 9 mace. It feels like a complete rejection of Diablo’s fussiness and I wish more games were inspired by this.
Sadly, I do have some gripes. While the open world exploration is excellent and each area feels meaningfully distinct (a 16bit homage, an island full of ghosts, etc), there feels like there are less discreet and interesting dungeons. This is replaced by some great (and not so great) puzzles. Early stuff has the player guiding enemies into traps, others are about figuring out crystal activation sequences. They are solid diversions but miss out on what I loved the most Cat’s Quest II going into a dungeon and hacking and slashing my way through a bunch of enemies.
It is also a shame that the boat combat is under-cooked. Most of it is limited to firing the cannon and then dashing away from shots and lacks the delight of the on foot fighting.
That said, the story has taken strides in depth. Yes, it is still full of puns at every point, but there is a lot of poignancy. Even the villains get a backstory that makes them deeply sympathetic, and throwaway characters get good running jokes. It could have been so easy to just churn out a bunch of dad-level jokes and call it a day, but the writers certainly went the extra mile and I appreciated it.
It goes without saying that Cat’s Quest III is an excellent co-op title because of a good sense of balance. Lower skilled players such as myself get to watch their partners unleash all kinds of magic on bosses and trap them in corners, while I use a shield to block attacks.
This all ties together well in terms of delivering a frictionless experience, with Cat’s Quest III being focused on providing players of all levels skill entertainment. It allows people that just want to explore enough leeway, while having lot of late game stuff for more experienced players (that is entirely optional).
I almost want to go into a whole tirade about accessibility, games should be possible to be enjoyed by everyone and I think the whole Cat’s Quest series makes a case for that etc, etc. Instead I will just say that the game is fur-bulous.
Conclusion
Cat’s Quest III is a worthy sequel. Fans of the previous game will have a blast and enjoy being back in the world of cat-puns.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
