“Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat is the only cat who knows where it’s at” – sang Scatman Crothers in Disney’s The Aristocats.
Scatman has a point, especially when it relates to cat-themed games on the Xbox in the last year. We had Stray controlling a cat in the future, Little Kitty, Big City, there’s the Hidden Cat series, and Fit my Cat which mixes felines with Tetris.
Cat’s Request is another game set in the future, one where you play a detective cat in a cyberpunk world full of neon and mystery.
You play an extraterrestrial cat named Ash, and also his virtual assistant, Root, who you can think of like a ghost buddy. They live in a metropolitan cyberpunk city all run by AI. Suddenly there is a problem – a computer virus threatens to take out all the AI and destroy the city’s way of life. But don’t worry, Ash is on the case…
The story and world you explore are fascinating and vibrant. It has a good mystery vibe as well, which in turn encourages you to go out there and explore, hunting for answers. There is a bit of a lack of direction in the narrative, at least to begin with, which I found a little bit uncomfortable, but soon it opens to allow for enjoyment, travelling around and talking to people in the world.
The gameplay sees Cat’s Request come across like a simple point-and-click adventure. You can move and run around, talking to most people and robots to get clues to the story and ensure progression. There is an inventory system that is easy to use, quite straightforward, however the controls themselves are not as fluid as I would have liked and I think that might be down to some translation from PC to console. Yes, it all works, but it takes some getting used to.
There’s a nice clever addition to the gameplay where you can swap characters and bring out Root; like an AI hologram ghost. Root can do things you can’t, like look into people’s minds and delve into their consciousness. I mean this literally where she goes into a strange mind world that looks like a Salvador Dali painting, solving abstract puzzles to unlock clues in the real world. This is a nice and useful device that I enjoyed; very creative.
There are also other moments, like being in space at one point and swimming on a different planet, that separate it from normal point-and-click games.
Cat’s Request looks good as well with its 2D world. Perhaps the character animation is not the most sophisticated out there, but the backdrops and world design are up there with the best. It does a great job of taking you to different areas and worlds at one point with ease. A big shout out must also go to the mind worlds and how strange they are.
Cat’s Request should be one for all the point-and-click adventure nuts out there. It has a very traditional feel to its gameplay, complemented by the extra character of Root, but its story and setting make it very unique. The controls take a while to get used to, and this may not be best suited to those who like their hands to be held. Yet for the price, it is well worth a gamble – if only so you can see a cat detective taking in some space travel.
“Everybody wants to be a cat“.
