Going into 2016 I didn’t expect that my first game to review would be one centered around cats. Yes, if the title wasn’t enough to give it away, this is a game about cats – a house cat, to be specific. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love animals, but I’ve never had that much of a close affinity to these furry felines. While I am of course (like any sane human being) partial to the odd cat picture and video that finds itself floating around on the internet, I closer associate cats with being mischievous little bastards who are always too busy curling one out onto my front garden to be these so-called cute, playful creatures. Even though this is the case, I couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to play a game that put me in the shoes paws of a cat. Just a cat. A house cat. Not some tough, alpha male commando with pec’s larger than a transit van and a name like ‘John Hero’, but simply a cat. A cat called Kimchi. Kimchi the cat.
If there was one thing I knew going into this game, it was that if anything, it was going to be pleasant. Despite providing little in the way of a particularly interesting side-scrolling platformer, the game was just that – pleasant, relaxing, and somewhat refreshing. Oh, and did I mention that you play as a cat?
Opening with a scene that plays like a budget version of Disney Pixar’s ‘UP!’, the first minute of The Purring Quest is that of an animation that tells the ‘tail’ (CAT PUN ALERT) of a lone man who finds love, gets married, buys a cat, grows old with his wife, witnesses the unexpected death of his loved one, and then transitions into a state of mourning where the nameless man (let’s call him Jeff) finds comfort in his trusty pet. This entire sequence is in no way near as well-written and nuanced as its obvious source of inspiration, and with it also being over in such a flash it’s impossible to feel even a shred of empathy towards the poor bloke. Setting up the beginning of the adventure, the scene then shifts to the late-wife’s gravestone where upon ‘Jeff’, believing that he has seen his wife in the distance, takes off in pursuit and leaves his cat behind. What follows is Kimchi’s journey to track down his master as he moves through a series of varying locations.
It’s clear the game is trying to make some-kind of rhetoric throughout that a pet can be a man’s best-friend and an aid for emotional healing, but thankfully the game isn’t littered with pretentious nonsense, and you’re free to enjoy this game without the underlying message punching you in the eyeballs at every step. Then again, even if it did do such a thing, it wouldn’t particularly matter because you bought this game to take control of a cat, right?
Thankfully, playing as a cat is fairly fun, and the gameplay is pretty damn solid for what it is. This isn’t a large-scale, complex side-scrolling platformer like Super Mario, but instead is a simple affair that does just enough with itself to keep things vaguely interesting until you reach completion. Consisting of only five levels and about two hours’ worth of gameplay, The Purring Quest is a concise experience for better or for worse, but each level introduces new hazards, new enemies, and even new mechanics. With the ability to jump, claw at enemies, climb, push and pull objects, and hide away from enemies, the bare necessities for a basic platformer are here, but sadly these are not used enough to add a great deal of variety to the proceedings. Though you find yourself adventuring through a graveyard, village, gothic quarter, city, and then up high on some skyscrapers, there isn’t too much differentiation between the general challenges and feel of each level, and aside from some fantastic level and character art, the levels designs themselves don’t feel all that inspired. Featuring only the most basic of platformer challenges, some unique ‘boss’ events to round-off each level, and a life mechanic that doesn’t impede on your progress even when you’ve run out – it’s run-of-the-mill stuff and far from challenging.
Because of just how “okay” the game is, there really isn’t any urge to want to replay this adventure. Sure there’s collectables to find that are (cat)littered across each level, but these are so easy to find that you’re likely to have found them first time through. The only thing that could have possibly evaded the player is that of a series of caged-up cats that are typically found in hidden areas. Why are these cats caged up? I really don’t know, but hey – to complain about the addition of more cats within a game entirely based around cats would simply be demented. You’ve got more cats to experience. Deal with it. In fact, make sure to save them just so you can experience a weird post-credits interrogation scene that involves an evil cat wearing a shirt and a tie. Yes, a cat in clothes. It’s weird, it doesn’t really answer anything, but hey – there’s a goddamn cat in a goddamn shirt with a goddamn tie. What else could you want in life?
Valhalla Cats, the game’s developer, may not have created a game that is especially interesting, but it is at least technically sound and features the aforementioned high-quality art, some great cat animation, a catchy (if not slightly hypnotising) soundtrack, precise controls, and a game that works as it should. It doesn’t take a genius to see that this project has clearly been created with sheer passion, and I can certainly respect that.
Verdict
Far from being purrrfect (I’m truly ashamed of that pun, sorry), The Purring Quest isn’t a great game, but it’s certainly not a bad one either. It’s distinctively average, providing an experience that is fairly entertaining during its meagre length, but doesn’t do enough to become neither memorable nor notably impressive. It’s pleasant, and you play as a cat – there’s not really much more to it than that.
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